San Francisco Group - looking towards 2006

The San Francisco Group will begin the new year with an enlarged Executive Committee - four new members - and so training will be a big item on the 2006 agenda. Also, we will draw from the experiences of the Sierra Summit - for communications both within the Group and with the community at large. The Club's Board of Directors has determined Club national priorities for the next several years - we will look for ways to link local actions to these priorities.

Important issues for the new year include:

• recycling: the Sierra Club and other environmental groups will be measuring the success of the memorandum reached between City Hall and grocers on the reduction of plastic bag use;
• development on Piers 27 - 31: the exclusive development agreement between the Port of San Francisco and the Mills Corporation for these key waterfront piers will expire in March;
• Marina Harbor improvements: the Final Environmental Impact Statement for changes to this pier area adjacent to Fort Mason is due next year; the Group is concerned that the proposals by the Recreation and Parks Department are inappropriate for this site
• Doyle Drive: the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Doyle Drive replacement will be out by the end of 2005, with comments accepted until March 1; this project will impact several neighborhoods and the Presidio;
• Tennessee Hollow: the environmental community has requested a full-restoration alternative in the Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement to be released by the Presidio Trust; daylighting of this creek in our city's national park is an extraordinary opportunity for nature in our city;
• changes to parking requirements: will the Supervisors approve changes to reduce the parking built for new residential buildings in certain neighborhoods;
• Transbay Terminal: despite the landslide vote by city residents, San Francisco officials continue to drag their feet on rebuilding the Transbay Terminal and extending Caltrain to it, thus driving up project costs;
• trees: many city agencies manage San Francisco's trees, but some need to improve their performance;
• Natural Areas Program: the program's Management Plan will soon be ready for environmental review, and will be important for formalizing the future of the city's natural areas;
• open-space acquisition: the Recreation and Parks Department has money budgeted for acquiring open space, and it needs to spend it for that and not for developed space (e.g. buildings) as has sometimes happened in the past; sites with native flora should have priority;
• Treasure Island: the city is planning the redevelopment of Treasure and Yerba Buena Islands, and the Group is working to attain the maximum sustainability in the plans.

To get involved working on any of these issues, contact Group chair Becky Evans at (415) 775-3309 or email rebecae-at-earthlink.net or Group conservation chair Pinky Kushner at (415)731-9486 or email pinkkushner-at-netscape.net

Becky Evans