[Sustain] Draft 2 - SFGP Parks Anti Privatization Plank

[Eric Brooks]

Hi all,

I've finally taken most of your comments and incorporated them into the 
Parks platform.

See the attached word document, or below after 'Here is the Platform'

Please suggest any further proposed amendments soon so that I can try to 
work them in before tonight's meeting.

A few things I left unchanged.

1) Pierre's request that we allow fees for use impacts. While I agree 
with doing this for large events (and added this) for smaller scale uses 
it becomes a sort of regressive tax. Remember that many people use 
public places and facilities because they cannot afford to spend money 
as wealthier people do on paid activities. So, since the wealthy have 
created a situation in the first place where they have highly disparate 
undue paid access to a huge amount of what ought to be public 
right-of-way and activity, it makes sense for us to redistribute wealth 
from them to our public places through increased taxes going to the 
general fund.

2) Public process. I agree there are big issues, but I think we should 
hash those nuances out in a live meeting, and likely in a larger 
discussion on vastly improved public access to City decision making in 
general, not just around Rec & Park

3) Industrial spaces defined. We can probably get this from City code. I 
just didn't have enough time to look it up.

4) I left the 50-50 nonprofit-donation vs City inputs as is, however I 
am personally very open to cutting the portion from nonprofits down even 
further, and I also favor banning it at times, -especially- in the cases 
of the Botanical and Zoological societies. Let's kick this around more 
at the meeting tonight.

5) Listing and describing specific positions we have taken on specific 
cases. Good to add, I just didn't have time to do so; and I'd like to 
delegate that task to someone else... ;)

6) I didn't add the term 'mandatory' fees because of a change I made 
higher up in the doc about nonprofits charging donations for expenses, 
and also because the section in question was specifically barring 
-excess- fees that would go to the City or Rec & Park

7) I didn't add specific language on food cart size because the other 
changes I made around allowing small local business, tangentially cover 
that (by removing all profit motive to the Department) but we still 
could specifically limit cart sizes in specific types of places - let's 
discuss tonight.

8) On supporting the City charter calling for votes on industrial 
facilities in public places, I personally worry that opening such stuff 
to public votes could actually make the situation worse because private 
actors have so much freedom to buy ballot elections, so I'm thinking we 
should just stick with a ban, and then if some unforeseen use is badly 
needed, Supes, the Mayor or the public can do the work proactively to 
get a measure put on the ballot for it.

Ok - Here is the Platform:

SFGP Policy Platform: Public Parks, Recreation Properties, Commons & 
Open Space

I. Opposes the sale or transfer of any public park, recreation 
properties, commons, or open space to private ownership, and supports 
the progressive transfer of private land and facilities to become public 
park and recreation property, wild open space, public gardens, and 
public commons to the greatest extent possible in San Francisco

II. Opposes any fees charged to any person for access to, or use of, 
public parks, recreation areas, commons, open space, or public 
recreational facilities; which should all instead be paid for via San 
Francisco's general fund; with the exceptions that 1) special large 
performance events which occur once per year or less frequently may 
charge for entry and may reimburse the City for (and only for) added 
expense necessary to police, maintain and restore public areas during 
and after the event; and 2) sports and other not-for-profit activity 
leagues, clubs or associations may charge fees sufficient to cover their 
own expenses

III. Opposes the operation of any business or nonprofit in public parks, 
recreation areas and commons, in which the City receives a part of the 
profits of those operations above and beyond what is necessary to 
maintain the operations themselves and mitigate their impacts on City 
property

IV. Supports a complete ban on formula retail establishments in public 
parks, recreation areas, commons, or open space; only non-formula local 
retail should allowed in any public spaces, and only with the assurance 
that their presence is only for enhancement of the experience of public 
spaces (with no profits going to the City as indicated in point III.)

V. Opposes the management of any public park, recreation area, commons, 
or open space, by a for-profit private corporation or partnership; and 
insists that any outside nonprofit management should be strictly hired 
by contract with the City, with no ongoing funds provided /to /the City 
by the nonprofit managers, and with one-time donated funds or expenses 
for capital improvements provided by a nonprofit for a space or facility 
which it manages being at least equally shared by the City (as noted in 
point IX.)

VI. Opposes the leasing or renting of any part of a public park, 
recreation area, recreational facility, commons, or open space to any 
person, private club, or for-profit corporation or partnership; such 
parks, areas, facilities and commons, should be perpetually open and 
free for public use; and the SFGP favors sign-up/waiting lists on a 
first-come first-serve basis as a better method of equitably allocating 
use of public spaces and activity facilities, with stipulation that City 
staff will allocate uses judiciously with overall public good as its top 
priority

VII. Opposes the use of fees on any private business or non-profit 
activity in public parks, recreation areas, recreational facilities 
commons, or open space, in order to gain operating or capital funds for 
the City, or the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, its 
facilities, or operations

VIII. Opposes the placement of industrial facilities of any kind in 
public parks, recreation areas, commons, or open space

IX. Supports the requirement that no private donation of funds, 
construction, recreational facilities, equipment, or ongoing 
facility/equipment maintenance, may be made to City and County of San 
Francisco public parks, recreation areas, commons, or open space, unless 
the City and County matches or exceeds each such donation in kind and 
value; and that such donations may only be made after very thorough 
public input on how any given section or facility of San Francisco 
public parks, recreation areas commons, or open space should be used 
toward the common good of the community

X. Supports a complete ban on the use of chemical pesticides or 
fertilizers in public parks and wild areas, and supports a ban on the 
use of artificial turf and other infrastructure that may have toxic and 
or environmentally degrading impacts on public spaces

XI. Supports changes in the appointment process to the Rec & Parks 
Commission such that at least one half or more of its voting members are 
either 1) appointed by the Board of Supervisors or 2) elected by San 
Francisco voters, with 11 members, each being elected by Supervisorial 
district


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