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<font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Note: On industrial
facilities, I'm assuming we are making a special exception in our
position to support the HANC recycling center in case it is
considered industrial, and we should codify that exception.</font><br>
<br>
Eric B<br>
<br>
On 4/27/2011 1:49 PM, Eric Brooks wrote:
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Hi all,<br>
<br>
I've finally taken most of your comments and incorporated them
into the Parks platform.<br>
<br>
See the attached word document, or below after 'Here is the
Platform'<br>
<br>
Please suggest any further proposed amendments soon so that I can
try to work them in before tonight's meeting.<br>
<br>
A few things I left unchanged.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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<br>
<br>
3) Industrial spaces defined. We can probably get this from City
code. I just didn't have enough time to look it up.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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... ;)<br>
<br>
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<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Ok - Here is the Platform:<br>
<p><span>SFGP Policy Platform: Public Parks, Recreation
Properties, Commons & Open Space<br>
<br>
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<br>
<br>
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<br>
<br>
</span><span>III</span><span>. 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<br>
<br>
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 </span><span>III</span><span>.)</span><span><br>
</span><span><br>
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 <i>to </i>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.)<br>
<br>
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<br>
<br>
</span><span>VII</span><span>. 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<br>
<br>
VIII. Opposes the placement of industrial facilities of any
kind in public parks, recreation areas, commons, or open space<br>
<br>
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<br>
<br>
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</span></p>
<p><span>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</span></p>
<br>
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