Issue 502 News at SPUR p3 Ocean Beach p4 New Board Members pI4 Urban Field Notes pIG Urban Drift pI8
o 04.11
SPUR•anlS
1,-0_4_,1_1__ 1 LETTER FROM THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Planning for disasters fast andslow
Sarah Karlinsky is
SPUR's deputy
director
2 Urbanist> April 2011
The past several weeks have been a turbulent time
for planet Earth. Just a few months after Christchurch,
New Zealand, suffered a 7.1 magnitude earthquake,a 6.3 quake rocked the city in late February, causing
close to 200 deaths and several billion dollars in damage. And then on March 11, a 9.0 magnitude quake
80 miles off the coast of Japan lead to an enormous
tsunami, killing thousands of people, destabilizing anuclear power plant and damaging billions of dollarsof property. The Japanese quake was the fourth larg
est in the world since 1900.
Japan and New Zealand are part of the Pacific Ring
of Fire, an active system of tectonic plates that formedmany of the world's volcanoes and still causes the
majority of its most serious earthquakes. The Ring
of Fire forms a horseshoe around the Pacific Ocean- which means it also includes the western coast of
North America.
That California sits within an earthquake-proneregion is hardly news. The United States Geological
Survey estimates that we have a 63 percent chance
of a major event occurring in the Bay Area in the next30 years. While we have done a great deal to plan
for the days and weeks following a major earthquake,
we have not done nearly enough to strengthen our
buildings and lifelines so that we can rebuild quickly.Our soft-story buildings remain vulnerable. Our
shelters need to be retrofitted. We need stronger utility
systems, safe bridges and train tunnels.The same ocean that touches the sand of Ocean
Beach is the one that inundated Japan during the
tsunami. We sit across from one another on thesame seismically active plate. While there are many
geological differences that separate us from Japan, wewould do well to learn from its successes. And from
its mistakes.
After the Kobe earthquake of 1995, Japan adoptedvery stringent building codes, leading to some of
the most seismically safe buildings in the world.The strength of the country's buildings undoubtedly
saved lives and will lead to an easier recovery. But
even Japan did not go far enough. The damage toits nuclear reactors shows what happens when not
enough attention is paid to the possible impacts of a
major disaster on vulnerable systems.Of course, there isn't just the "fast" disaster of
an earthquake to think about. There's also the slow
disaster of global warming and sea-level rise. Ocean
Beach is San irancisco's case study in the local
The same ocean that touchesthe sand of Ocean Beach isthe one that inundated Japanduring the tsunami. We sitacross from one another onthe same seismically activeplate. We would do well tolearn from Japan's successes.And from its mistakes.
impacts of climate change. Though most of us know
Ocean Beach as a place to have fun or enjoy nature,
critical lifelines are embedded there as well, includinga sewer trunk line and pumping station that provide
wastewater service to the western half of the city.
How should we plan for Ocean Beach when we
expect sea levels to rise 16 inches by 2050, and 55inches by 2100? What should we do when, as the re
sult of powerful storms, bluff tops along Ocean Beach
recede 40 feet, undermining the pavement of parkinglots and the shoulder of the Great Highway?
In this month's Urbanist, we share our latest think
ing about how to conduct a master planning processamidst enormous uncertainty. Not uncertainty about
whether the slow disaster of climate change will affectus - that question has been answered by the world's
brightest scientists. The questions facing us todayare: When will we see the major impacts of climate
change, and how bad will they be? Should we be
planning for the climate change impacts that affectonly us - or should we be thinking, too, about those
that our children and grandchildren will face?Ocean Beach is a small part of a very big world.
But that world is, quite literally, connected. It is con
nected by geology. It is connected by climate. And wewould do well to begin to plan now for the big moves
ahead in both.•
'">aU
April 2011
What we're doing
REDEVELOPMENT: FACING THE AXIn January, Gov. Brown proposed eliminatingredevelopment agencies in California as asolution to the state's budget crisis, putting intoquestion such projects as Treasure Island, theTransbay Terminal and the Hunters PointShipyard - not to mention a major portion ofthe state's funding for affordable housing. Theproposal has thrown the California planningcommunity into disarray; though the politicsare changing by the day, as of this writing itlooks like the state will abolish redevelopmentagencies. SPU R's efforts have focused ontrying to save what's good about redevelopment - the financing tools to undertake infilldevelopment, as well as the creation of affordable housing - while acknowledging thatredevelopment has been abused. We arealready turning our attention to what replacesredevelopment to enable critical projects tomove forward. Read Gabriel Metcalf's op-ed atbitly/gm-oped and then watch a debate on thefuture of redevelopment, co-hosted by SPU Rand the Bay Citizen, at bit.ly/spurdebate.
SHORT-TERM FUNDSSUSTAINING CALTRAINGood news on one of our
campaigns: it appears that MTC
has brokered an agreement to
provide operating funding for two
years of continued Caltrain
service. The solution, to shift
some capital funds into operating
subsidies and have the three
counties that support Caltrain
provide temporary funding, is
exactly what SPUR and others
had been asking for a short-term
fix that gives us time to get a
longer-term solution in place,
Now we must shift our focus to
the more permanent solution,
Caltrain needs a dedicated
funding source like BART has,
and it needs a governance
structure that will allow it tothrive. Even the short-term
funding for Caltrain needs critical
support. Interested in saving
Caltrain? Contact transporta
tion@spur,org.
SPUR APPOINTED TO BONDOVERSIGHT COMMITTEESPUR Good Government Policy
Director Corey Marshall was
appointed to the Citizens'
General Obligation BondOversight Committee (GOBOC)
this month. The committee is
charged with oversight of the
City's spending of general
obligation bond proceeds,
including such major capital
projects as the rebuilding of
Laguna Honda and General
Hospital, branch library improve
ments, and seismic retrofits of
the city's police and fire stations.
The committee also serves as a
Citizens Audit Review Board,
established under Proposition C
in 2003.
SUPERVISORS CONSIDERPAYROLL TAX EXCLUSIONFOR CENTRAL MARKETThe Board of Supervisors Budget
and Finance Committee
considered the proposed payroll
tax exclusion for jobs created inmid-Market on March 16. The
proposed exclusion would
exempt new jobs created in thedistrict from the City's payroll tax
for six years, in hopes ofstimulating development in an
area exceeding 30 percentvacancy, the highest in the city.
For-profit businesses with payroll
exceeding $250,000 currently
pay a payroll tax of 1. 5 percent.
While the news has focused on
the opportunity to keep Twitter in
San Francisco, SPUR has argued
that we should not be making
decisions based on individualfirms. What we like about this
proposal is that it targets the tax
break to an area that appears
unlikely to attract jobs without
the extra help.
GROWTH PROJECTIONS AREFIRST STEP TOWARDSUSTAINABILITY STRATEGYIn March, ABAG and MTC
released an initial "visionscenario" for the Bay Area, a first
step toward developing a
Sustainable Communities
Strategy, the core provision of
the state's smart growth law (SB
375). The scenario assumes 97
percent of new householdgrowth will be on existing
urbanized land as the Bay Areapopulation grows by 2 million (to
94 million) and employment
increases by 1.2 million (to 4.5million) by 2035, The scenario
also achieves a region-wide 12
percent per capita reduction ingreenhouse gases. This is short
of the statutory 15 percent per
capita goal set by the state's Air
Resources Board, and most of
the reduction comes from an
assumption of slow economic
growth, not an urbanist land-use
vision. While it's a good start,
SPUR hopes subsequent
scenarios test a much more
transit-oriented growth pattern
for the region. Follow the
development of the Sustainable
Communities Strategy at
onebayarea.orglplan_bay_area .•
Urbanist> April 2011 3
OVERVIEW Iby Benjamin Grant Climate Change
How will San Francisco manage Ocean Beach's tricky balanceSea-level rise
Recreationof natural resources, recreational uses and infrastructure needs
Habitatunder the new realities of a changing climate? SPUR leads amaster-planning process to develop a long-term vision for thisimportant resource.
The Future of Ocean BeachThanks to sea-level rise, a beloved public place alreadybusy with uses becomes even more complex
Benjamin Grantis SPUR's projectmanager for theOcean Beach MasterPlan.
Ocean Beach, the three-and-a-half-mile stretch of
sand and dunes along San Francisco's rugged Pacificcoast, faces serious challenges. Part wild landscape,
part urban beachfront, it draws a remarkably diverse
three million visitors per year to stroll, bike, surf,walk dogs and enjoy the stunning natural setting. Its
bluffs and sands - part of the Golden Gate National
Recreation Area - host two threatened bird species
and an extensive dune system. Meanwhile, it's the siteof an important sewage-treatment system that protects
the ocean from wastewater pollution.
Ocean Beach also represents one of the firstlocations in San Francisco where the effects of climate
change will come to a head. The existing shoreline,
already located on fill and subject to erosion, will
recede further as sea levels rise, exposing both naturaland built resources to coastal hazards. We face
difficult choices about how to manage these hazards
while maintaining valued resources. Deepening thesechallenges is the complex array of federal, state and
local agencies that oversee Ocean Beach, each with
different responsibilities and priorities.
4 Urbanist> April2011
San Francisco's past two mayors convened
community-led task forces, the Ocean Beach Task
Force and Ocean Beach Vision Council, to address
the challenges at Ocean Beach. But neither processincluded a pathway to implementation, leaving some
participants frustrated and problems unresolved.
The Vision Council submitted a grant proposal to theCalifornia State Coastal Conservancy, with partial
matches from the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission (SFPUC) and National Park Service(NPS), for a comprehensive long-range planning
process to be led by SPUR.
But before the funding was even approved, thesituation at Ocean Beach worsened considerably.
EROSION EMERGENCY: RESPONSEAND CRITICISM
In the EI Nino winter of 2009-2010, powerful
storms battered the bluffs of Ocean Beach south of
Sloat Boulevard, resulting in dramatic erosion. In somelocations, bluff tops receded 40 feet, undermining the
asphalt of parking lots and the shoulder of the Great
Highway, which was closed southbound for much of
the year. The episode was the most serious in a series
going back several decades.
The City's response - the construction of 425 feet
of rock revetments (embankments of stone riprap)
has drawn criticism from environmentalists, who are
concerned that such armoring often carries a heavycost in beach and habitat loss. They ask whether an
event as predictable as erosion at Ocean Beach can
be meaningfully described as an emergency. Indeed, a
similar episode in 1997 resulted in the construction of
rock revetments that are still in place. With no policy
for how to address the inevitable, the City repeatedly
finds itself in a reactive posture, shoring up the bluffs
under an emergency declaration with the lukewarm
sanction of the Coastal Commission and National
Park Service. The 2010 storm may have been an
emergency, but it was hardly a surprise and, above all,reflects the lack of a policy framework to guide action
in a crisis.
The environmentalist response may be a fair
criticism, but erosion meanwhile poses a very real
threat to a critical sewage-treatment complex that
we depend on to protect coastal water quality. In the
absence of another approach, this infrastructure, someof which lies underneath the Great Highway, must be
armored against coastal hazards.
A MASTER PLAN FOR OCEANBEACH
With funding now in place, SPUR has spent the
past seven months spearheading the development ofa comprehensive interagency master plan for Ocean
Beach. We have been working with a consultant team
and a wide range of stakeholders to gather information,
conduct research and articulate the complex and
interconnected challenges facing the city's open coast.
This issue of the Urbanist provides an update on the
project thus far as we begin to consider solutions.
The Ocean Beach Master Plan is charged with
looking at all major aspects of the beach for the next
50 years and beyond. By taking a decidedly long view,developing a consensus vision and working backward
to arrive at near- and medium-term actions, the master
Ocean Beach- 3.5 milesof sand anddunes on thecity's edge faces seriouschallenges fromerosion and sealevel rise, whichthreaten localinfrastructureand ecosystems.
Urbanist> April 2011 5
plan is intended to provide the framework that is
missing from short-term decisions today.
The study area encompasses the beach and
adjacent lands from the high-water mark to the
property line at the eastern edge of the Lower Great
Highway and excludes any private property. It takes
in 3.5 miles of contiguous coastline from the beach's
northern extent to the Fort Funston bluffs. Of course,
numerous processes and practices, from transit accessto offshore dredging, must be considered as well.
The plan will consider Ocean Beach as a whole
place: as an urban promenade, a changing coastline,a key segment of the GGNRA, a habitat corridor and
a major infrastructure complex. But as much as these
aspects are interdependent, the conversation aboutOcean Beach invariably returns to the most pressing
crisis: the erosion at the south end of the beach
and the infrastructure that lies in its path. To planmeaningfully for Ocean Beach as an open space, we
must define an approach to coastal management that
balances infrastructure needs, natural-resource valuesand the realities of a changing climate.
PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY ONA DYNAMIC COASTLINE
We know that sea levels are rising due to melting
polar ice and thermal expansion of the oceans. The
State of California projects sea-level rise of 16 inches
by 2050 and 55 inches by 2100. The frequency
and severity of storms are also likely to increase,and local policymakers have no choice but to adapt.
Climate-change adaptation consists of policy and
OCEAN BEACH SITE OVERVIEW
design responses to the negative effects of climate
change that have already been "locked in," regardless
of how we address carbon emissions going forward.
Adaptation will be required in many arenas, from watersupply to biodiversity to extreme heat events, but few
are as vivid and pressing as sea-level rise.
At Ocean Beach, this means that the sort of erosion
episodes that took place in 1997 and 2010 will
happen more frequently. As the shoreline recedes,
critical wastewater infrastructure along Ocean Beachwill face increasing pressure and will need to be
protected, reconfigured or abandoned. Natural habitat
and recreational amenities are threatened as well.Although we have a pretty clear picture of what will
happen as sea levels rise, there is a great deal ofuncertainty about its timing and extent.
Ocean Beach is the city's first real test in
responding to the effects of climate change. The
proximity of critical public infrastructure to the coastthrows the challenges into high relief. Where should
we hold the coastline? What is the economic value ofa beach? A dune system? A threatened bird species?
When and how will private property be exposed to
coastal hazards?
There are also significant limitations in the availabledata about the effects of sea-level rise. Existing studies
paint a general picture of likely impacts but do not
account for local factors like coastal armoring and
topography, which will shape coastal processes.
ro0)
c'5£ro0)
E- 0)0)-0C CC :>
~O)-000)'<::uV>Q)~:;;:.!!!O)ro
~~
6 Urbanist> April 2011
ro~roco
"VioOJ~0)>0)
(/)
~.i3
~V)
:;:o'E0)>oOJ£ro0)
l0)
:s:
OJ)c"~
g
~ci520)
.<::uro0)co
0)-0roc:0)
Eoet-0Cro
~ro0)
(/)
roOJ)0)
-§z
PLANNING FOR A DYNAMICLANDSCAPE
Planning for climate-change adaptation sets the
complex tradeoffs typical of planning processes
against even more complicated new variables: the
uncertainties inherent in climate projections.
In this context, planners and designers face new
challenges in both space and time. The space itselfis changed both by climate impacts and management
choices. Even the location of the coastline remains
a variable until we have determined where to hold
the line and where to retreat. The timing of climate
impacts is also uncertain, complicating, for example,
the cost comparison of protecting infrastructure versusrelocating it. When and how much protection will be
required, and how costly will it be? How much of the
infrastructure's serviceable life will remain? Discountingand amortizing - tools that economists use to
compare costs and benefits over time - become verychallenging in a time-uncertain setting.
There are several strategies to address these
challenges. First, future adaptation actions can be tied
to triggers, rather than dates. These may be physical
or spatial (a defined amount of sea-level rise or coastal
recession) or fiscal (a defined investment in coastal
defenses). Second, planning options are developed not
as fixed endpoints but as sequences of actions, each
affecting the next and each tied to triggers. Contrast
this with a typical design exercise, which may be
phased but culminates in a "finished" vision.
At this stage, the Ocean Beach Master Plan has
defined seven major focus areas, which we'll examine
more closely in the following pages, to organize and
distill the project's complex parameters. Although all
are important, three have emerged as "drivers" (or
form-givers, in design terms) that will establish the
context for the others: coastal dynamics, infrastructureand ecology. Over the coming months, the project
team will develop scenarios illustrating contrasting
approaches to these key areas and the implications of
each scenario for Ocean Beach as a whole.
PROCESS AND PRODUCTSPUR's nongovernmental status brings both
benefits and challenges to the planning process. The
Ocean Beach Master Plan will not have the force ofregulation. No such plan could, since it addresses
federal, state and local agencies. It will live initially
as a series of project and policy recommendations
from SPUR to the relevant agencies, elected officials
and other decision makers. Each agency will have
to pursue implementation through its own planningprocesses, spurred by the momentum and consensus
of an effective planning process and the urgency of the
situation.
On the positive side, SPUR has the freedom to
take a long and broad view. We are less constrained
by the highly structured requirements of process
and scope faced by public agencies, including the
need for immediate environmental review under the
California Environmental Quality Act or the National
Environmental Policy Act. In this case, environmental
review will be conducted by individual agencies as
they take up implementation actions.
;;;: >:.ro
0::: ~Z ..c: G(CJ OD a..~ I zVl ~
(CJ
Vl ro .l'J ~Q)
Q)
c'3 ..c:u OD .!!!u ·cv
~ro Q;OD "0
:r:0 c g "0"0 -3
c
'0 Vl::> ro
~ c cr:; C/l~
~ .a ·00 N "0
ro u Q) 0"> c cQ) ro Q)
"0 2 £l U .-< OD Uc
1il x C "0 C::> p 0 ~
c ·c -Vl
0 C Q) ro w .8E £l ~ Q) CD "0 ~Q)
~ co2 ~ tc ro ro Vl "0
0>-ro Q) c "0 .:;: ·Vi
~ Vl Vl Vl~'t: § 0 Q)
Q) c Vl .>ro 0>- Q) Q) 0. -i: C/l ro ::>
~ ro Vl E ::l
~6Vl ro E -' "0
.~C ~
0>- C
oS ~Q) 0 .§ c a.. 0 Vl .8 ro §ro g 0 ~ :§. ro Ci Vlro "" c Vl Q) .= Q)
~ Q) Vl OD0. £l ::> (ij c Q) ~
"0 Vl ~ "0 oS ro c c c
Q)ro
~·ro Q) ..c: (CJ .~
..c: 0 c ·Vi..c: OD ..c: Q) ro .= "0 <.J OD :.::> ::> .'"VlQ; c ro Vl Q) c 1il ::> u 0
::> :.::> .~ "0 o ~ Q)·Vi ..c: Q) ro Q) ..c:
:.::> > Vl :c ::> 0."", c 1il u "0 Q) ..c: c g u::; 0 .;;: ::> "7 £~ ::> Q) ro 0 "0 C/l c ro::;: a:: w a.. Z 0 :s: Q) Q)
b0 ::> Q)
CD (CJ a.. <.J C/l CD
Urbanist> April 2011 7
ECOLOGY
ASPIRATION: Restore and establishconditions that support thrivingbiological communities
Although Ocean Beach is very much a managedlandscape - the alignment of the coast, theshape of the beach and bluffs, and the form andcomposition of the dunes are all man-madeimportant biological communities make their homesthere. The beach and dune system provide acorridor of scarce habitat for numerous species andconnect adjacent parklands.
In particular, there are two threatened birdspecies at Ocean Beach. The Western SnowyPlover, a federally listed threatened species,inhabits dry back beach, especially in the centralpart of Ocean Beach. Concerns about the ploverhave been a factor in a recent proposal by theGGNRA to limit dog access to parts of OceanBeach. The bank swallow, a state-listed threatenedspecies, inhabits hollows in the exposed bluffsat the south end of Ocean Beach, an especiallyvulnerable position given the threat of erosion andthe installation of coastal armoring.
Both species are protected to some degreeby current management practices, including theprohibition of dogs on much of the beach during
Ocean Beach Master Plan Goal:
To knit the unique assets and experiences ofOcean Beach into a seamless and welcomingpublic landscape, planning for environmentalconservation, sustainable infrastructure andlong-term stewardship
plover season (J uly to May) and the cessation ofwork by San Francisco Department of Public Works(SFDPW) crews during bank swallow season (Aprilto August).
The dune system that predominates fromFulton to Noriega streets (and recurs elsewhere)was primarily constructed as part of the CleanWater Program in the 1980s and helps toprotect both wastewater infrastructure andadjacent neighborhoods from coastal hazards.Its morphology and plant communities are bothnon-native, with iceplant and European dunegrasspredominating. The prospect of restoring a nativedune system is compelling to many people,although a comprehensive effort would likely bevery costly. The master-plan team is examining theimplications of such an approach for ecologicalvalues, cost, maintenance and coastal hazards.
The currentdune system atOcean Beachwas constructedin the 1980sand '90s aspart of theSan FranciscoPublic UtilitiesCommission'sClean WaterProgram. It isa non-nativesystem, butit provideshabitat, sandstabilizationand coastalprotection.
8 Urbanist> April 2011
Ocean Beachis the visibleportion of amuch largercoastal sedimentsystem. Tidesand currentscirculate withinaU-shapedsandbar calleda littoral cell,eroding anddepositingsand. The southend of OceanBeach is outsidethis cell, andtherefore subjectto erosion.
COASTAL DYNAMICS
ASPIRATION: Identify a proactiveapproach to coastal management, inthe service of desired outcomes
Ocean Beach is the visible portion of a muchlarger coastal sediment system, the Golden GateLittoral Cell. The cell is bounded by a large,semicircular sandbar within which sand circulateswith the currents and tides. The U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers annually dredges a ship channel in thesandbar to allow access to the Golden Gate.
The northern end of Ocean Beach has beengetting wider since the 1970s due to both sedimentmanagement practices (dumping dredged sandwithin the system rather than in the deep ocean)and natural changes to the sandbars. Meanwhile,the southern end is narrowing as erosive forcesscour away sand and bluffs, leaving less bufferbetween waves and critical infrastructure.
The western shoreline of San Francisco isartificially maintained about 200 feet seaward ofits natural equilibrium. Sand was pushed westto create level ground for the construction of theneighborhoods and the Great Highway. The erosionat Ocean Beach is in part a symptom of the coastalprocesses seeking that equilibrium.
Sea-level rise and accompanying storm surgeswill significantly worsen erosive pressures at OceanBeach in the coming years. There are three optionsfor the management of this erosion:
Coastal armoring seeks to resist erosive forcesand the receding shore with hard structures suchas seawalls or revetments. Depending on its height,a structure might be overtopped by wave runup
during storm surges, inundating inland areas. If thecoastline recedes until it reaches a hard structure,the beach may be lost. There are nearly 10,000linear feet of hard structures at Ocean Beach, inthe form of the three existing seawalls and recentrevetments. This does not including the WestsideTransport Box, which could end up functioning asa sort of seawall if exposed by beach and dunerecession. Additional armoring is likely south ofSloat Boulevard.
Beach nourishment, or the deliberate placementof sand to counteract erosion, is a promising optionat Ocean Beach, since 300,000 cubic yards ofdredged sand are available annually. The costbeyond current practices would be shared betweenlocal and federal agencies. An effort is underwayto retrofit the Essayons, the Army Corps' dredge,to enable it to pump sand directly onto the beach.This could reestablish a wide beach north of Sloatand buy considerable time.
Managed retreat is the gradual reconfiguration orremoval of manmade structures in the path of theadvancing coastline, according to pre-establishedtriggers. This approach seeks to avoid expendingexcessive resources defending structures. It isrelatively simple to employ where structures likeroads or parking lots are concerned, but thisstrategy would be much more difficult to pursuewhere expensive, publicly funded sewage-treatmentfacilities stand in harm's way.
In all likelihood, all of these strategies will benecessary at Ocean Beach. A key objective for theOcean Beach Master Plan is to analyze the relativeneeds, costs and locations of various approaches,and build consensus around a compromise.
Urbanist> April 2011 9
A wet-weatheroverflowstructure,one of two atOcean Beach.Combined-seweroverflows havebeen reducedfrom between60 and 70 peryear to fewerthan eight ayear by the westside's complexof wastewaterinfrastructure,which isincreasinglythreatened byerosion.
10 Urbanist> April2011
INFRASTRUCTURE
ASPIRATION: Evaluate infrastructureplans and needs in light of uncertaincoastal conditions, and pursue asmart, sustainable approach
Beginning in the 1970s, under pressure from
the federal Clean Water Act, the SFPUC began tosignificantly upgrade the city's combined sewer
stormwater system, especially on the west side, where
the ocean was being subjected to 60 to 70 combinedsewer overflows each year. The SFPUC's Clean Water
Program completed the current system in 1993 and
has reduced overflows to fewer than eight per year.The system accomplishes this impressive feat
through a series of interconnected components. In dryweather, the west side's wastewater (sewage) runs
though the network of local pipes to the WestsideTransport Box - a large rectangular tube under the
Great Highway - then south to the pump station
at Sloat Boulevard. It is pumped to the OceansideWater Pollution Control Plant, from which secondary
treated effluent is released through the Southwest
Ocean Outfall, 4.5 miles out to sea. In wet weather,stormwater runoff surges into the system. When
the plant's capacity of 65 million gallons per day is
overwhelmed, the transport box and Lake Merced
Tunnel - two massive structures designed to store
runoff and prevent overflows - fill up and retain the
combined flow. Overflow there is decanted to remove
solids and pumped to the deep ocean outfall. Only
when that system's capacity is exceeded do combined
overflows occur, through two large overflow structureson Ocean Beach.
Parts of the Lake Merced Tunnel under the Great
Highway south of Sloat Boulevard are immediately
vulnerable to erosion. The Westside Transport runsunder the Great Highway from Lincoln Boulevard
to Sloat Boulevard, and it may become a significant
factor in shaping the beach and dunes as the coastlinerecedes.
Newer thinking at the SFPUC and elsewhere
emphasizes low-impact development and greeninfrastructure - both terms for modifying urban
watersheds to increase stormwater retention andinfiltration into the ground. Permeable surfaces, green
roofs, swales and the restoration of natural waterways
can add up to a significant reduction in stormwaterentering the combined system.
Wastewater infrastructure is designed for the longhaul: Parts of the current system are more than 100
years old. The west-side system is new, expensive
and very effective. Unfortunately, it is also exposed tovarying degrees of coastal hazard, which we are only
recently coming to understand. The Ocean Beach
Master Plan is working with the SFPUC to consider
how to manage coastal hazards to the infrastructure,
including the form and location of coastal armoring,
and which components might be reconfigured ormoved over time.
IMAGE AND CHARACTER
ASPIRATION: Preserve and celebratethe beach's raw and open beautywhile welcoming a broader public.
Although Ocean Beach is in the city, its urban
setting is dwarfed by the vastness of the natural
context. Like many of San Francisco's best open
spaces, it offers a portal to the regional landscape.
But both its wild and urban aspects are decidedly
less genteel than those of other natural places in
the city. The environment - built and natural
shows the elemental scour of wind and waves,
and is known for its dense and persistent fog. The
local culture has developed an edge that mirrors the
environment: Most days, even a stroll on the sand
demands a bit of ruggedness, and the surf's frigid
rip currents have regularly threatened and even
taken lives.
A century ago, Ocean Beach was a very different
kind of place, more Coney Island than wilderness.
Before the Richmond and Sunset districts took
shape, Adolph Sutro's steam railway drew day
trippers through the dunes to his gardens and
baths, and to nearby Chutes-at-the-Beach (later
Playland). A settlement built of decommissioned
horsecars offered a destination for bohemians
and bicycle clubs. As the automobile came to
prominence, the soft sand was pushed seaward to
create a "Great Highway" for Sunday drivers, all the
way south to Fleishhacker Pool, near the current
site of the San Francisco Zoo. A massive saltwater
recreation center built in 1924, the decrepit
poolhouse today offers a tempting opportunity for
adaptive reuse.Today, when those few sweet warm days arrive,
Ocean Beach again becomes a retreat for the whole
city. A festival atmosphere prevails as a crush of
cars, bikes and Muni riders descends, and the
shortage of services becomes acute as trash piles
up, bikes are heaped up and locked together, and
dunes become restrooms of last resort.
It would be wrong to ignore the basic needs of
the more than 3 million annual visitors to Ocean
Beach. But as many in the community have
expressed, "prettying up" is not what the beach
needs, either. The master-plan team is taking
that observation to heart. Good landscape design
has the power to strike that balance - to solve
problems and serve needs while speaking to the
soul of a place.
Our ownConey Island:Ocean Beachoffered diverseamusementsfor wy-trippersto the "OutsideLands," includingthe Sutro Bathsand Chutes-atthe-Beach (laterPlayland, shownhere in the1930s).
Urbanist> April 2011 11
PROGRAM AND USES
ASPIRATION: Accommodate diverseactivities and users, managed forpositive coexistence
To be successful, improvements at Ocean
Beach will need to accommodate and balance
a wide range of users, from surfers to families,
birdwatchers to cyclists. For the most part, activities
sort themselves into linear zones that can informthe approach to design and programming: joggers
and cyclists on the multi-use path, walkers on the
dune trails and promenades, anglers on the wetsand and surfers in the water. Basic amenities
such as restrooms, waste collection and food - are
in limited supply, and jurisdictional challenges
complicate their siting, funding and operation.As in most open spaces, there are conflicting
ideas about which uses belong where, and which
are worthy of accommodation. Pedestrians and
cyclists get tangled on the multiuse path, birdersraise an eyebrow at dog-walkers, and night-time
bonfires are a grand tradition to some and a messy
nuisance to others.
What Is the Ocean Beach Master Plan?The Ocean Beach Master Plan is aninteragency effort convened by SPUR todevelop a sustainable long-term vision forOcean Beach, addressing public access,environmental protection and infrastructureneeds in the context of erosion and c1imaterelated sea-level rise.
Project phases and schedule1. Startup (Jun-Aug 2010)
2. Problem Definition (Sep-Dec 2010)3. Alternatives/Scenarios Development (Jan-May 2011)
4. Draft Master Plan (Jun-Sep 2011)
5. Final Master Plan (Oct-Dec 2011)
Project Funders:California State Coastal Conservancy
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
National Park Service
Project TeamAECOM - Landscape Architecture, Environmental Planning
ESA/PWA - Coastal EngineeringSherwood Design Engineers - Civil Engineering and
Infrastructure
Nelson/Nygaard - Transportation Planning
12 Urbanist> April 20ll
In January 2011, the National Park Service
issued its Draft Dog Management Plan for the
Golden Gate National Recreation Area, In its
preferred alternative, the northern end of Ocean
Beach would remain an off-leash area but much
of the beach would be entirely off-limits to dogs.
Much of that area is already off-limits for nine to10 months of the year (during plover season), and
the GGNRA would remain the only national parkto allow dogs at all. Still, the proposal has rankled
many dog owners and remains controversial. The
National Parks Service is accepting public comment
on the draft plan until May 29.One key challenge is the distinctive pattern of
use over time. Most of the time, the beach and
promenades are used by relatively few people,many of whom are locals and regular users: walkers
and joggers, surfers and cyclists, This "baseline"
condition (with its own seasonal and diurnalvariations) holds sway until one of those rare hot,
sunny weekends, when the beach experiences an
enormous spike of visitors from around the region.
ACCESS AND CONNECTIVITY
ASPIRATION: Provide seamless andfluid connections to adjacent openspaces, the city and the region
Ocean Beach is not only a destination in itself; it
is the connective tissue that links an abundance ofopen spaces on the city's west side. From Land's
End and Sutro Heights at its north end to Golden
Gate Park, the Zoo and Fort Funston to the south,
Ocean Beach is a key corridor, While movement
along Ocean Beach is fairly easy, it offers much
weaker connection to adjoining open spaces,neighborhoods and other amenities. In particular,
arriving at the beach from Golden Gate Park, which
ought to be one of the great landscape experiencesin San Francisco, is an anticlimax for pedestrians
and cyclists, who are dropped into a sea of asphalt
roadway and parking, with little sense of how to
proceed. Another significant gap is from OceanBeach to Fort Funston, the GGNRA's next major
park to the south, where pedestrians must walk the
highway shoulder and hop the guardrail to access
the trails and beach.Ocean Beach is well-served by the Muni transit
system, but while the 38-Geary, N-Judah and
L-Taraval lines each terminate within easy walking
distance of the beach, the pedestrian connectionsare weaker than they might be if welcoming transit
users were made a priority.The Great Highway was built in the 1920s
as a grand vehicular promenade, the widest
stretch of pavement for its length in the world,
AGENCY JURISDICTIONS AT OCEAN BEACH
Ocean Beach Great Highway Lower GreatHighway Park
westside transport box(SFPUC)
San Francisco City and County ownership
Coastal zone (subject to local coastal program)
( California Coastal Commisf,on jurisdiction
I
•
J Golden Gate National Recreation
U.S. Army Corps authority Area ownership(with California Coastal Commission consistency)
Area appealable to California Coastal Commission
Its reconfiguration in the 1990s narrowed it by
nearly half, but it remains a traffic artery first and
foremost, with a capacity that exceeds its actual
usage. South of Sloat Boulevard, the Great Highway
is squeezed between the eroding bluffs and inland
structures, with traffic capacity to spare.
The City of San Francisco's Sunday Streets
program has closed the road to cars a few times,
showing us a tantalizing multimodal vision more
"great" than "highway." Meanwhile, a campaign
by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition to build
a bikeway from San Francisco Bay to the
ocean is highlighting Ocean Beach as a major
cycling destination with significant shortfalls in
connectivity. As our ideas about multimodal streets
and recreational waterfront access evolve, it may
be time to reevaluate the vehicular emphasis on the
city's only oceanfront street.
MANAGEMENT ANDSTEWARDSHIP
ASPIRATION: Provide an approachto long-term stewardship acrossagencies, properties and jurisdictions
Although visitors experience Ocean Beach as a
whole place, it is administered by an alphabet soup
of federal, state and local agencies. The beach,
dunes and promenades are mostly federal GGNRA
parkland, while the Great Highway, multiuse
trail and most parking lots are owned by the San
Francisco Recreation and Park Department. The
SFDPW provides maintenance and emergency
repairs on both city and federal property, while
the SFPUC owns and manages underground
wastewater infrastructure and the Oceanside
Water Pollution Control Plant. Dredging and
sediment management by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers shape the beach. The California
Coastal Commission is the permitting authority at
the beach. Further inland within the coastal zone,
the San Francisco Planning Department oversees
development decisions through the City's Coastal
Commission-approved Local Coastal Program (the
Western Shoreline Plan).
With so many agencies involved, it's not
hard to understand why problems as simple
as managing litter can be challenging - never
mind protecting infrastructure while managing a
habitat for threatened birds. Not only are these
agencies administratively distinct, they often have
conflicting priorities as well. For example, National
Park Service policies favoring natural resources
and processes may conflict with the needs of
the SFPUC's infrastructure, although both serve
environmental imperatives.
Could Ocean Beach be managed as a single
unit? What form would that take? Simply having aconsensus vision in place would provide a basis for
improved interagency cooperation. A joint operatingagreement clearly defining responsibilities, or even
the creation of a new management entity or park
boundary, could provide the kind of integrated
management to see Ocean Beach through the
challenges we know are coming.•
A basicchallenge:Many differentagencies overseeaspects ofmanagement,planning andpermitting atOcean Beach.Each has itsown prioritiesand internalprocesses, andno one agencyoversees thewhole.
Urbanist> April 2011 13
104.11 I BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Welcome to SPUR's new boardmembers for 2011-2012
Jeanne Myerson is the president and CEO of the
Swig Company, a 75-year-old commercial real
estate investment and management companybased in San Francisco with more than 9
million square feet of office properties in coastal
California, New York and Washington, D.C.Jeanne was formerly on the board and executive
committee of the San Francisco Chamber of
Commerce and helped with the formation of the San Francisco Center
for Economic Development. She is a member of the board of directors
of BRE Properties, Inc. and an advisory board member of Presidio
Bank, and served for many years on the board of the Homeless
Prenatal Program.
Gordon Mar is a longtime community organizer
on issues of concern to low-income and working
class communities in the Bay Area. He currentlyserves as coordinator of Jobs with Justice San
Francisco, a coalition of 25 labor unions and
community organizations advocating workers'
rights and social justice locally and nationally.Gordon has previously served as director of the
Chinese Progressive Association, director of the Northern California
Citizenship Project, campaign director of the Bay Area Environmental
Health Collaborative and co-chair of the Southwest Network for
Environmental and Economic Justice. He has a bachelor's in
conservation and resource studies from UC Berkeley.
James Tracy is an organizer with the Community
Housing Partnership in San Francisco. He has
more than 20 years of experience working
for housing rights and economic justice. Inthe 1990s, he partnered with public housing
residents demanding a voice in the HOPE VI
process through the Eviction Defense Network.
He is the author of the upcoming book HillbillyNationalists: Urban Race Rebels and Black Power, to be published in
September by Melville House.
management and business and strategic development and wasprogram manager of capital programs, including the Central Subway
Project and the Transbay Transit Center Program. Emilio has also
served in the public sector as general manager of the Department of
Public Transportation, director of economic development for the Cityof San Francisco, director of operations for the Port of San Francisco
and chief of staff to Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr.
Emilio Cruz is owner of On Point Management
and Consulting Services and is currently under
contract to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority
as program manager for the $4.2 billion multi
modal transit facility in downtown San Francisco.
Prior to founding On Point, Emilio spent a decade
in the private sector working for EPC Consultants
and URS Corporation. He worked in operations
Chris Block is the chief executive officer ofAmerican Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley,
where he is also a senior fellow and has served
on the board of directors since 2007. Prior to
joining ALF, Chris was involved in affordable
housing in Silicon Valley for more than 20
years. He was the executive director of Charities
Housing from its inception in 1989 until joiningALF in 2009. Chris is also a fellow in the Kellogg National Leadership
Program. He holds a master's in counseling psychology and a
bachelor's in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame.
Cindy Wu manages and oversees the day-
to-day operation of the Community Planning
Program at Chinatown Community Development
Center. The program connects grass-roots
leaders in Chinatown to the decisions thatchange their neighborhood with regard to
transportation, affordable housing, public space
and land use. Currently, Cindy is managing amultiyear community planning process to ensure that the design and
implementation of the new Central Subway Project is coordinated with
neighborhood needs. Previously, she worked in supportive housing
at Glide Foundation in the Tenderloin. She received a B.A. from UCBerkeley and a master's in city planning from MIT.
Alexa Arena is vice president of development
for Forest City, where she leads the NorthernCalifornia team. She is working on the
redevelopment of approximately four acres in
downtown San Francisco known as the 5MProject. Developed in partnership with the Hearst
Corporation, it will foster communities that serve
the innovation economy. Alexa is a prior board
member of the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition and an activeparticipant in SPUR. She holds a bachelor's in urban studies, political
science and sociology from Columbia University, as well as a master's
in public administration and an MBA from Harvard University.
14 Urbanist> April 2011
In his time at PG&E, Ontario has served as a resource
to regulatory client groups in their interactions with the
California Public Utilities Commission and other government
and advocacy groups. Ontario has a degree in economics
from the University of Pennsylvania and completed the San
Francisco Chamber of Commerce's Leadership San Franciscoprogram.
Richard Lonergan's career in
computers and management spanned
35 years, ending in retirement from Visa
International as executive vice president.
He has been a resident of San Francisco
for more than three decades and is
currently involved in issues regarding
his South Beach neighborhood. Dick
serves on the boards of the New Century Chamber Orchestra
and Palo Alto University and was formerly on the board of
Katherine Delmar Burke School and the North Lake Tahoe
Arts Council.
Terry Micheau has served on
SPUR's board and advisory council
over a period of 18 years. In his
35-year career, he has managed the
construction and development of
significant real estate projects, mostly
in the Bay Area, for both private and
~ public owners. He is a licensed civilengineer and California real estate broker and has served the
community on various boards and commissions, including
his current role as treasurer of the San Francisco LGBT
Community Center and the Golden Gate Chapter of LambdaAlpha.
Wade Rose is vice president of external
and government relations for Catholic
Healthcare West, the eighth largest
hospital system in the nation and the
largest hospital provider in California.
Focusing on CHW's strategic goals and
objectives, he works with governmentalentities at the federal, state and
local levels, and with significant private organizations and
individuals within communities. Preceding his involvement
in health care, he served on the staff of Govs. George
Deukmejian and Jerry Brown.
Ontario Smith is a senior government
relations representative for Pacific Gas
and Electric Company. Previously he
worked as a principal strategic planner
at PG&E, where he was responsible
for reviews of the rate effects of policy
proposals, greenhouse gas emissions
analyses and marginal cost studies.
Madeline Chun is a partner of the
law firm of Hanson Bridgett LLP and
has served as legal counselor to local,
regional and state public agencies
for almost three decades. She has
a strong commitment to sustainable
public transit services and has been
closely involved in many major publictransportation infrastructure projects. She served as a trial
attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights
Division from 1979-1983, and has been active in the AsianAmerican Bar Association, Equal Rights Advocates and the
Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center of San Francisco.
Manuel Flores is a proud member of
Carpenters Local Union 22, where he is
approaching 30 years of membership.
He is currently the marketing
representative for Local 22 and has
served on the local executive committee
'~ and various apprentice committees.\~ Born and educated in San Francisco, he
is dedicated to keeping his native city a special place to liveand work.
Michael Cohen is a principal in Strada
Investment Group, a San Francisco
based real estate firm focused on
high-barrier-to-entry urban markets.
Prior to joining Strada, Michael ran
San Francisco's Office of Economic
and Workforce Development. In that
capacity, he managed major projects
including the redevelopment of the Hunters Point Shipyard,
Candlestick Point and Treasure Island. Michael serves as
the Mayor's representative on the Transbay Joint PowersAuthority and is the co-chair of ChinaSF, an initiative to make
San Francisco a primary gateway for commerce with China.
Urbanist> April 2011 15
URBANFIELD NOTES
16 fonts on 16th Street:the city through a phone
An additive archive of cultural landscapes and observations Caseworker: David Prowlercompiled by SPUR members and friends. Send your ideasto Urban Field Notes editor Ruth Keffer at [email protected].
CASESTUDY #37
\~((])~ ~1uacIt t
RENE M. MEDINA 1
AUDITORIUM
Minimala Medium Italic
Mostra Nuova
Aftk6kl&I iI THAI CUISINE
------- .
CC Sticky Fingers Italic
Lady Starlight
.....
Mordings
",*!......
David Prowler is aprincipal at Prowler Curtis, adevelopment and consulting partnership. He served on theSF Planning Commission, was the Mayor's project managerfor Mission Bay and the Ballpark, and developed the GlenPark Marketplace, which SPUR called "the perfect project"
When a friend bought a home computer20 years ago, I wondered why. Back then,computers couldn't talk to each other: youcouldn't download tunes, buy a book or alamp or schedule a flight. There wasn't anyGoogle or Wikipedia or much of anything.
Now, I don't leave home without my pocketcom puter/phone/camera/clock/newspaperlmusic.
With a smartphone in my hand I can walkdown the street and see on a map where Iam, when the next bus is coming, whatpeople say about that restaurant on the cornerand whether it's going to rain. I can friend andtweet, text or skype.
Unfortunately, the phone won't alert me towhat a dog left in my path, or the car orbicycle heading my way. And when I'm staringinto my palm I won't see the flesh-and-bloodfriend across the street, or smell the coffee.
I've got the world at my fingertips, and Icould be anywhere. Or nowhere.
But the ways in which my smartphone canchange my experience on the street continueto evolve. I recently took a walk along 16thStreet from Market to Mission with my phonein hand, using an app called What the Font,which tries to identify fonts. I just take apicture, apply the app to the shot, and presto,it suggests the name of the font. Sometimesthese suggestions are correct - based onresemblance to an actual documented font- but most of the time they have nothing todo with the typeface I just captured. But it'sfree, and sometimes the names are a kick.
16 Urbanist> April 2011
Sailors Tattoo Pro Xmas Rhodaelian Ligatures Lithia Off Kilter
Urbanist> April 2011 17
URBAN DRIFTcity newsfrom aroundthe globe
PUBLIC SPACE KEY INEGYPTIAN REVOLTWhen the Egyptian peopletoppled Hosni Mubarak'sregime, journalists credited theInternet, particularly Facebookand Twitter, for the uprising.While the web had a centralrole in spurring the protests,what made them successfulwas the number of people thatgathered to occupy Cairo'scity center. Under Mubarak'spolicies, access to Tahrir Squareand other key locales had beenrestricted for decades. By takingaway public spaces and focusingdevelopment on golf coursesand shopping malls, Mubarakmade the city's population easierto control. When the revolutionstarted, people did the opposite:they converged on the square,occupied it and refused toleave. The occupation becamean experiment in communalliving; the residents set uptheir own security, defense,recycling and trash collectionand food distribution. And afterthey defended the square fromviolent government attacks, ittook on an even more importantrole as a symbol of resistance.Despite a complete shutdownof the Internet, gatherings in thesquare continued to grow, makingEgypt's opposition to the rulingregime visible not only to thegovernment but to the world."Tahrir Square: Social Media. Public Space" - MohamedEIShahed, Places Journal - 2/272011
PERTH MAKES APRICEYINVESTMENTAfter 30 years of debate, Perth,Australia, is on the verge ofspending $440 million (AU D)
18 Urbanist> April 2011
on a massive plan to rebuild thecity's waterfront. The project willstart construction soon and becompleted by 2014. The plancreates 1,700 apartments, morethan 1 million square feet ofcommercial floor space and about420,000 square feet of retailspace. Extensive landscapingfeatures will lead to easierwaterfront access, and diningand retail facilities will encouragepeople to congregate. Developershope the completed project willincrease property values andsales in the area."Perth's $440m Waterfront plan revealed" - RussellQuinn, PerthNow - 2/15/2011
UK CENSUS FLAWS COULDCOST MILLIONSThe United Kingdom willundertake its census this year,a process that ultimately willbe responsible for allocatingover £100 billion per year ingovernment funding. Many localgovernments around the countryfear that people will be missedin the count, especially part-timeresidents, people sharing a homeand short-term migrants. Theseconcerns led to the creation of anational address register in 2003,but it was never used. Instead,three lists were compiled fromthe National Land and PropertyGazetteer, Ordnance Survey andRoyal Mail, and census formswere sent out without crosschecking with councils. How bigof a problem is undercounting?Westminster council, in London,claims that 25 percent of itspopulation was missed in the2001 count.'Councils fear census flaws will cost them millionsin lost funds' - lami. Onward, The Observer (UK) 3/6/2011.
QUAKE DAMAGE EXTENSIVEIN CHRISTCHURCHThe shallow 6.3 magnitudeearthquake that struckChristchurch, New Zealand,February 22 is thought to havecaused approximately 200deaths and severe damageto many prominent buildingsin the center of the city, Cityofficials are just beginning toaddress the longer-term problemof buildings that have beenrendered uninhabitable. Tenthousand houses will have tobe demolished, including 3,300that were damaged in the 7.3magnitude earthquake that strucklast year. Other areas of thecity will have to be abandoned;liquefaction has pushed unstablesilt to the surface, and the landwill not support new structures.Seventy thousand people, onefifth of the city's population, havealready left."PM: Parts of quake-hit NZ city to be abandoned" - TheSan Francisco Chronicle at slgate,com - 3/5/2011
BIKE LANE BICKERING INBROOKLYNNew York City has gainedattention around the world forits aggressive implementationof new bicycling and pedestrianimprovements. In the summer of2010, the city's Department ofTransportation installed a twoway bike lane in the ProspectPark neighborhood of Brooklyn.A new lawsuit challenges thislane and the entire approachof the department, which hasimplemented bike lanes on afast timetable over the past fewyears. Filed by a group of wealthyresidents with ties to the formertransportation commissioner,the suit argues that the currentcommissioner and her staffhave cherry-picked statisticsand collaborated with bicycleadvocates at the cost of spacefor automobiles and visibility forpedestrians."lawsuit Seeks to Erase Bike lane in New York City"-Michael M. Grynbaum, The New York Times - 3/7/2011
SPUR Board of Directors Chairs and committees Welcome to ournew members!
Co-Chairs Board Members John Madden PROGRAM Downtown Transit Facility Rental
Gordon Mar COMMITTEES Center INOIVIDUALS Colin PiperLinda Jo Fitz Carl Anthony Bill Stotler Joshua Arce Christopher Pizzi
Lee Blitch Alexa Arena Jacinta McCannBallot Analysis
Emilio Cruz Terry Bergeson Jonathan RewersExecutive
Fred Blackwell Chris MeanyBob Gamble Doyle Drive
Enkhtuya Bliss Susan Roegiers
Co-Vice Chairs Chris Block Ezra MerseyAndy Barnes Kenneth Caldwell Tim Rooney
Peter Mezey Amanda Linda Jo Fitz Paul Dombowsky Aaron RothschildEmilio Cruz Larry Burnett Terry Micheau
Hoenigman Sarah Dominsky Paula Rubira
David Friedman Michaela Cassidy Mary Murphy Disaster Planning Finance Julia Ehrman Phoebe Schenker
Jacinta McCannEph Hirsh
Bob Gamble Cristina Garcia Mark SoleMary McCue Madeline Chun Jeanne Myerson
Dick MortenPeter Winkelstein Tracy Geraldez Mark Sopp
Bill Rosetti Michael Cohen Brad Paul Human Resources June Grant Matthew Ticknor
V. Fei Tsen Charmaine Curtis Chris Poland Chris Poland Regional Planning Dana Gregg Derek Lindner andLydia Tan
Gia Daniller-Katz Teresa Rea HousingLarry Burnett Jeff Gubitosi Rena Tom
Secretary Byron Rhett Libby Seifel Individual Justin Ann-Ariel VecchioOscar De La Torre Ezra Mersey Hanzel-Durbin QingWang
Tomiquia Moss Kelly Dearman Wade Rose Lydia TanMembership Mark Hogan Linda Wheaton
Shelley Doran Victor Seeto OPERATING Bill Stotler Cheryl Holzmeyer Wade Wietgrefe
Treasurer Oz Erickson Elizabeth (Libby)Project Review COMMITTEES Marcus A. Hopper adam wright
Charmaine CurtisInvestment Darton Ito Ronald Yearwood
Bob Gamble Manny Flores Seifel Audit Ann Lazarus Stephanie Jaeger Sue May Yen
Norman Fong Chi-Hsin ShaoMary Beth Sanders
Peter MezeyNoah Kennedy
Reuben Schwartz Major Donors Chris KlutheEli Zigas
Gillian Gillett Ontario Smith
(Immediate Board Linda Jo Fitz Tiffany LaRue BUSINESSES
Past Co-Chair Chris Gruwell Bill Stotler Sustainable Kelly Lawley ARCADIS Malcolm
Anne Halsted Stuart Sunshine DevelopmentDevelopment Anne Halsted Sean Madden Pirnie, Inc.
Andy BarnesMichael Teitz
Lee Blitch Christine Maher CummingDave Hartley Paul Okamoto Planned Giving
Paul Malone Corporation
Advisory Mary Huss James Tracy Bry Sarte Building Michaela Cassidy Gordon Mar
Council Chris Iglesias Will Travis Management Duane MartinezTransportation Silver SPUR Corey McCants
Co-Chairs Laurie Johnson Steve Vettel Larry BurnettEmilio Cruz Dave Hartley Jen McGraw
Michael Alexander Ken Kirkey Debra WalkerBusiness Amelia Mendez
Anthony BrulZone Patricia KlitgaardPaul Sedway Florence Kong Cynthia Wilusz-
MembershipLucien Muir
Dick Lonergan Lovell TASK FORCES Young Urbanists Jumana NabtiTom Hart Mark Nelson
Ellen Lou CindyWuClimate Adaptation Terry Micheau
Gwyneth BordenCaroline Nowacki
Janis Mackenzie Will TravisGia Daniller Kris Opbroek
Capital Campaign Deems Padgett
Chris MeanyCheryl ParkerRusty Pierce
Urbanist> April 2011 19
Join SPUR today! The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association
is a member-supported nonprofit organization. We rely on your support to promote good planning
and good government through research, education and advocacy. Find out more at spur.org/join.
spur.org/memberparty
Through April 20, 2011spur.org/exhibits
Current Exhibit
Local Code: Real Estatesan exhibit byNicholas de Monchaux
Save the date!
SPUR Member PartyThursday, July 14, 20115-10pm SPUR Urban Center &Annie Alley
-lImTlC-lC::::0moTl
o()m»zOJm»()I
""0r»zzZQ
Tlo::::0
»()I»ZQ
ZQ()o»(J)-lrZm
Nonprofit Org.
US Postage
PAID
Permit # 4118
San Francisco, CA
SPUR Staff Public Programming Urban CenterIntern Event Manager
SPUR main number Heather Jones x122 Sue Meylan x130
415.781.8726 publicprogramming@ [email protected]
Accountant Research and Volunteer
Terri Chang x128 Deputy Director Coordinator
[email protected] Sarah Karlinsky x129 Jordan Salinger [email protected] [email protected]
Publications AssistantMary Davis x126 Development Director Publications and
[email protected] Amie Latterman x115 [email protected] Manager
Urban Center Director Karen Steen x1l2
Diane Filippi x110 Development [email protected]
[email protected] AssociateRachel Leonard x1l6 Sustainable Develop-
Public Realm and [email protected] ment Policy Director
Urban Design Laura Tam x137
Program Manager Administrative Director [email protected]
Benjamin Grant x1l9 Lawrence Li x134
[email protected] [email protected] Regional PlanningDirector
Sponsorships and Good Government Egan Terplan x131
Special Events Manager Policy Director [email protected]
Kelly Hardesty x120 Corey Marshall x125
[email protected] [email protected]
Public Programming Executive Director
Manager Gabriel Metcalf x1l3
Gretchen Hilyard x122 gmetcalf(ii)spur.org
SAN FRANCISCOPLANNING + URBAN RESEARCHASSOCIATION
654 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-4015
tel. 415.781.8726
fax 415.781.7291
www.spur.org
Time-dated material
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
.~634-MO
OSPUR
This newsletter is printed on New Leaf Reincarnation paper: 100% recycled fiber and 50% post-consumer waste.
Top Related