Potrero Hill Neighborhood House
953 De Haro St. (at Southern Heights)
6:45 PM Social
7:00 PM Business Meeting
7:55 PM Break
8:05 PM Piers 27-31: Citizens to Save the Waterfront; Showplace Square Zoning / Interim Controls report
9:00 PM Adjourn
by Tony Kelly, President
Reminder: Vote NO on Prop J on March 2!
During the month of February the Boosters are out on the streets of Potrero Hill, distributing voter information about Proposition J and information about the Boosters' good works in the neighborhood. It's a small membership drive that also seeks to do the right thing for the City on March 2. Come visit our table when you see it, and pass the word to your friends and neighbors!
Proposition J seeks to throw out the City's Better Neighborhoods community-based planning program on the Central Waterfront, in favor of yet another generation of higher and denser housing that makes developers happy and neighborhoods less livable.
Many working people desperately need affordable housing in the city. Proposition J insults them, and every neighborhood in San Francisco, by seeking to build ‘affordable' housing that isn't affordable. 83% of San Francisco's workforce teachers, nurses, firefighters, construction workers, office and retail workers, hotel and restaurant employees can't afford the ‘workforce' condos that Proposition J seeks to build. And most of Proposition J's housing will cost MORE than that. Proposition J is a phony solution to a real problem.
Vote NO on Proposition J, and stop by a Boosters information table in February to get more information for your friends and neighbors!
Executive Committee Nominations
In the past year the Executive Committee of the Boosters has stepped up to make the Boosters more visible in the neighborhood, and to make the neighborhood more visible in the City.
We have updated bylaws for cleaner and more modern operations, and a cleaner membership roster.
We have a regular calendar of social events, bringing back the holiday party and sponsoring Potrero Hill History Night. We're starting a regular membership drive and a welcome wagon for new Hill residents.
We're continuing our leadership and representation on a number of City issues that affect the Hill, like the coming power plants, parks and city services improvements, and a host of planning and land-use concerns.
There's much more to come in the future, as the membership of the Boosters grows, and as the City looks to its southeast neighborhoods to solve more and more of its problems.
We've learned the hard way that when it comes to city planning and environmental issues, no one looks out for us like we can. That's why we need the Boosters, and why the Boosters needs active members and leaders. We can't do as much as we do without volunteers like Ralph Wilson, who edits this newsletter, and Cort Dugan, who maintains our web site. (Look for improvements on both of these fronts in the next few months.) Many other volunteers, like former Executive Committee members John DeCastro, Joe Boss, and Kepa Askenazy, also served the neighborhood well on specific issues. I bring all this up because it's time for Executive Committee nominations for the coming year. We do have a couple of folks leaving the Committee, and we are always looking for new active members to join the Booster leadership. If you have been a Booster for more than a year, and you are interested in becoming a member of the Booster Executive Committee please contact me or Dick Millet our contact information is on the back of this newsletter.
Thanks for helping us continue to make the Hill a better place to live!
by Ralph Wilson
If you've ever explored the old Bethlehem shipyard site at the east end of 20th Street, you've noticed the magnificent old brick machine shop building on the south side of the street, as well as the beautiful terra cotta colored office building across the street. In the next few weeks, after over 120 years of use for shipbuilding and ship repair, these buildings will be “mothballed” due to seismic safety issues. SF Drydock, which leases part of Pier 70 for ship repair, has been removing its equipment for use in other buildings.
Although exempt from the law that required unreinforced masonry buildings owned by the City to be closed by January 2004, the Port decided to end the lease of the buildings and mothball them until viable plans are in place to retrofit and develop them.
These priceless historical buildings have serious maintenance problems as well as seismic ones. Broken windows and leaky roofs are taking a toll. The Port has not found the money to keep them in shape. A big challenge is how to protect them from vandalism while they're mothballed.
The closure of these great buildings is a time to remember the industrial and labor history of our city and neighborhood, and to prioritize the search for great new uses for the historic resources of Pier 70. I've created a new Web site with photographs and text about Pier 70 at www.pier70sf.org. Please take a look!
Compiled by Dick Millet
BLDG PERMIT APPLICATION #2003.12152314: 666 RHODE ISLAND/19th Sts. Proposed 20 sq ft 2nd story expansion and interior remodeling, no height and rear yard changes, in an RH-2, 40-X zone. Contact: Julian Banales, Planner, ph: 558-6339.
BLDG PERMIT APPLICATION #2003.10076868: 719 CAROLINA/20th Sts. Proposed to build rear addition over 2-story over garage, no building height or rear yard changes in an RH-2, 40-X zone. Contact: Ben Fu, Planner, ph: 558-6613.
BLDG PERMIT APPLICATION #2003.10238341: 724 SAN BRUNO/19th Sts. Proposed to remove existing rear stairs and construct 2 decks, a walkway and spiral stair in the rear yard in an RH-2, 40X zone. Contact: Christine Louie, Planner, ph: 558-6697.
BLDG PERMIT APPLICATION #2003.11059460: 407 CONNECTICUT/19th Sts. Proposed 225 sq ft 3rd floor dormer addition, interior remodeling and 293 sq ft garage enlargement in an RH-2, 40-X zone. Contact: Kate McGee, Planner, ph: 558-6367. BLDG PERMIT APPLICATION #2003.10292003: 949 RHODE ISLAND/Southern Heights Sts. Proposed 4th floor rear addition & rear stairs. Construc-tion raises ht to 36 ft at rear in an RH-3, 40-X zone. Contact: Susan Snyder, Planner, ph: 558-6543.