Next Meeting – January 31
Potrero Hill Neighborhood House
953 DeHaro Street (at Southern Heights)

6:45 pm Social
7:00 pm Business Meeting
Introductions / Welcome to New Members
Police Report
7:25 pm Neighborhood Issues
“Interim Controls” from the Planning Dept.
Potrero Hill Playground Survey
Potrero HIll Schools Update
8:05 pm Break
8:15 pm Daggett Triangle development update

President’s Message

Public Hearing ALERTS
Depending on your point of view, next week has given us in the neighborhood a number of, shall we say, opportunities to join the public discourse, or if you prefer, cases where we better speak up at City Hall or we’re gonna get ripped off. It all depends on how you look at it.

ALERT #1
The Entertainment Commission
Monday, January 30, 5 pm, City Hall Room 400
Remember the Rolling Stones concert last November, heard loud and clear whether you were at SBC Park or not? Remember how the Entertainment Commission promised that the volume problems would be fixed by Tuesday, and they weren’t? The Entertainment Commission is finally holding a special hearing about their handling of the concert’s sound permits Monday at 5 p.m. in Room 400, City Hall. We’re told that “representatives from the Giants, the Police Department and the City Attorney’s office will be there to discuss the issue and what steps have been taken to ensure noise levels don’t exceed permitted levels in the future.”

It’s really important to show up in person at hearings like this, live bodies are more forceful than cards and letters; and the entertainment commission has already gained a reputation for ignoring neighborhood concerns.

ALERT #2
SF Refuse Ratepayer Advocate
Wednesday, February 1, 1-4.30 pm, City Hall Room 408
Garbage collection rates that Norcal (Sunset Scavenger) charges to residents of San Francisco must be approved by the City. The rate application is reviewed and analyzed by City staff and consultants, and a series of public workshops and hearings are held.

Currently, Norcal is requesting a 38% increase in garbage rates over five years.

Public input during this process is extremely important.
The Refuse Ratepayer Advocate position was created in order to ensure that San Francisco ratepayers are fairly represented during the rate application process to answer your questions as a ratepayer and to coordinate presentation of our concerns at public workshops and hearings. The Advocate’s role is to analyze the rate application and relevant reports, disseminate information to ratepayers, assist the City in public outreach, and represent ratepayers at public meetings.

Based on earlier public review, Norcal has already reduced the proposed rate increase slightly – by about 2% to 3% over the 5-yr period depending on the alternative considered. The proposed rate increase went down during the first year by about 4% to 5%, so the increase is somewhat more gradual. Keep up the pressure!

The final public workshop to discuss the rate application is set for Wednesday, February 1, from 1 to 4.30 pm in Room 408 of City Hall. If you want a copy of the final rate application, please contact Linda@SFRefuseRatepayerAdvocate.com.

ALERT #3
Fake ‘Interim Controls’ at the Planning Commission
Thursday, February 16, 1.30 pm, City Hall Room 400
The Planning Department’s efforts to implement community-based planning in the Eastern Neighborhoods, including Showplace Square/Lower Potrero Hill and the Central Waterfront, have been stalled in an Environmental Impact Report process for nearly two years now. Interim controls for the areas prepared by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell’s office have expired, so new interim controls are necessary while the re-zoning process is completed.

However, the Planning Department staff has proposed a dangerously vague and ill-considered set of interim controls, and the Planning Commission is set to consider them on February 16 without any interest in community input or response. If you read the proposed controls, it’s easy to see why some developers and their friends at Planning would prefer to rush them through. We’ll discuss the proposed controls more at Tuesday’s Boosters meeting, and we’ll work on bringing more public pressure on the Planning Department to complete community-based planning with the community.

Congratulations to Daniel Webster and Starr King Schools, Shame on the SFUSD for closing Maxwell
After another year of clumsy outreach efforts and ignorant planning, the SF Unified School District chose once again to close schools on the eastern side of the City. In a stunning example of neighborhood organization and local pride, Potrero Hill parents – many without kids old enough to be in school – banded together to save Daniel Webster Elementary and Starr King Elementary Schools from the proposed closure/merger list. Their campaign attracted city-wide attention, and special notices from the Board of Education. Congratulations to them for their truly special effort!

(In a different vote, the Board of Education responded to neighborhood public pressure with head-slapping ignorance: after hearing numerous complaints about the wisdom of merging Enola Maxwell Middle School with the International Studies Academy High School, the Board decided to move ISA to Maxwell . . . and close Maxwell Middle School at the end of this year, with no public process or community input whatsoever.)

The Potrero Hill parents behind the saving of the elementary schools are already planning next steps for supporting neighborhood public schools. Those steps are likely to include:

• A victory party for current and future Webster and Starr King staff and families, Potrero residents and merchants
• Volunteers in the classroom (these teachers work long hours and could use help so more of their time is spent on the students)
• Program research and development

To join the Potrero Hill Parents’ Association efforts to improve our neighborhood schools, contact them through their website, www.savewebster.com.

Congratulations to the Green Trust
Dogpatch Neighborhood Association, working closely with some good-citizen developers, the Neighborhood Parks Council, and city agencies, launched the GreenTrust earlier this month. They are hosting a “post-launch” organizing/dinner meeting at 6:30 PM on Thursday, February 9, at 2255 Third Street. The focus of the meeting will be to name a temporary steering committee, and chart out their next steps. Congratulations to them for starting a new and important planning process. Get involved with them if you can, and soon you can check out their new web site (designed by Booster Ralph Wilson), www.greentrustsf.org.