Response to the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association Questionnaire

1) The current proposal for the U.C. Berkeley Extension property, a 6-acre site located between Laguna, Haight, Buchanan and Hermann streets, calls for the development of 500 housing units, with 80-88% market-rate rentals and the remainder income-restricted rentals. Market-rate rentals that are not subject to rent control often have a high rate of turnover, attracting transient renters who are looking for a “temporary” home. On the other hand, “affordable” housing tenants tend to remain in their apartments for many years. Do you believe the proposed amount of affordable housing is appropriate? Further, do you believe that housing on this site should be entirely rental? If not, what will you do to negotiate housing opportunities for a wider mix of income levels or home ownership on the U.C. Extension property?
Your question doesn’t mention the fact that the UC proposal calls for 500 units on that parcel[Oops, you do mention the 500 units!], which is completely unacceptable. Actually, I don’t think the property should be used for housing at all. I like Warren Dewar’s idea of turning it into a park, which the already densely-populated neighborhood needs a lot more than 500 units of mostly market-rate housing.

2) The Park and Rec Department seems particularly hard hit with layoffs and cutbacks.
There will be a new director for Parks and Rec who will have to deal with these challenges. Explain how you will select and support this new director with these specific issues in mind: Voters repeatedly approve capital improvements funding for parks showing their support, but then the city cuts maintenance resulting in rapid deterioration of parks (in our community, the focal Koshland Park is one such example). What is your commitment to adequate maintenance budgets? What is your target level of financial support for parks (vs. current actual levels)? Another mission of Parks and Rec is children's programs. These have also seen severe cutbacks resulting in kids with little outlet for productive expression. The result is detrimental to the children and the community. The Western Addition, including Hayes Valley, is especially hard hit with its high concentration of at-risk children. How are you going to support Park and Rec restoring these programs?
Koshland Park has been turned into a playground for children, not a park. Children need real parks---trees and grass---more than they need “programs.”

3) Part of the purpose of the recent chain store legislation spearheaded by Hayes Valley
Neighborhood Association is that it will help to preserve San Francisco's cultural and architectural heritage from being replaced by the "formula" architecture and interiors of large national chain stores. There is also sentiment in Hayes Valley in favor of designating certain parts of the neighborhood as historic districts as a way of preserving neighborhood character. What is your position on Historic and Architectural preservation?
I support preservation, beginning with preserving the UC extension property for use as a park, not for a commercial housing project.

4) The replacement of the elevated Central Freeway with the Octavia Boulevard presents an opportunity for Hayes Valley to balance automobile traffic with other modes of travel, including public transit, walking and bicycling. What measures do you recommend implementing that would limit auto congestion and encourage the creation of a pedestrian-oriented community where residents can shop within walking distance of their homes?
We congratulate ourselves for getting rid of the freeway, but I’m afraid what we’re going to get afterward will be worse. Making Octavia Blvd. into a 6-lane traffic conduit may turn out to have been a big mistake. It may now be inherently pedestrian- and bicycle-unfriendly, especially if traffic lights aren’t placed at the intersections.

5) Define “Community Policing” in three sentences or less. How many times in the last year have you attended the Northern District Police/Community Relations Forum?
Didn’t you notice me at all those meetings with my videocam at the back of the room? This is a “gotcha” question and unworthy of a serious questionnaire. I didn’t attend these meetings, because I’m a normal working person with three jobs and limited time and/or inclination to go to meetings. Now, if I’m elected supervisor, it will be my job to go to meetings, and I’ll be happy to do it.

6) The Market/Octavia Plan creates a blueprint for a high-density, pedestrian-oriented, urban neighborhood where owning a car is a choice rather than a necessity. Please describe the elements of this Plan that you consider most important in determining the success of the Hayes Valley neighborhood. Please also identify any elements you think should be changed, and explain why.
I’m afraid the Market/Octavia plan mostly creates a windfall for developers, allowing them to build high-density structures without providing adequate parking for the inevitable cars.

7) Name the key crime areas in the Hayes Valley area. Name some individuals, groups, and community based organizations located in the Hayes Valley area that are currently working on reducing crime and improving the quality of life in our neighborhood.
Why do I have the feeling that you can name them? Another “gotcha” question (see answer to question #5).

8) Please comment in detail on the recently passed chain store legislation.
You kept Starbucks out of the neighborhood, which isn’t necessarily such a great victory. Starbucks isn’t a chain store; it’s a franchise operation that often tastefully uses old buildings, not exactly the same thing as a Wal-Mart. I wonder how many of those who opposed Starbucks also support the grotesque UC plan to put 500 units in a neighborhood that is already densely populated? Of course I oppose chain stores in the neighborhoods, but this neighborhood may be in the process of being destroyed by other forces, including the thousands of units projected for the old freeway property, along with the problematic idea of making Octavia into a 6-lane street.

9) The Octavia Boulevard Project includes the creation of a new neighborhood park on
Octavia Street, between Fell and Hayes. We expect this park to be an important gathering spot for the neighborhood and the performing arts community. The Octavia Boulevard Project does not include any funding for the maintenance of this park. The Recreation and Parks Department has no funding to maintain this park. How do you propose obtaining funding for the maintenance and upkeep of this very important park?
A small island in the middle of a freeway turnoff is not really much of a park. Your description may represent the triumph of hope over the eventual reality. In any event, if a “park” is eventually created there, of course there will be money to maintain it. The money shortage for the Parks Dept., like all the other city departments, is due to the current deficit. Once the economy picks up, money to maintain this and other parks will be available.

10) What is your position on green space as a requirement for any UC Extension development plan? Please provide as much detail as you can on what you feel adequate green space would be in this major site.
See answer to question #1

11) A payroll tax exemption has been proposed for biotech companies while existing small businesses have recently been saddled with a new gross receipts tax. Do you support an exemption for biotech companies? Why? Do you support the new gross receipts tax? Why? How do you propose to help independent, locally owned and operated businesses thrive in San Francisco?
I don’t know how realistic it is for the city to lure biotech companies here with a tax exemption. The dream is that that industry will be the engine that drives the next boom. Basing taxes on gross receipts seems just as reasonable as basing taxes on payroll, though it’s been many years since I’ve been a business owner, and even then my business never made enough money to make taxes a big worry. The best argument I’ve heard yet for Public Power is that it could radically lower utility costs for businesses, which are now crushing for, say, grocery stores with their freezers and refrigerators. But the best thing we can do for business in the neighborhoods is support the mayor and his Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness. It’s shocking how negligent the progressive community has been on the homeless issue, which is bad for both the homeless themselves and the business community. Another thing progressives could do to help business downtown: end the monthly Critical Mass travesty, which shows contempt for both downtown businesses and working people trying to get home.

12) In order for our commercial districts to thrive we need to encourage many more customers to visit our shopping areas than can arrive by personal automobile. What creative ideas do you have for encouraging shoppers to travel to shopping districts by walking, biking, public transit or taxi?
Cycling as a serious means of transportation has been oversold by the city’s bike people. Riding a bike in the city is always going to be more or less dangerous in a city that, according to the DMV, has 447,585 motorized vehicles. I wouldn’t consider riding a bike in SF myself. I use a Muni fast-pass and walk whenever practical. Let’s put it this way: rich people from Pacific Heights, for example, are not going to ride a bike or Muni to go shopping in your neighborhood. But, since the Big Meltdown of 1998, I think Muni has been steadily improving, the recent cuts in service notwithstanding. Nevertheless, we should make riding a bike as safe as we can and make Muni as safe, clean, and efficient as we can to allow people to move easily around the city.

13) When you become supervisor how do you propose to reduce crime and improve the
quality of life for residents who live within the H.V.N.A. boundaries? Please give specific examples.
When we talk about crime in the city, we are often talking about the behavior of young black men. This is a much more difficult problem than many of us want to admit. Many young black people grow up in a junk culture---the rap and hip-hop videos and music are mostly appalling---and junk food, along with a large dose of drugs and guns thrown in for bad measure. We’re probably lucky that there isn’t more crime in our neighborhoods. In any event, I like the “broken windows” approach---come down hard on the so-called minor violations, like drug dealing, graffiti, public drunkenness abandoned buildings, etc. I think there is such a thing as public morale, and that our political leaders are obligated to take care of incivility on all levels of life in the city. Mayor Newsom, fortunately, seems to understand this a lot better than many progressives do.

Turning the UC site into a large park would help the quality of life in your neighborhood. I’m really afraid the Octavia Blvd. development will be a hideous mistake for the quality of life in that neighborhood. The planned housing density on the old freeway land and turning Octavia into a 6-lane street is a risky venture. Have you noticed, too, how Octavia more or less peters out at Hayes St.? Where’s all that traffic going to go? I hope I’m wrong, but the whole thing looks rather implausible right now.

14) Our performing arts center often has performances that draw many more patrons than can be accommodated by personal automobile. What creative ideas do you have that would encourage patrons to use public transit? What other suggestions do you have for effectively transporting patrons to and from the performing arts center? Do you support the construction of additional parking garages, or the expansion of existing garages in the Civic Center vicinity?
Some people already take the bus to concerts in the Civic Center area; I’ve done it myself. Obviously, not many people are going to dress up and ride a bike to the opera or the symphony. We can only continue to make Muni an attractive way to travel. I’m reluctant to support more parking lots/garages in the city for fear that it will only encourage automobile use, which doesn’t solve the problem, admittedly. We have to admit that, when it comes to traffic in the city, there’s no free lunch. No matter what we do, some segment of the population is going to come up short.

15) Funding for the traffic calming/pedestrian safety portions of the Octavia Boulevard
Project's "ancillary projects" has been budgeted at $5 million. A large portion of this money will likely be spent on enhancing the livability of the South of Market neighborhood located near the touchdown ramp. This South of Market area will require a great number of amenities to maintain any reasonable quality of life.
Yes, it will. The poor South of Market bastards! Spending the majority of the "ancillary" project money on South of Market, leaves very little money to spend north of Market on traffic calming or on developing "living streets" on the alleyways crossing the Boulevard. Pedestrian safety and the enhancement of the livability of our alleyways are key elements to the success of the overall Octavia Boulevard Project. How do you propose funding these improvements?

How should I know? South of Market definitely needs and deserves the money the most, since we’ve moved the freeway ramp from our side of Market to theirs. As the economy recovers, I think the money will be there for what we need/want to do. All this red ink is temporary, more or less. The SF economy, like that of the country in general, has always been a boom and bust economy, ever since the Gold Rush in 1849, in fact. But, as I say above, I’m afraid our “livability” problems north of Market are going to be greater than many boosters and positive thinkers expect.