Noe Valley Town Square Clears Major Hurdle

The San Francisco Rec and Park Commission met today to consider (among other things) whether to endorse the purchase of the parking lot from the Noe Valley Ministry. Via Todd David:

I'm happy to report that the Rec and Park Commission unanimously voted today to recommend the purchase of the Noe Valley Town Square to the Board of Supervisors!!--(A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THE APPROXIMATELY 20 NOE VALLEY RESIDENTS WHO SPOKE IN SUPPORT OF THE TOWN SQUARE.)

The recommendation from the Rec and Park Commission is for the Board of Supervisors to approve $4,242,500 from the Open Space Fund for the purchase and remediation of the Noe Valley Ministry Parking lot (Noe Valley Ministry would receive $3.9 million and the additional $342,500 would be used for remediation of the lot that used to be a gas station.)

Earlier in the week, Supervisor Wiener introduced legislation that will allow the Board of Supervisors to act upon the Rec and Park Commission's recommendation--namely purchase the Noe Valley Town Square!

Next on the calendar for the Town Square is the Board of Supervisor's Budget and Finance Subcommittee on Wed May 22nd. And then a final vote by the full Board of Supes on June 4th.

In other news, RNVTS submitted its concept proposal for a Prop 84 Urban Greening Grant from the State of California. The concept proposal requests $722,916.00 for development of the Town Square. Rec and Park staff took the lead on this concept proposal and did an amazing job!

That's all the news for now. If you or your friends have not donated to the Town Square, now is great time to do so: http://noevalleytownsquare.com/pledge/.

The SF Examiner caught up with the story just prior to the hearing and added a few more details:

“The site has already clearly demonstrated its positive benefits,” said Rec and Park general manager Phil Ginsburg. David’s group has raised nearly $500,000 in donations to pay for amenity improvements at the location, and the residents’ organization and Rec and Park have applied for an additional $720,000 state grant.

The residents hope to add two play areas, a stage for musical performances, additional trees and a more permeable surface to replace the asphalt, David said. The farmers market will remain a centerpiece of the space.

Rec and Park hopes to acquire the lot by July 1, and until the funding arrives, it will act as an unimproved public open space, Ginsburg said.

Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose district includes the site, introduced legislation Tuesday that would enable the purchase.

“This has been a truly bottom-up, grass-roots effort led by community members in Noe Valley,” Wiener said. “Their ongoing commitment proves how much this neighborhood needs this park.”

[NVSF: Town Square: A Giant Leap Forward]
[NVSF: Noe Valley Town Square: Concepts]

Town Square: Update On Rec & Park Site Visit

Via Todd David:

On Wednesday, November 3, the Park and Rec Open Space Advisory Committee (PROSAC) met and discussed The Noe Valley Town Square Project.

Four members of Residents for Noe Valley Town Square attended the meeting--myself, Chris Keene (from Noe Valley Ministries), Erica Sweetman (from Noe Valley Farmers' Market), and Michael Powell (from Noe Valley Farmers' Market).

We made a 3 minute presentation to PROSAC and we submitted a letter strongly supporting the project from Supervisor Bevan Dufty.

PROSAC voted 11-1 to advise the Rec and Park Commission to utilize the Open Space Fund to purchase the property. However, the full PROSAC committee is 23 members and 12 affirmative votes are needed to officially endorse a project. All that being said, Residents for Noe Valley Town Square can still move forward and make a presentation to the Rec and Parks Commission explaining that only 12 PROSAC members were present at the November meeting and the vote to support the project was 11-1. And that is what we are planning on doing.

I want to thank District 8 PROSAC members Frank Triska and Jeanne McKinney for their unwavering support of the project. They have been strong advocates for the neighborhood. It is clear why Bevan Dufty appointed them to represent us.

NEXT STEPS

I don't know when we will be presenting to the Rec and Parks Commission. I will follow up with that important information ASAP.

This Thursday, November 11, I am meeting with Meredith Thomas (Executive Director of Neighborhood Parks Council) and Carlos Rivera (Manager of Circle Bank's 24th Street Location) to open an Escrow Account at Circle Bank for the Town Square. Once the details are worked out, I will send out an email explaining how you can contribute.

Thanks,
Todd David
Residents for Noe Valley Town Square

[NVSF: All Town Square Posts]

Agenda: Noe Valley Town Square Community Visioning Meeting

A reminder that there is an informational meeting this Thursday about the proposal to turn the parking lot hosting the farmer's market into permanent open space. Up to an hour will be dedicated to "community brainstorming." This meeting is sponsored by Friends of Noe Valley and facilitated by Meredith Thomas of the Neighborhood Parks Council. Here's the agenda forwarded to us by organizer Todd David (click the image to view):

What: Noe Valley Town Square Community Visioning Meeting
When: Thursday, July 15th, 6:30PM
Where: St. Philip's Church, 725 Diamond St.

[Agenda: Noe Valley Town Square Community Visioning Meeting - Google docs version]
[NVSF: Farmer's Market Parking Lot Edges Closer To Town Square Status]

Reader Rant: Dogs Need Places To Poo, Too

26th St @ Sanchez

Jenny writes:

I'm an avid reader of your blog and a Noe resident. In general, I love Noe Valley, but one of the things that drives me nuts are people believing that they "own" the sidewalk in front of their house and putting gates/fences around the very few green patches of earth, thus restricting their use. I am a dog owner, and there are literally so few places my dog can go to the restroom it's ridiculous. I, like most Noe dog owners, are responsible and ALWAYS pick up after their dogs. I think it's rude and perhaps illegal for people to be fencing off publicly owned property such as public green space. Tips? Advice? Any more info on the issue?