It’s all about the Water

April 27, 2009

By Mitch Bull

The WOTPCC meeting on Monday, April 27th was lightly attended but full of information. Chairman Dutil opened the meeting in front of a small audience of about 20, falling just short of the necessary representatives to have a quorum (although the quorum would be reached later in the meeting).

With little to initially vote on, the group had discussions on the topic of the replacement of Police Captain Denis O’Leary at the Ingleside Station by Captain Dave Lazar, a qualified leader, but one who will now have to learn about the neighborhood groups from scratch.

Treasurer Squeri brought up the point that during the very warm weather of April 15-20, people were leaving their windows open at night and a burglar had committed 10 break-ins in the St. Francis Wood, Forest Hill, and West Portal neighborhoods. Most of the robberies occurred between 1:30 and 4:30 AM, while people were sleeping. Reports were made to Captain Chignall of the Taraval Station and was taken seriously enough that undercover officers were assigned and the thief was caught at the MUNI station with stolen laptops in his possession. Supervisor Elsbernd chipped in stating that Chignall was the one who assigned the plainclothes officers and blanketed the area so that a successful arrest could be made. The group agreed that a big “Thank You” should be sent to Capt. Chignall and the team at the Taraval Station.

Elsbernd also addressed the reassignment of the Captain at the Ingleside Station, explaining that the Police Commission has conducted over 6 studies of the Police Department organization and the Ingleside changes are the start of the implementation of some of the recommendations from the commission. Ingleside is to be the “guinea pig” test station. In addition to reassigning O’Leary and inserting Lazar in the Captain’s chair, detectives (inspectors) are being assigned “on-site” in the precinct station instead of being based at the Hall Of Justice (as they are currently). The Supervisor added that this was not related to the downsizing of the number of police stations.

Chairman Dutil, then introduced Ed Harrington, the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), as the speaker for the evening. Quickly, the focus of the meeting turned to water delivery, water rates, and wastewater collection.

Harrington opened his remarks by discussing the basics of the Hetch Hetchy Water System, where snow runoff is collected in the mountains and stored in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Using gravity, the water is transported to SF where it is sold at a retail cost to the businesses and residents of the City. The City’s portion of the water sales is approximately 81 Million gallons per day. Another 184.9 million gallons per day is sold at a wholesale rate to the water districts throughout the Peninsula from Daly City to San Jose.

The General Manager noted that while the SFPUC Operating Budget for 2010 is lower than in 2009, the rates will be increasing over the next 5 years to pay for a large Capital Improvement Program to both protect the Water Delivery System against Earthquakes, and to improve the wastewater management system of pipes, sewer mains and treatment facilities. He mentioned that while many facilities have been strengthened and improved; such as the Oceanside Treatment Plant, much more work must be done to improve the Southeast Water Treatment Plant, and the aged sewer mains and pipes that carry rain runoff and wastewater to the treatment plants for processing prior to pumping the treated effluent into the bay or ocean.

A key to the SFPUC planning is the contract with the suburban water districts which is up for renewal (and will be approved and signed by the time this is printed). The previous 25 year agreement between the SFPUC and the suburban water districts allowed the suburban districts to pay their portion of Capital Improvement charges over a 50 year “life of the asset” time period, instead of being charged the “current” amount of improvements in a “pay as you go” type of charge. The new agreement will require these wholesale customers to pay their share of the Capital Improvements as they are built.

The new contract in final negotiations would move the suburban districts into line with the SF retail water users who have to pay for improvements at the time of the improvements. On the supply side, Harrington estimated that the average bill will increase 32 cents/day to an average of $23 / month. The larger increases will come with the sewer charges, which he estimates will be about $40 / month, depending on usage. The PUC is expecting rates to increase about 10% per year for the next 5 years to pay for the capital improvements needed for the system.

At the end of the discussion Harrington answered some questions from the group concerning the SFPUC. The “short term” goal of the department is to keep the “Assets Strong,” that is, to ensure that an earthquake doesn’t take down the water supply systems that keep fresh water flowing to SF. As the Hetch Hetchy system intersects 3 fault lines, the chance of an event and the planning for one is needed as the chance of a quake on one of the faults is 67% within the foreseeable future.

Another short term need is to increase maintenance on the small pipes and sewer drains in the City. Broken sewer mains are a primary cause of erosion based sink holes, and as they are not under pressure, like the fresh water side, they may go on for years before detection.

The longer term issue for the PUC revolves around “Global Warming.” Harrington cited that Hetch Hetchy as designed for a large snow melts, and snow melts are being seen less and below, 3-4K feet. In addition as the bay waters rise, the SF water treatment plants are at risk due to the possibility of salt water infiltrating and ruining the pricey equipment.

For more information: SFwater.org.

May 2009

March 24, 2009

NEWS AND VIEWS…

San Francisco Planning Director John Rahaim was the featured speaker at the West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WOTPCC) meeting, held on March 24th at the Forest Hills Clubhouse, but not the only reason to attend.

Council President Don Dutil opened the meeting by asking for an approval of the February minutes, following some discussion on the minutes and a few corrections the approval of the minutes ensued and a short Treasurers’ report from Carolyn Squeri followed. The Treasurer also noted that changes have been made in the tax laws that now require many associations to file a 990-N form with the IRS. Failure to file could cause a non-profit association to lose their non-exempt status.

Next came the SFPD report, from Sgt. Pagano from the Taraval station addressing the crowd of 35. Last month we reported on the string of burglaries that had happened in our area. The SF Policewoman pleased the crowd with the news that some burglars were arrested on Sunday morning in St. Francis Woods. She also reported that burglaries were down over the past month, but that car break-ins were still a problem, not just at the Taraval station, but also across the city.

Condolences were offered from the meeting attendees to the Police Department in the City of Oakland for the tragic shootings that occurred last week. Sgt. Pagano said that officers from all over the state will be attended the memorial service for the fallen OPD members.

A question was raised about the rules for Skateboarding in the City. Officially, the law is that there is no skateboarding anywhere in the city limits except in skate parks. (What?) Of course it’s almost impossible to patrol and enforce. Also, FYI, bicyclists are supposed to follow the same traffic laws as other drivers.

Aaron Goodman of the Parkmerced Residents’ Organization (PRO) stated that a SFSU task force is working with the PRO and the University Police on these types of issues, and he feels that the WOTPCC should consider sending a representative to the next SFSU task force meeting.

A call for “New Business” followed and Rich Matthews, an advocate for the SF Civil Grand Jury, spoke on the process and merits of a civil grand jury. The 19 members of the SF grand jury can decide to investigate and report on anything they want. That’s right, anything. Only two states have this provision, California and Nevada, and we are the only one where it is incorporated into the State Charter.

The information on the purpose, process, and selection for the Grand Jury was both detailed and very interesting, and we will cover it in more detail in a future issue of the Observer.

On the heels of the Jury discussion, I had the opportunity to address the attendees on the ability of this newspaper to help disseminate information to the public. Any WOTPCC member group that wishes to have events or information in the paper can send it to my email, Mitch@WestsideObserver.com.

The WOTPCC Communications Committee report was given by Denise LaPointe, detailing the discussions that the committee has had on how best to get information out to the members, through phone tree, newsletters, and new technology on the website. They reported looking at “Twitter, Facebook, Blogs”, and the like but decided that most of us are “too old, tired, and generally not into that style of communicating.”

Prior to introducing the speaker, Matt Chamberlain spoke about trying out new “guidelines” to follow for the keynote speakers that the WOTPCC has attracted as of late. Basically, speakers would get 10 minutes, moderated questions would cover 10 minutes; and delegates would then have 10 minutes for Q and A. The speakers would be given some questions in advance to prepare information for. This helps to eliminate ambush style questioning and allows for a more informed give and take of information.

With that, a test of the guidelines started with the introduction of the Planning Director for the City, John Rahaim.

Following a brief overview of his previous experience as Planning Director in Seattle (WA), and his work in Pittsburgh (PA). Rahaim took the stage and explained his take on the Planning Department, the Housing Element, Discretionary Review Process, and citywide projects, as well as SB 375, and the large areas in SF (50%) where the Planning Department has no jurisdiction.

He started by using Detroit (he’s from Michigan) as an example of what happens when a city fails to plan for the future. The peak of the auto industry was in the 1920’s and the city has been on a downward spiral since.

Rahaim said “Planning in San Francisco is like no other place; there is an amazing amount of interest in what we do.” He then explained that when he was hired to run the Planning Department the Mayor and the Board asked him to do two things; 1). Implement and complete the City’s Neighborhood plans for the Eastern Plan, the Market/Octavia Plan, the Balboa Park Plan, and the Visitation Valley Plan; and 2). Revise the Planning Department to become more transparent and friendly towards the citizens.

He addressed the two major items by showing that the four large neighborhood plans listed above will be where the majority of growth is expected to be for the next 20 years, with additional new plans for the TransBay area and Japantown, in the Japan Center block.

The discussion next focused on the housing element and the timing. A draft version is expected to be submitted to the city in July, with a final version submitted by November. When asked what the delay was for, he said, “I wanted to have time to collect more public input than was done in 2004.” He went on to explain that he didn’t think the Planning Department does a great job of explaining their thought processes, “We fail in saying, here’s where we disagree and why, or, here are the reasons why a project is moving forward.” When questioned about the Housing Element document he said, “the Housing Element is a policy document, not a zoning element. Zoning may only be changed by the Planning Commission, the Board and the Mayor.”

When asked about the Westside projects, Rahaim described the Parkmerced project as moving forward, but added that many of the 19th Ave. corridor projects have been stopped due to developer problems in securing financing.

A ten minute Q and A session followed with comments being made on height limits,” A very sensitive issue;” Secondary Units, “another sensitive issue, but one that needs to be looked at very carefully,” and the Discretionary Review Process, “a very hot topic, since we are the only major city that manages the process in this way.” He feels that the current system serves no one well, and sets up neighbors to fight with each other.

The session closed with discussion and answers on SB375, the anti-sprawl ordinance that expects San Francisco to absorb another 200,000 people by 2014. This would give the City 1 million people (in 49 square miles). To put this into perspective, Rahaim cites figures that show that San Francisco is currently 2nd in the US in density (behind only NY). The greater NY city area has 8 million people in 330 square miles. By contrast the greater Bay Area has 7.2 million people in 7000 square miles. This type of sprawl is what the State Senate bill is trying to control.

In closing, the Director, informed the group that his department only has control and jurisdiction over 50% of SF land, having no control over parcels that are in the redevelopment areas, Court Properties, State Property, and Properties belonging to groups concerned with higher education (like SF State). People in the audience seemed to be surprised by the amount of space that is not controlled by the Planning Department.

Additional smaller items were covered and discussed. Once finished, Rahaim stayed after the meeting to answer individual questions from the attendees.

The next meeting will be on Monday, April 27th at 7:30 in the Forest Hill Clubhouse.

April 2009

February 2009

The West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WOTPCC) meeting in February again had an integral member of the SF political team on hand as a guest speaker. Where as the last meeting featured Phil Ting and Mike Farrah, this meeting featured David Chiu. Chiu, the newly elected District 3 Supervisor, was elected as President of the Board of Supes by the Board, despite being elected to his first political office in November. More on this later…

Following the approval of the January minutes and a short Treasurer’s report, Supervisor Sean Elsbernd addressed the room with information about grant monies that are available through the “Community Challenge Grant” program, which is administered by the Mayor’s office.

The available grants, from 2500 to 10K are available to non-profit organizations for projects that improve and impact a neighborhood.

Elsbernd gave an example of such as project, the restored green area in Westwood Park off of Miramar. A condition of the grant process is that the applicants have to “match” the monies received with “volunteer hours” to help perform the work. Any group interested in applying for a grant can contact Elsbernd’s office for more details and the application forms.

Next came SF’s finest, from the Taraval station to give a short, but important report. It seems that there has been a rash of burglaries in the area, so the officers communicated to keep and eye out for, and report, any suspicious people to the police department. A story followed about several people being seen by a person “across the street” as they carried items from a house in Midtown Terrace, putting the items in a car and driving off. The police were called and the car was stopped. Since the witness was not close enough to actually see the culprits go into the house to remove the items, the people could not be charged with burglary, but just possession of stolen property. When asked what to do if someone sees a person breaking into a house, Office Shanahan explained to call 911 and not to take action on your own, as many burglars have weapons or tools that could be used to injure or kill someone who confronts them.

Following this discussion, a motion was forwarded and approved to have District Attorney Kamala Harris speak at a future meeting to help explain the parameters of how her department decides to charge, or not to charge, arrested individuals with the crimes they have been arrested for.

Next, Matt Chamberlain addressed the group, updating the progress of the CAB working on the 2009 Housing Element. Chamberlain detailed how the CAB has completed their work, and that a draft is being prepared for review and further discussion, with an eye on approving the 2009 Element in July.

A spirited discussion followed concerning the proposed changes that are being considered to change the Discretionary Review Process for planning. Currently the reviews are heard by the Planning Commission but changes are being studied that would move the review process from the Commission to a “Hearing Officer.” After much debate, a motion was passed to send a letter to: Support the improvement of the process of how the Design Review Committee handles cases; Strengthen the Pre-Application process; and to formally oppose the “One person Hearing Officer” solution. The motion passed unanimously. With that, the preliminary “bouts” were over and it was time for the “main event,” that being a chance for the audience to meet, listen to, and ask questions of Board President Chiu.

Following a brief overview of his Harvard education, and experience working in Senator Paul Simon’s office, Chiu explained the basics for why he chose to run for Supervisor. He cited the City’s high homicide rate, the fact that MUNI is late 30% of the time; the small business sector is getting little or no support; and the fact there is lots of crime in the Polk Street corridor where he lives. Coupled with his neighborhood activism, he felt that now is the time to run and that City Hall needs to change its tone.

Chiu went on to describe his surprise at being elected President of the Board, explaining that if the current Board was not so dysfunctional and wrapped up in ideological strife he wouldn’t have been tabbed to be the leader, but it would have been a more experienced person like Elsbernd.

Over the course of the next 15 minutes, he spoke on the huge budget shortfall, the significant service cuts, the difficulty in trying to protect the core city services while trying to determine what is crucial and merely nice to have.

As he stood in the front of the room and took questions he admitted that he had only been on the job 6 weeks, and was not well informed in all areas of questions that were being asked, most significantly those related to the PUC and the upcoming water rate increases, although he agreed with the majority of those in attendance that the tiered water bill rate structure was inherently unfair to home owners and families, as they are “punished” for their water use, unlike most renters who are generally on a flat rate paid to the landlord, regardless of actual consumption.

While addressing other topics such as Laguna Honda “It’s a big challenge and somewhat of a financial sinkhole; we are the only city in the country that is running this type of a facility,” the upcoming “Special Election,” or the PUC contracts to supply water to the Peninsula water organizations, it was evident that the Board President is intelligent and committed to trying to make a difference. Time will tell how successful he will be.

The next meeting will be on Monday, March 23rd at 7:30 in the Forest Hill Clubhouse.

March 2009

November 24, 2008

The West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WOTPCC) meeting on Monday, November 24th was host to a smaller crowd than normal, probably due to it being Thanksgiving week, but those who attended came away with important information on the SF Housing Element citizens board update, the “state” of the city’s bond financing structure during these chaotic financial times, and the tough times that the city faces in both this year and next in trying to achieve a balanced spending plan.

POLICE REPORT

Following the opening of the meeting, the approval of the minutes from October, and the Treasurer’s report, SF Police Sgt. Judy Riggle gave an update from the Taraval Station. While not having a great deal to discuss with the audience, she spoke of the Holiday season and an expected increase in vehicle break-ins, as people go shopping and leave packages in plain sight. This makes for a tempting prize for would be a break-in artist. Another problem that the police have is not everyone reports vehicle break-ins, so the citywide figures are not as accurate as they could be.

Sgt. Riggle said that vehicle break-ins are a problem throughout the city and stressed how important it is for anyone who experiences a robbery to take the time to fill out a report. In this way the true number of crimes can be tallied and a more accurate scope can be detailed for response planning. Riggle went on to discuss how the SFPD is using several “plain clothed” officers in cars to step up the fight against the graffiti that has plagued the West Portal and Ocean Avenue corridors lately. As we have reported before, a key is to have the owners clean up graffiti as soon as possible after an occurance.

PLAYGROUNDS

Supervisor Sean Elsbernd then addressed the room with both good and painful news. On the good side he announced that ribbon cuttings had occurred on two new playgrounds, Upper Serra playground in Lakeside and the JP Murphy playground in Forest Hills. He described both parks as “great toddler playgrounds” after their renovations.

LAGUNA HONDA LAYOFFS-DEFICIT

On the painful side, the Supervisor spoke about probable upcoming layoffs at Laguna Honda. The patient census has slipped to 800, while the staffing level has remained at a size to handle a caseload of 1000 patients. He said that the city couldn’t support this difference, so layoffs will be announced in Dec, not just as Laguna Honda, but also throughout city staff.

Elsbernd went on to say that according to the city charter, SF must finish the fiscal year (June 30) at “even” with no deficit. Currently, the city controller’s office estimates that the city is approximately $100M over budget and the outlook for the 2009 fiscal year is also bleak as the deficit could be as great as $300M. When questioned about the number of staff cuts, the Supervisor said that he didn’t have exact numbers, but thought that as many as 300 staff positions could be lost.

2009 HOUSING ELEMENT

Matt Chamberlain gave an update to the group about the work that is being conducted to draft the 2009 Housing Element document. The HE defines the “general plan” for housing in the city and is used by the city government to incorporate the feedback of the citizens into the project planning and approval process.

Chamberlain is serving as a citizen representative on the Community Advisory Body to the 2009 Housing Element and has compiled extensive notes on the meetings. He listed a 4 point “call to action” that citizens should consider if they want to have an impact on the final draft. His notes can be found on the WOTPCC website at www.WestOfTwinPeaks.org.

FINANCIAL CRISIS

The featured speaker for the evening was Ms. Nadia Sesay, the Director of Public Finance for the City. She administers the city’s debt portfolio by evaluating the bond markets and adjusting the city’s bond strategies to achieve the highest return for the lowest expenditures. Needless to say, in the current financial market she has become very busy.

Sesay stated that in this current market crisis, San Francisco is fortunate as they have followed a conservative stance in their portfolio and as a result have maintained a “Double A” rating. Her focus is trying to reduce the city’s exposure for long-term debt, and she said that the city is looking to propose some short-term interim financing at 1-2% for a period of 12-18 months to pay down the debt balance while the short-term rates are so favorable (versus a budgeted 6%).

When asked if the current market crisis and credit crunch has impacted the Capital Planning and Expenditure process, Sesay said that capital planning projects are moving forward with no slowdown, and that there is no foreseeable impact to homeowner’s tax base for 2008-09, but that an impact could occur as early as 2009-10.

99 WEST PORTAL

In other action, Avrum Shepard brought a motion to the floor to have the WOTPCC draft a letter opposing the Conditional Use permit for 99 West Portal Avenue. The owner of the building has asked for a CU permit to redevelop former retail space into dental operating rooms. As discussion focused on the importance of having small retail shops continue to be located on West Portal Avenue, the group passed the motion to oppose the permit by a unanimous vote.

The next meeting of the WOTPCC will occur on Monday, January 26th at the Forest Hills Community Club House at 7:30 PM.

December 2008