So far the sole District 8 supervisor candidate opting to open a campaign headquarters outside the Castro is Rebecca Prozan . She recently secured the storefront at 1195 Church Street, home to a former bead store, at the busy intersection of Church and 24th Street...[BAR: D8 candidates open campaign headquarters]
Tonight's town square community brainstorm wasn't nearly as well attended as past community meetings, but the turnout was decent for a warm summer night in July. And maybe because of the Tea Party antics at the June 30 gathering, there was a beat cop onsite and facilitator Meredith Thomas opened with a list of Ground Rules (We turn off cell phones; We stay on topic… etc). Everybody behaved and after a brief overview of the proposal, the meeting divided into brainstorming groups that reported back with ideas.Topline summary: The Neighborhood Parks Council is looking for some (any!) sign of consensus in Noe for a Town Square. And they got it. From the community brainstorm sessions, two themes emerged:
- Let's not put a building there
- Let's make it a community space
Beyond that, Noe Valleyans dreamed of an Italian piazza, a parking lot with green space, a skate park, a movie theater, a dog run, a playground, park benches, a duck pond, a farmer's market every day, a food pantry, a bandshell, a clubhouse… and everything in between.
Next steps: The San Francisco Neighborhood Parks Council and the city are having the NV Ministry parking lot land appraised – an estimate of the cost to buy the land from the current investors and Ministry will be revealed August 30. In the meantime, the ideas from and the temperature of this meeting will be considered by city planning. If there's a recommendation to move forward, alternative concepts would be presented to the community for more input.
[Image: St. Peter's Square, Vatican City]
Dear Noe Valleyans,
As we have mentioned previously, the intent of Pavement to Parks projects is to unite the community around trial public space improvements. The Noe Street Plaza has been quite a contentious proposal, much more so than any other Pavement to Parks project to date. Many in the community have advocated very strongly for a trial to proceed while many others feel uncomfortable with any type of trial street closure. There have been petitions for and petitions against the Noe Valley proposal. Both drives have secured hundreds of signatures.
We believed that with civil discourse and debate we could all eventually come together around a common proposal for Noe Valley. As most of you will probably agree, a consensus has been very difficult to attain.
While not an alternative to or part of Pavement to Parks, one of the ideas generated at an early community meeting - a public space at the Noe Valley Ministry parking lot - is now being discussed further and we are pleased to see this important conversation moving forward independent of Pavement to Parks.
We are excited to report that of all the different ideas talked about over the past few months, Parklets on 24th Street have gained the most support in Noe Valley (a survey at the June 30th workshop, for example, demonstrated 3 to 1 support for this proposal). Parklets do not affect traffic circulation and instead use two parking spaces to build out a deck for landscaping, tables and chairs, and other pedestrian elements (see sfpavementtoparks.sfplanning.org for images of Parklets in other parts of town). If all goes to plan, we would like to add two Parklets along 24th Street this Fall. We will be working with the merchant community to identify the most suitable locations but it is important to note that these spaces will be open and free to use by anyone. As in all Pavement to Parks projects, these Parklets will be trial and closely monitored for success. If they do not work out, they will be removed.
I would like to personally thank everyone for being so patient and for contributing to an important and productive community dialogue. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best,
Andres Power
sfpavementtoparks@sfgov.org
sfpavementtoparks.sfplanning.org
A favorite of hipsters and foodies, Blue Bottle Coffee is now available at Spin City Launderette & Coffee (26th and Sanchez). Originally opened as a coffee shop and laundromat, the coffee shop part of Spin City has been dark for years. A new sign in the window (and a bright blue paint job) announces the Grand Reopening last Saturday July 10.
From The Friends of Billy Goat Hill Park:Billy Goat Hill (BGH) was allocated $50,000 of the 2008 Clean & Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond to rebuild the lower park entrance and the trail leading to the big eucalyptus trees (and the swing) and the steps up to the top of the hill. The current trail is extremely steep and unusable by all but the most adventurous of us. These improvements should make a 'walk in the park' much easier and bring more kids and families out to see the wildflowers, native plants and butterflies and enjoy the great view. A public meeting is being held on Wednesday, July 14th at 6:30 in the Upper Noe Rec Center to present the plans for community input.What: Billy Goat Hill Community Meeting
[FOBGHP: Community Trail Planning Meeting - July 14th]
What: Noe Valley Town Square Community Visioning Meeting
