Marina Community Association
Making news and breaking news in the neighborhood
October 2011
Making news and breaking news in the neighborhood
October 2011
By the time you read this, the first annual Marina Family Festival will already have happened and I trust it turned out to be an outstanding event. As planned, the mix of bouncy houses, a petting zoo, face painting, and other kid-friendly activities looked to be a real winner for a Saturday afternoon of fun. Special thanks go out to Don Carmignani, a director of the MCA, for taking the lead on putting this event together. Thanks also to the MCA directors, members and families who contributed their time and effort to make this project a success. If you didn’t have a chance to attend this time, rest assured that we’re already looking forward to doing it again next year.
Later this month, the MCA will also be hosting our Annual General Meeting, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 26 at Claire Lilienthal Elementary School on Divisadero and Beach Streets. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. and is open to all residents of the Marina – you do not need to be a member to attend. In addition to providing a great venue to catch up with your neighbors and meet new ones, MCA members will have the opportunity to elect members to the MCA board of directors. The MCA Board, the governing body of our organization, is made up of 11 directors, half of whom are elected each year for a two-year term. As we currently have at least one vacant seat, this year’s election will be sure to introduce some new members to our leadership. I encourage all members to cast their votes and to attend the event. Our speaking roster is still being determined, but it’s sure to be a worthwhile evening.
As of this writing, the plans to convert the King Edward II Inn to subsidized housing for transitional-age youth are moving forward at a rapid pace. Although there were some discussions among neighborhood groups and the project sponsors in an effort to minimize the impact on the neighborhood, it’s now apparent that this project will come before the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 4, 2011 (please check the Board of Supervisors calendar at www.sfgov.org to verify times and dates of the hearing, as they frequently change.) I encourage all interested residents of the Marina to attend. Depending on the outcome of the hearing, the project could conceivably move from the Board of Supervisors to a court of law before all is said and done.
Many of the concerns of the neighborhood – the population density of the facility, the environmental impact, the available outdoor and common space, and the overall cost to the city and state – simply cannot be resolved under the current proposal and have not been open to discussion. The Cow Hollow Association, with the support of the MCA and other neighborhood groups, filed a legal appeal to the negative declaration issued on the project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a result, there were extensive conversations among the Community Housing Partnership (CHP), Larkin Street Youth Services (LSYS), and neighborhood groups in an effort to reach a workable compromise. Unfortunately, not all of the parties involved were able to come to an agreement before the issue was added to the Supervisors’ agenda. As a result, the legal challenge will be heard, along with other issues related to this project, at the Oct. 4 meeting. The outcome of that meeting will help determine whether the project will face additional legal challenges.
The ongoing e-mail campaign by the project sponsors that continues to disparage you, the residents of this neighborhood, is doing little to build support for the project. The latest rendition extended the criticism to City Attorney Dennis Herrera, whose legal opinion to allow the appeal to proceed was met with outright denial. That’s even more surprising when you consider that, should the case end up in court, the City Attorney would be obligated to present the legal defense. Perhaps the project sponsors would find the neighborhood more receptive if they were to tone down the public rhetoric. The MCA will continue to monitor the progress of the project, and will engage with both CHP and LSYS in an effort to protect the interests of our residents.
John Millar is president of the Marina Community Association. The MCA is dedicated to protecting and improving the distinctive residential quality of the Marina District. You are eligible for membership if you are over 18 and a resident or owner of a dwelling within the Marina. Visit www.sfmca.org for more information.
Later this month, the MCA will also be hosting our Annual General Meeting, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 26 at Claire Lilienthal Elementary School on Divisadero and Beach Streets. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. and is open to all residents of the Marina – you do not need to be a member to attend. In addition to providing a great venue to catch up with your neighbors and meet new ones, MCA members will have the opportunity to elect members to the MCA board of directors. The MCA Board, the governing body of our organization, is made up of 11 directors, half of whom are elected each year for a two-year term. As we currently have at least one vacant seat, this year’s election will be sure to introduce some new members to our leadership. I encourage all members to cast their votes and to attend the event. Our speaking roster is still being determined, but it’s sure to be a worthwhile evening.
As of this writing, the plans to convert the King Edward II Inn to subsidized housing for transitional-age youth are moving forward at a rapid pace. Although there were some discussions among neighborhood groups and the project sponsors in an effort to minimize the impact on the neighborhood, it’s now apparent that this project will come before the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 4, 2011 (please check the Board of Supervisors calendar at www.sfgov.org to verify times and dates of the hearing, as they frequently change.) I encourage all interested residents of the Marina to attend. Depending on the outcome of the hearing, the project could conceivably move from the Board of Supervisors to a court of law before all is said and done.
Many of the concerns of the neighborhood – the population density of the facility, the environmental impact, the available outdoor and common space, and the overall cost to the city and state – simply cannot be resolved under the current proposal and have not been open to discussion. The Cow Hollow Association, with the support of the MCA and other neighborhood groups, filed a legal appeal to the negative declaration issued on the project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a result, there were extensive conversations among the Community Housing Partnership (CHP), Larkin Street Youth Services (LSYS), and neighborhood groups in an effort to reach a workable compromise. Unfortunately, not all of the parties involved were able to come to an agreement before the issue was added to the Supervisors’ agenda. As a result, the legal challenge will be heard, along with other issues related to this project, at the Oct. 4 meeting. The outcome of that meeting will help determine whether the project will face additional legal challenges.
The ongoing e-mail campaign by the project sponsors that continues to disparage you, the residents of this neighborhood, is doing little to build support for the project. The latest rendition extended the criticism to City Attorney Dennis Herrera, whose legal opinion to allow the appeal to proceed was met with outright denial. That’s even more surprising when you consider that, should the case end up in court, the City Attorney would be obligated to present the legal defense. Perhaps the project sponsors would find the neighborhood more receptive if they were to tone down the public rhetoric. The MCA will continue to monitor the progress of the project, and will engage with both CHP and LSYS in an effort to protect the interests of our residents.
John Millar is president of the Marina Community Association. The MCA is dedicated to protecting and improving the distinctive residential quality of the Marina District. You are eligible for membership if you are over 18 and a resident or owner of a dwelling within the Marina. Visit www.sfmca.org for more information.
