Thursday, December 15, 2005

Vote against greed and for public space

Below is the text of Warren Dewar's resolution that will be presented for a vote at the January 26 Meeting of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association at #7 Octavia Blvd. (at Waller & Market), 7:00 p.m. This is an opportunity for that neighborhood to oppose UC's attempt to cash in on property they have had tax-free from the city since the 1950s.

For some background on the UC proposal and the issues it raises, see some earlier posts:


PROPOSED RESOLUTION FOR CONSIDERATION
AT THE JANUARY, 2006 HVNA MEETING
WHEREAS, the 5.8 acre tract of property at 55 Laguna Street, known as the Laguna Campus Property, has a history of continuous public use exceeding 150 years; and,

WHEREAS, in the early 1850’s, The City of San Francisco gave $30,000 to the Protestant Orphan Asylum Society to initially purchase the land and to construct an orphanage which was completed in 1854; and,

WHEREAS, in 1921, The City of San Francisco abandoned Waller Street where it formerly ran through the property, so as to assist further in the continued public use of the property which was then owned by the San Francisco State Normal School (later becoming San Francisco State Teachers College, and eventually San Francisco State University); and,

WHEREAS, in the mid 1950’s the property was transferred to the Regents of the University of California, who continued using the property for educational purposes; and,

WHEREAS, the property, with its buildings, constitutes a resource of historic merit which should be preserved to the greatest extent possible; and,

WHEREAS, according to press reports, there are current proposals submitted to the City Planning Department for the construction of approximately 7,000 additional housing units within relative close proximity to the property which will increase dramatically the public’s need for additional property zoned for public use; and,

WHEREAS, the current owner of the property, The Regents of The University of California, submitted a proposal to the City Planning Department seeking to permanently end the public use zoning for this entire property, and to convert the entire property to a high-density private residential housing development, thus significantly reducing the property’s historic merit;

NOW, THEREFORE, The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, at its regularly-scheduled January, 2006 meeting of its members at which a majority of those present voted in favor of this resolution, hereby expresses its objection to the existing proposed project of the Regents, and urges the appropriate city agency to deny the requested change to the existing Public Use Zoning for the property under the current proposal.

SUBMITTED BY: Warren Dewar
137 Buchanan St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 626-2218
dewarlaw@msn.com

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