[Sustain] Peskin Becoming A Menace - Preparing To Make Deal On Parking

[Eric Brooks]

Hey all,

Any of you with any influence on Peskin should tell him to get the hell 
back in the progressive camp, or we will campaign against him if he runs 
for higher office.

In the latest of a long string of betrayals, Peskin is preparing to make 
a compromise on parking. see below or 
http://www.examiner.com/printa-865822~Opponents_ask_for_space_on_S.F._parking_issue.html?cid=tool-print-top

Opponents ask for space on S.F. parking issue
A possible compromise would bring an end to a controversial parking 
initiative slated for the November ballot. 
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possible compromise would bring an end to a controversial parking 
initiative slated for the November ballot.','pp')>
(Examiner file photo)
A possible compromise would bring an end to a controversial parking 
initiative slated for the November ballot.

Alexandria Rocha, The Examiner
2007-08-06 16:10:00.0
Current rank: # *10* of 7,004

SAN FRANCISCO -

A controversial parking initiative slated for the November ballot may be 
left by the wayside, as a proposed deal between opposing forces could 
leave the measure with little financial and political support.

Weekend negotiations between downtown business-interest groups, transit 
advocates and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin produced a 
possible compromise that would derail a November measure to increase The 
City's parking supply and, at the same time, fuel support for a separate 
Muni reform initiative.

While it's too late to make changes to either initiative, both of which 
will appear on the November ballot, transit advocates have asked backers 
of the parking initiative to withdraw support from the measure. In 
exchange, they will support a third initiative on the February ballot 
that would help increase parking throughout The City, but with greater 
restrictions than the current measure.

"This is predicated on them no longer running a campaign," Peskin said. 
"It's 'yes' on Muni reform, 'no' on adding 100,000 cars to a city that 
already has half a million, and 'yes' to a sensible parking policy in 
February."

The neighborhood parking initiative, backed by downtown businesses, 
would loosen parking restrictions and allow developers to build parking 
garages with little planning oversight. Transit advocates claim the 
measure would reverse decades of transit-first planning guidelines.

If backers agree to withdraw support of the November parking measure, 
Peskin said he is ready to introduce a measure for the February ballot 
as early as today.

However, Jim Ross, a consultant for the parking initiative, said Sunday 
that the campaign for the November parking initiative is still moving 
forward. "That may change next week," he said. "But as far as I know, 
there's no compromise or deal."

Peskin's Sensible Parking Initiative for the February ballot would allow 
developers to build one parking space for each new unit in the Marina, 
Sunset, Richmond and Outer Mission neighborhoods. Specific neighborhood 
plans designed around public transit, such as the Balboa Park plan, 
could apply for an exemption from the one-to-one requirement.

The February measure would retain the current parking restrictions 
downtown, while allowing developers to build one or more parking garages 
with a total of 1,500 new parking spaces in the South of Market 
neighborhood, according to Peskin, specifically the area bordered by 
Townsend Street in the southeast, 10th Street in the southwest, Howard 
Street in the northwest, and Sixth Street in the northeast.

"What this compromise would do is allow us to make real progress on Muni 
and add a moderate amount of parking in appropriate places," said 
Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of the San Francisco Planning and 
Urban Research association, a local think tank.

arocha at examiner.com <mailto:arocha at examiner.com>

Examiner

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