PAR is posting this on behalf of SF Ocean Edge for information purposes and because many PAR members have expressed an interest in this topic. PAR's postion can be read here.
TO ALL SUPPORTERS OF GOLDEN GATE PARK:
Recreation and Park Commission meeting
Thank you all for coming to the Recreation and Park Commission meeting yesterday! Our turnout was excellent – we matched all of the pro-soccer speakers in numbers (except for the soccer kids, who were truly very cute). This is a remarkable achievement, when you consider that the well-funded City Fields Foundation and the private soccer clubs have had a year to organize with paid staff, and we have had only a few months with our volunteers! Testimony on our side was intelligent, reasonable, diverse, and impassioned in support of preserving Golden Gate Park.
The Recreation and Park Commission ignored your arguments and approved the soccer fields project. Their stated reasons were that they have the money, and recreation is more important than park land. They painted the opposition (that’s us) as being resistant to change and closed-minded to community needs. This is the usual language that is employed when a developer wants to tear out something of value. It is unfortunate that the very commission charged with protecting our parkland does not understand what makes Golden Gate Park special.
Next steps
SF Ocean Edge and our partners will be appealing the Planning Department’s decision not to do an Environmental Impact Report to the Board of Supervisors within the next few weeks. We will be asking you to contact your supervisors once the appeal is filed, but for now, you should just enjoy the fact that you have done a great job in raising awareness of this destructive project. Keep talking to your friends and neighbors about the damage that this project will do and the need to protect our open parkland. Our battle is not done!
Funding needed
Good legal representation costs money. Please consider making a donation to help fund the appeal. Any amount is welcome!
Make check payable to the Sunset neighborhood organization SPEAK.
Write on the check: Contribution for Golden Gate Park legal fund
Be sure to print your name and address clearly on the check. Extra funds will be returned when they are no longer needed. Please include a phone number or e-mail.
Mail to:
SF Ocean Edge
c/o 1243 42nd Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122
Again, thank you for your letters and a special thanks to those of you who took the time from your busy days to come to City Hall and make your concerns known! Keep telling your friends about this project and the destruction of Golden Gate park.
SF Ocean Edge
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