• Thursday, Feb 2nd: MPIC Board Meeting: 7 pm; MPIC Clubhouse
• Thursday, Feb 23rd: The Producers opens at School of the Arts
• Saturday, Feb 25th: Mt Davidson NAP Tour: 10 am; Myra/Sherwood bus shelter

MPIC Holiday Party and Pot-Luck and Cook-off: A Grand Time Had by All

The 2011 MPIC Holiday Party was quite an affair: about 100 people attended and wined, dined, and laughed themselves into a fine frolic. Boswick the Clown entranced kids and entertained adults, leaving a forest of balloon hats in his wake, and Laura Lee Brown and Company provided Holiday songs that put everyone in the mood to celebrate. Following are the winners of the pot-luck cook-off contest, hotly contested as always. We thank all of our Miraloma neighbors who helped make this twentieth annual party a success with their culinary contributions and holiday zest, as well as the fine and generous merchants who donated the prizes for the contest.

From the MPIC Safety Committee

The MPIC Board and its Safety Committee believe that the more community crime information made available to our residents, the safer they are. Some members have questioned whether reporting this information puts Miraloma Park in a bad light. Do other neighborhoods provide similarly detailed crime reports to their residents? Do we look worse—i.e., crime-ridden—because of our reporting? We think not, because our level of serious crime is so low compared with many other neighborhoods. The thumbnail comparison below, covering a nearly 7 week period, indicates a high level of safety in Miraloma Park.

Safety Alert! The SFPD reports men in orange safety vests, wearing name badges and carrying clipboards, ringing doorbells and allegedly selling alarm systems. They do not have brochures or business cards and they ask residents for personal information. Police believe that these individuals may be “casing” residences for future home robberies. Please call the police at 553-0123 (non-emergency number) if you notice or experience individuals going door-to-door for any reason!

Summary of MPIC Board Meeting on December 1, 2011

by Dan Liberthson and Carl Schick

On-line Votes (all passed): 11/15—Reimbursement of Board members who volunteer to clean up after renter does not (T Sauvain) 11/16—R Gee moved to create a PayPal account to be used by MPIC members to pay monthly dues. 11/23—D Liberthson moved to give Miraloma Life layout artist a $75 holiday bonus. 11/27—T Sauvain moved to give Rental Manager a $100 holiday bonus. Other Vote: Up to $1500 approved for Holiday potluck.

Guests: Neil Pate, Community Planner, SF Bike Coalition and Mark Draeger, intern. Coalition wants input about bike issues; they want to improve bike safety by adding, and making more visible, bike lanes on City streets including Monterey and O’Shaughnessy. Board questioned whether bicyclists should be licensed, traffic impact studies be done where bike lanes are proposed, and the cost to SF residents.

Treasurer’s Report (T Sauvain): MPIC’s November net worth was $24,586.56, a slight increase from October. November was our busiest rental month in 3 years, doubling our income from October ($1707.50 ) to $3850.00. A task subcommittee (T Sauvain, C Mettling-Davis, and R Gee) designated an $18,500 reserve account, with $2600 added yearly, to cover big maintenance items, the set-aside to be accessed per Board vote. About $6,000 in operating funds remains in our regular account.

Committees: Safety (K Wood)—Please see “From the MPIC Safety Committee” in this issue. Zoning and Planning (ZAP, C Mettling Davis)—C Mettling-Davis reported on the 401 Myra re-application meeting. By a split vote, the Committee felt that event though the remodel would be wider than most Miraloma Park homes, and the Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines state that house width should be consonant
with existing homes, the special circumstance of the lot’s being at the end of the block with no neighbor on the side to be expanded justified an exception to the Guidelines. Karen Wood resigned from the ZAP committee; her dedication and expertise will be missed!

Membership—We currently have 605 members. R Gee suggested that the $1 transaction fee for PayPal payment of dues be absorbed by the Club. Events (S Chu) Three Holiday Potluck servers hired will be paid $25/hour.

Clubhouse Maintenance (C Mettling-Davis)—A contractor said the exterior front stairs are structurally sound and recommended pounding down the nails on the steps; sanding the overall porch and tread edges; and repainting. He proposed iron handrails on both sides of the stage steps and adding hinges on footlight barriers to keep renters from falling into the lights. and provide cost estimates. C Mettling-Davis suggested a sign requesting no wheeled items (e.g., dollies) on the exterior steps, to minimize wear. J Whitney and D Liberthson will monitor the gardener and complete a to-do list to prevent messy yard appearance.

Delegate Reports: West of Twin Peaks Central Council (K Breslin)— District 7 will be affected by the City’s redistricting plan. Save the Forest—Much interest in the tree-cutting issue.

Old Business: Proposed opening of new CVS in July 2012. Some Board members met with the CVS attorney and COO about the design. They were amenable to including key art deco motifs removed per Commission request. The ZAP Committee will continue to advocate for these design improvements.

New Business: The Board agreed to allow non-Miraloma Park residents at the Holiday Potluck. C Mettling-Davis moved a $65 Christmas bonus for Miraloma Life delivery people (motion passed).

Left Turn Lane from Portola to Fowler Reduced to One Lane

by Robert Gee

Last month, the left turn lane from Portola Drive onto Fowler was reduced from two lanes to one lane and an added left-turn bicycle lane. At the same time, new bike lanes were painted on both sides of Portola Drive. The left turn lane change and the new bike lanes are the result of the San Francisco Bicycle Plan, which is part of San Francisco’s Transit First policy. The Transit First policy supports pedestrians and bicycles as important non-automobile components of a balanced transportation system. Learn more about the San Francisco bicycle plan at http://www.sfmta.com/bikeplan.

Back in 2009, the MPIC was monitoring the Bicycle Plan as it went through the process, looking at its potential impact on our neighborhood. The proposals that affected us were for bike lanes on Portola Drive. Two options were proposed for those lanes. Option 1 was for dedicated bike lanes. We wrote to the San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Agency (SFMTA) stating our preference for Option 2, which called for “sharrows” to be painted from Miraloma to O’Shaughnessy. A “sharrows” is a bike/rider and arrow emblem painted on the street surface to show that the lane is shared. (Share & Arrow = Sharrows). You’ll notice that SFMTA implemented option 1 and painted a dedicated bike lane.

Just before the Environment Impact Report (EIR) was accepted by the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors back in 2009, we noticed that the SFMTA had come up with a “Revised Option 2,” in which bikes would have a dedicated lane on Portola from O’Shaughnessy to Sydney, the street across Portola from Fowler. To provide the dedicated bike lane, they planned to remove one of the left-turn lanes from Portola onto Fowler. At that time, we believed this strategy would cause many problems. The two lanes divide left-turning vehicles into two lines: one to go left into the parking lot and the other to go straight on Fowler or right into the parking lot. Although the SFMTA traffic study supposedly showed no significant impact on the level of service at the intersection if there were only one lane, many residents who make the turn daily know that the two most common situations causing back-ups are when cars entering the parking lot on either side must wait for a car to pull out of a space in the lot, or when the 36-Teresita is making a turn.

Thus, we believed that reducing the left turn to one lane would cause back-ups onto Portola Drive. The time allotted for a left turn on each green arrow would not be sufficient to empty the lane, so that in order to turn left drivers would have to wait through multiple cycles of the traffic light. Drivers would opt to go around vehicles going into the lot and approach the crosswalk with reduced visibility, increasing danger for pedestrians, especially high-schoolers, as they cross in the crosswalk. This was the situation before the Department of Parking and Traffic decided years ago, for reasons of safety, to have two left turn lanes.

In response to concerns about reducing the two left turn lanes to one, Damon R. Curtis, the Acting Implementation Manager of the Bicycle Program, at SFMTA responded:

“ . . .We appreciate your concerns about removing one of the westbound left-turn lanes from Portola at Fowler; however, based on our analysis of the intersection, one lane is sufficient to accommodate the left-turn demand. This does not mean that there will never be a back-up, but it does mean that the next reasonable step is to implement the proposal and observe it under real-world conditions. Subsequently, we
will make any modifications we think are necessary based on those observations. Incidentally, this particular project was approved by the MTA Board this past June (2009); however, based on our current implementation schedule, it will not be implemented for another 1 to 2 years.”

Now that the single left-turn lane from Portola onto Fowler has been in effect for over a month, the MPIC wants to know what you think about its impact on traffic and safety. Please send us an email, leave a voice message, or post your opinion to our message board. You can also write to the SFMTA at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, or submit comments to the SFMTA board at MTAboard@SFMTA.com. If you do this, please send the MPIC a copy of your comment.

The SF School of the Arts Program

by Sandra Halladey

Founded in 1982 by acclaimed American artist Ruth Asawa, as well as local renowned artists, educators, and parents, the San Francisco School of the Arts (SOTA) thrives as a stand-out public high school that provides a world-class academics and arts education. To commemorate Ruth Asawa’s vision and dedication in offering public school students exceptional arts education from professional artists and celebrated teachers, SOTA proudly embraces a new moniker as it enters into its thirtieth year as an award-winning school: the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. Among the many accolades garnered over the years, SOTA was recently honored with a 2011 California Distinguished School Award. SOTA was the only high school in San Francisco to receive this award in 2011.

We at the Ruth Asawa School for the Arts would like share the celebrations and events with the Miraloma neighborhood and invites the community to attend and help celebrate thirty years of arts excellence in public education. All events are listed on the school website at www.sfsota.org. The mainstage musical this year is The Producers, brought to you by the same department that in previous years gave you Seussical, Ragtime, and Fiddler on the Roof. Our production of The Producers features students from a variety of disciplines. Shows usually sell out, so we advise online advance ticket purchase at www.sfsota.org Here’s a special offer for Miraloma Life readers through February 1st: Get $2.00 off each online ticket for The Producers when you use the coupon code Miraloma. The Producers will open on February 23.

Other shows in January will include Media Night on Jan. 12 and 13, Shakespeare Night on Jan. 14, Poetry Café on Jan. 27, and Playwrighting on Jan. 28.

The Ruth Asawa School for the Arts is located at 555 Portola Drive in SF, at the corner of Portola and O’Shaunessy. Shows are performed at the Main Stage Theater, accessible from O’Shaughnessy.

Mt. Davidson Forest and the Natural Areas Plan

by Dan Liberthson

In the October Miraloma Life an article by Jacquie Proctor discussed the draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the SF Natural Areas Plan (NAP), regarding which input from the public was requested by the Planning Department and Parks and Recreation. Ms. Proctor has education and professional experience in urban planning, is a 32-year resident of Miraloma Park, and is an SF historian who leads tours of Mt. Davidson. She studied the lengthy and occasionally obscure and confusing DEIR and found several proposals that could dramatically decrease the historic recreational and aesthetic value of Mt. Davidson Park for neighborhood and City residents as well as visitors. Ms. Proctor submitted the October article summarizing her concerns to the Miraloma Life (providing a link to the DEIR so that people could read it and form their own opinions) and spoke to the MPIC Board, which agreed with her concerns and consequently wrote to the Environmental Review Officer detailing the issues and requesting further study and amelioration.

The MPIC Board stated in this letter our overriding concern that the NAP plan places disproportionally greater value on native plant habitat restoration than recreational use and that any of several alternatives for Mt. Davidson Park in the DEIR would deter public recreational use of this Park and attempt to make large portions of it into an oak and prairie landscape with restricted public access. This would unacceptable to the neighborhood of Miraloma Park, for which this forest is a major recreational resource and therefore a mainstay of our quality of life and property values. This goal is also inconsistent with the forested state of the hill when the City bought the land and designated it a public Park, and is also incompatible with historic Park recreational uses. We pointed out that we opposed the more radical alternatives in the EIR to remove 1600 or more trees from Mt. Davidson Park and if forced to choose could consider only the least invasive plan proposed (1200 trees removed) possibly acceptable—but that even this proposal was profoundly worrisome in terms of its potential impact on recreational use. We noted that the impact of any of the plans would be greater than anticipated because more trees under 15 feet high would be (or already have been) cut than specified in any DEIR (e.g., for an SF-PUC water tank near the summit and for other utility projects, storm damage, and tree death due to age and/or lack of maintenance).

Further, we noted that The Historic Resource Evaluation Response for the NAP confirms that the Mount Davidson forest area is a historic natural resource and potentially eligible for listing under the CA Register as an ethnographic landscape. The NAP project alternatives described in the DEIR would significantly negatively impact this historic natural area because (1) the DEIR proposes that replacement trees can be planted anywhere in San Francisco, rather than in the Park in the location of trees removed; (2) it specifies replacement of trees removed with oaks (which take a generation to grow) rather than faster growing historic forest species (e.g., cypress or pine); and (3) it lacks any plan for replanting the remaining trees (i.e., those trees not subject to planned removal) as the existing historic species reach the end of their lifespan; (4) it proposes removal of 3000 feet of trail on Mt. Davidson in order to protect native plants from people and dogs; and (5) it does not address global warming concerns, which argue against large-scale destruction of mature healthy trees for whose oxygen content replanted seedlings cannot compensate.

Furthermore, the DEIR project map indicates that areas where tree removal would be concentrated are the most visible areas within the Park, a major scenic and historic resource for Park visitors as well as residents of surrounding communities. Clear-cutting these highly visible areas along major trails and sightlines within the Park would be detrimental to enjoyment of the Park by its users. Looking west toward the cross at the summit, all the trees to the right and down the hill between the two stone stairways would be cut down, and across the road and down the hill a wider swath would be cleared. This center of what is now the forest area would be cleared and replanted to replicate the open look of the east side of the park. Of crucial concern is not the impact on views of the forest from outside of the park, which the DEIR does appear to consider, or the impact on distant views to and from the Park, but the view and experience of the historic forest up close from within the Park: along the trails, roads, and historic monuments within the areas where substantial tree removal is proposed. Even more alarming, the DEIR does not clearly define the planned scope and specific impact of the extensive tree removal planned for the area containing most park trails.

As part of the work on the EIR, the MPIC Board asked for revisions to detail the scale of proposed cutting along trails, and requested that that all healthy cypress and pine trees in the areas near trails remain uncut, to better preserve the recreational value of hiking in the woods. Unlike eucalyptus, these species from the original historic forest are not invasive and add greatly to the pleasure of viewing within the Park, as well as hosting a varied bird population that would be lost with their removal. The MPIC further required that all trees removed from Mt. Davidson as part of the NAP be replaced one-for-one within the Park in the locations vacated by the removed trees using cypress, cedar, or pine species in order to restore as fully as possible the historic visual character of the Sutro forest. The historic cypress and pine species and cedar as well are neither exotic nor invasive, grow much faster than oaks, and are more suited than oaks to survive the soil and windy/damp climate conditions in Mt. Davidson Park. In fact, oaks never existed on Mt. Davidson, so no valid argument can be made for replacement of removed trees with oaks. Note that none of the stipulations in this paragraph are currently in the DEIR, which is accordingly incomplete and deficient.

Because previous tree removal and native plant restoration projects in the Park have left unsightly stumps and debris along the most accessible and visible areas, the MPIC Board requested that any trees culled for the NAP (and any non-native brush cleared) be totally removed so that no stumps or remnants are left to negatively impact the aesthetic view from within the park. We further noted that although the DEIR addresses the noise-pollution impact to adjacent residents anticipated from the actual tree clearing, it does not address the fact that tree removal could result in a substantial permanent increase in ambient noise levels heard within the park—noise from the 280 freeway, BART, and Portola Drive now mitigated by trees slated for removal. The final EIR should study this impact, as well as the effect on quality of life of the increase in wind levels in and around the Park that will occur when trees that currently serve as a windscreen are removed. In addition, we reported that where trees have been removed thus far poison oak (an invasive native plant) growth has considerably increased, often along hiking trails, and we believe this proliferation will become dramatic as more trees are removed. Thus, we asked for a policy to keep poison oak at least 10 feet away from all trails at all times.

DEIR proposals also prohibit benches in scenic view areas near the Mt. Davidson summit in order to deter off-leash dogs, which might harm native plant restorations. However, the DEIR does not assess how leash rules could be effectively enforced or that, instead of pursuing such enforcement, City staff are choosing to remove recreational amenities such as benches in sensitive plant areas. This policy significantly negatively impacts recreational experience of one of the best views in San Francisco, to the extent that there is now only one bench in the Park. The MPIC has requested more benches throughout the forest.

Last, we pointed out that the DEIR lacks any cost estimate or means of funding for implementing the NAP program, nor does it address the potential impact of shifting resources such as park bond funds away from recreation and park maintenance/improvements to complete the NAP projects. The substantial cost of removing the trees from Mt. Davidson will divert significant resources from providing what the MPIC considers a higher priority for resource use: basic maintenance of Mt. Davidson Park, including litter and graffiti removal, forest and trail maintenance, and installation of benches and trail direction signage. We concluded our letter with the statement that unless the above-described inadequacies in the NAP project for Mt. Davidson are addressed, we would need to request withdrawal of Mt. Davidson from the NAP plan.

I have provided the above level of detail partly in order to answer a critical communication from one reader (the only one who communicated to us any objection) in response to Ms. Proctor’s article on the NAP and Mt. Davidson in October’s Miraloma Life. Following in italics is a substantial excerpt from letter submitted in November by a concerned resident:

“I see no reason to why the MPIC through its newsletter should try to shape opinion by misinforming the public about restoration projects … Why not present information about these restoration plans in a non-biased and more truthful way? The goal is to reduce non-native and evasive plant species from a public property to better protect what little is left of undeveloped San Francisco. Take it back to a time that pre-dates manipulation and intervention by man—and preserve that. Create healthy ecosystems for native and endangered plants and animals. Increase the opportunity for the natural views once afforded to the west, north and south (now obscured by those non-native trees) … I have said this before—the MPIC does NOT speak for us all, and they should stop pretending to do so, to our elected officials in matters like this.”

Editor’s Note: The MPIC Board carefully studies and evaluates all issues before taking a position, and we volunteer many hours per month to this effort. We do not claim—and never have claimed—to represent the views of all Miraloma Park residents (nor can any party or organization make that claim for all of its members). The goal of the MPIC Board has consistently been to act, to the best of our
understanding, in the best interests of the community in enhancing and preserving quality of life our neighborhood. It is in this spirit that we participate in the public debate over governmental projects for which, as in the case of the NAP DEIR, our views are solicited: so that flaws in proposed legislation that could degrade quality of life in Miraloma Park are noticed and, hopefully, corrected.

The MPIC warmly supports native plant habitat restoration. In fact, the MPIC Clubhouse hosts and supports one of the most noted and best maintained native plant gardens in the City. Our opposition is to the extreme measure of culling exotics so much as to drastically impact recreational use. In other words, we advocate for a balanced approach that respects the Mountain’s natural and cultural history while also taking into account the present context and uses. As noted above, we believe that the present DEIR does not achieve this balance, and have suggested solutions at the invitation of our government. Furthermore, many naturalists propose that once an environment is altered by introducing new species, pursuing its restoration to a “time that predates manipulation and intervention by man” is impossible; the affected lands must therefore be managed within their present context and uses. And certainly, the view that an oak prairie represents the “natural” state of Mt. Davidson is incorrect with respect to the original state of the land, as the notion of abolishing trails and restricting access to Park land and views is incompatible with established recreational uses.

From the Legal Files: Uphill/Downhill Neighbor Law

by Mary Catherine Wiederhold, Esq.

With Miraloma Park’s many homes on hills, leaves from trees and other debris impact uphill and downhill neighbors differently. What can be done when an uphill neighbor’s debris threatens a downhill neighbor’s property or fence? Downhill neighbors have some options.

First, they should talk with the uphill neighbor about cleaning out the debris. Gutters and roofs should be inspected and cleaned before the rainy season. A back fence area should also be checked for leaves and other debris. This is especially important if debris accumulates along a back fence and causes damage.

If there is a dispute about accumulated debris that neighbors can’t resolve, they might try mediation by Community Boards. Community Boards in San Francisco offers free or low-fee mediation. They bring parties together in an effort to resolve the immediate issue that is causing conflict and put in place a strategy for resolving future disputes.

If all else fails, the downhill neighbor might consider litigation. The goal of litigation can be to obtain an injunction. The uphill neighbor could be found liable for nuisance, trespass, and negligence. Nuisance “is a civil wrong based on disturbance of right in land.” Trespass “might result from physical intrusion . . . or failure to remove foreign material.” Remedies for nuisance and trespass include giving reasonable notice and entering the uphill neighbor’s property to remove the debris. Another remedy could be an order by a Superior Court judge for the uphill neighbor to clean up the accumulated debris.

Another remedy is for the downhill neighbor to seek a monetary judgment against the uphill neighbor. Damages would include the cost of downhill neighbor’s replacement fence or repair, or any money that would make the downhill neighbor whole. Alternatively, the downhill neighbor could seek damages for the decreased value to the property so long as that does not exceed the cost to repair. Damages might also be sought for the emotional distress caused by the uphill neighbor’s actions.

If you live downhill and have issues with your uphill neighbor, before taking legal action I would recommend that you seriously reflect on how long you are going to live in Miraloma Park. Suing your neighbor will likely permanently damage your relationship. Seeking mediation is a preferable first step.

Thanks to real estate broker Sue Kirkham for her suggestion regarding this column’s topic. If readers have suggestions for future columns, please send an e-mail to: mcw@mcwrealestatelaw.com.

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Reminder: MPIC Holiday Party and Pot-Luck Cook-Off on December 4!

This is one event you do not want to miss! All Miraloma Park residents and business owners are invited to the premiere event of the MPIC calendar.

Date: Sunday, December 4
Time: Eat, drink, make merry: 5 pm to 8 pm; Boswick the Clown appears from 6 to 7
Ambience: Music provided by Laura Lee Brown and Company will comprise a medley of Holiday favorites. Boswick the Clown will provide a zany interlude for the delight of kids and the amusement of their parents.

Admission is free for those who bring a pot-luck dish to feed at least six people, and all cooks will be in the running for prize gift certificates to local merchants. For details about what to bring, please check out the lead article in the November issue of the Miraloma Life. Misplaced your copy? No problem. Just go to miralomapark.org and select “Miraloma Life Online – November 2011.”  Join your neighbors and celebrate the holidays in style!

The 2010 Census: What Changes Have You Seen in Miraloma Park?

by Robert Gee

This article spotlights the changing demographics of Miraloma Park as shown in the 2010 Census compared to the 2000 Census. Most of Miraloma Park is part of Census Tract 307 in San Francisco County. As more data from the 2010 Census are released, the changes in Miraloma Park over the last 10 years will be explored in subsequent articles.

The table below shows that the total population in Miraloma Park remained steady from 2000 to 2010. The most notable change in population demographics, which will have been observed by any long time Miraloma Park resident, has been the marked increase in young children, especially children under 5 years old. It would appear that our neighborhood welcomes many young families that decide not to move out of San Francisco. There’s also been a marked increase in our population of 55-74 year olds. Perhaps Miraloma Park is a great place to retire?

Our neighborhood has also seen an increase in racial diversity. The number of owner-occupied homes has slightly decreased and renter-occupied houses have slightly increased.

Note 1 – “Family households” consist of a householder and one or more other people related to the household by birth, marriage or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state issuing marriage certificates for same-sex couples. Same-sex couple households are included in the family households category if there is at least one additional person related to the householder by birth or adoption. Same-sex households with no relatives of the householder present are tabulated in non-family households. “Non-family households” consist of people living alone or households which do not have any members related to the householder.

From the MPIC Safety Committee

Doorbell-ringing. Consistently, police urge residents to call 553-0123 about suspicious individuals going door-to-door ringing doorbells, a typical prelude to burglary being first to determine whether or not the resident is at home. On October 25, a resident called police to report a neatly attired individual ringing doorbells on her block. Who should respond but Ingleside Station’s commanding officer Captain Daniel Mahoney. The Captain’s daily e-newsletter later reported that the Captain “observed an individual matching the description [forwarded by dispatch] and did a consensual encounter with him. The individual explained that he was selling magazine subscriptions from out of state.

The captain asked the male to provide identification and he said he did not have it in his possession. He provided the captain with his information and admitted to him that he had outstanding warrants…the warrants were confirmed by the warrant bureau and the individual was booked at Ingleside station.”

The MPIC thanks Captain Mahoney and the alert resident who took the time to report suspicious activity and in all likelihood prevented at least one burglary.

Portola Business Burglaries. On Monday, November 1, 2011 at approximately between midnight and 5 am, three 700 block of Portola Drive businesses were burglarized: Pop’s Sandwich Shop, the laundry, and Tower Burger. At the request of Ingleside Station, the MPIC posted flyers along the Portola commercial strip reporting the crimes and requesting anyone who might have witnessed suspicious activity possibly related to the crimes to contact Sergeant Alexa O’Brien at 404-4044. Please help the MPIC support our local merchants and keep Miraloma Park one of the safest neighborhoods in San Francisco by advising the SFPD at 911 of any suspicious late night/early morning activity on or
around the Portola shopping strip—or anywhere else in Miraloma Park.

Traffic concern. The collaborative partnership between the MPIC and the Miraloma Elementary community has resulted in major reductions in parking and traffic congestion near the school at drop-off and pick up time. The MPIC is grateful to Miraloma Principal Mr. Ron Machado for his support and cooperation. The MPIC has, however, received reports of occasional speeding in the vicinity of the school: speeding is especially hazardous on our narrow streets. The SFPD will provide occasional enforcement using lidar, a relatively new remote sensing tool. The MPIC has also requested an SF Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) traffic assessment of certain streets in the near vicinity of the
school to determine that all appropriate safety features are in place.

Rusted Backboards. The Sunday morning Miraloma Park basketball players advised the MPIC of severely corroded backboards at the Miraloma courts. They were not exaggerating! Our Park Section Supervisor has submitted a work order for replacement backboards.

Coyotes. Coyotes have been sighted on Teresita, Foerster, Myra, on Mt. Davidson, and in Glen Canyon: please protect dogs and cats by keeping cats indoors—as recommended by humane associations in any event—and dogs under close supervision.

The MPIC Safety Committee wishes you a happy, healthy, and safe Holiday Season and New Year!

Summary of MPIC Board Meeting on November 3, 2011

by Dan Liberthson and Kathy Rawlins

On-Line Vote: Oct. 10 motion to use $200 of MPIC money for native plants for the hillside at the west end of the Clubhouse land passed.

Guests: Jacquie Proctor discussed potential negative impacts of the Natural Areas Plan (NAP), for which a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) was recently released. Removal of 1200 or more trees from Mt. Davidson, as proposed in the DEIR, would, without guaranteed local replacement with fast-growing native CA trees, lead to loss of recreational opportunities and quality of life for current and future generations and loss of animal habitat. The MPIC voted unanimously to support the formation of a multi-neighborhood coalition with a name like “Save the Forest” focused on saving the SF urban forests and to host meetings of this organization at the MPIC Clubhouse if they do not conflict with paying rentals. Brian Stone, a Sequoia resident who has been working on the Safety Committee as a non-Board Member, was in attendance and was appointed to the Board by President Karen Breslin.

Treasurer’s Report (T Sauvain): The MPIC’s current net worth is $24,394 , a decrease of about $560 from September. Income and rental activity for October increased over September, and we received $400 in Miraloma Life advertising income. Over and above normal monthly expenses, we spent $43 for new clocks in the clubhouse (one in the main room and one in the kitchen), $72 on native plants for the hillside at the west end of the Clubhouse, and $241 on clubhouse supplies (keys, light bulbs, trash bags, etc.). I still recommend that we get the front steps repaired/replaced and do a reserve study.

Clubhouse rental activity returned in October, almost tripling our income from September ($1707 vs $660, respectively).  Rental activity looks robust through the busy months ahead, and rental agent Steve Davis has been successful in extending our Monday evening artist group into 2012 and getting some other multiple rentals. In addition, we are hopeful that rentals will further increase in response to our new music policy, which allows amplified music and voices inside the clubhouse before 10 pm as long as the noise cannot be heard outside the Clubhouse (i.e., neighbors cannot hear it).

Committees: Safety (K Wood)—Concern about safety of bus stop at O’Shaughnessy and Del Vale, which forces unsafe crossing of O’Shaughnessy by some Muni users. As a crosswalk would not solve the problem and a pedestrian bridge would be unlikely due to cost and unattractive, G Noguera will ask the Metropolitan Transit Association (MTA) to make an assessment of bus stop to have it removed and/or schedule more frequent 36 or 44 runs or take other steps to address the problem. Zoning and Planning (ZAP, C Mettling Davis)—Safeway on Monterey is applying for a permit to double its size with the parking lot only on the roof. They plan to take out part of the meridian to allow for deliveries by semi. Re CVS Pharmacy: After the Planning Commission approved the project but requested “modernization” of the art deco design developed by neighbors and Walgreens (the original permit applicant), the Department send around a revised plan that was basic “big box” and told ZAP that this would be the design. ZAP members contacted the Department, the Commission, CVS, and sundry officials to request that art deco design be restored as the more compatible with neighborhood architecture. D Liberthson made a presentation to the Planning Commission and Commissioner Antonini was interested in helping Antonini agreed to help; he contacted Rick Crawford, Planner, and CVS, and urged a meeting with Board representatives on the design issue. Membership—Somewhat down due to lagging renewals.

Events (S Chu)—Motion for $1500 budget for Holiday Party approved. Assignments and responsibilities discussed and finalized. Clubhouse Maintenance (C Mettling-Davis) —Two stage lights are out and the front stairs need repair and painting. K Rawlins will recruit someone to fix the former and C Mettling-Davis will get bids for the latter.

New Business: Bicycle Coalition requests time to address Board at next meeting. They will be invited to present for 15 minutes.

From the Legal Files: Some Facts to Know About Renting Out Your San Francisco Home

by Mary Catherine Wiederhold, Esq.

The San Francisco Rent Ordinance governs rental housing. While the Rent Ordinance affects mostly apartments buildings built before 1979, it also affects tenants in single family homes.

The Rent Ordinance mandates that a tenant’s rent can only be increased under the limit set by the Rent Board. Currently the increase allowed is 0.5% of the tenant’s current rent. However, state law exempts leases of single family homes after January 1, 1996 from local rent control. If a tenant moved in after that date, there is no limit on the amount of rent that can be charged. If the landlord seeks an increase of more than 10% of the tenant’s current rent, then notice of the rent increase must be given to the tenant 60 days before it goes into effect.

While a lease for a home signed after January 1, 1996, is not subject to rent limits, the tenant is still protected under the Rent Ordinance from being evicted without “just cause.” Just cause includes non-payment of rent; the owner’s moving into the home if certain conditions are met; extensive capital improvements or repairs that make the home unfit to live in for a temporary period; and permanently withdrawing the home from the rental market.

If the owner chooses to move into the rental home, the owner cannot own another home where he or she currently lives. The owner must move into the home within three months after the tenant moves out and must live there in good faith for at least 36 months. The Rent Ordinance mandates that owners pay the tenant a statutory fee when serving notice of an owner move-in. Currently, the fee is about $5,000 per tenant. More fees are owed if the tenant is disabled or a senior. If the owner move-in is done incorrectly, the landlord might be subject to a civil lawsuit.

The eviction process is highly technical. The rules under the Rent Ordinance are complex. A landlord should seek the advice of an experienced attorney before beginning an eviction process.

Thanks to realtor Doug Devine for suggesting this column’s topic. To suggest future columns, please send an e-mail to:
mcw@mcwrealestatelaw.com

Notice of Event

Point Counterpoint: Photographs by Irene Poon and Charles Wong

Display, Book Signing, and Exhibit at Ebeneezer Lutheran / HerChurch across from Tower Market at

678 Portola Dr.,  SF (Free parking in Church lot)

12-3 pm, Sat, Dec 3, light refreshments

Contact: velvetlenscap.com, 681-5400

A Winter Poem: Waiting for the Rain

The air thickens to gray pudding and sounds
pool together, more durable but less incisive,
as if watercolored on thick rag with a soaked brush,
puddling the ear’s surface and slowly seeping in.

A lone gull screams seaward bearing hard
against the weighted air, already swimming
more than flying, arced with apprehension.
From the distance, confused chattering.

Pigeons squabbling over a sheltered ledge?
Children quickening their bickering before
retreat to whatever safety their homes might afford?
Or the rasp and tap of tree limbs on windows,

dried leaves on streets, as prefatory winds gust in?
A dog barks a question. Not a single creature knows
what will come: forty days and nights of rain or one.
Four thousand years ago they waited just the same.

The wind died away then as it does now.
The first globes of rain, heavy with themselves,
spattered down. Everything pulled to a pause.
Giant dark legs of rain appeared and strode near.

©2011 by Dan Liberthson (See liberthson.com for more.)

Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines (MPRDG)

To make Miraloma Park home-owners more aware of our MPRDG, we plan to reprint most of the document in the Miraloma Life as space permits. The complete MPRDG appear at www.miralomapark.org. They were adopted into the San Francisco Planning Code in 1999.

Section 2, Neighborhood Character, Continued

The following discussion is intended to help clarify the restrictions and opportunities presented by a particular neighborhood context and to understand the degree of design flexibility that exists.”

•    “Clearly Defined Visual Character”

“On some blockfaces, existing building patterns and architectural styles will strictly define the options for new development. A predominant visual character is clear in the strong repetition of forms and building types in the drawing below.

A small deviation in this neighborhood pattern would draw a great deal of attention to a new structureattention that is damaging to the existing street character, as shown below.”

The new structure shown below is more responsive to neighborhood character.

•    “Complex Situations”

“In other situations, building forms and structures are more varied, yet the row still ‘works’ and the buildings share a strong, unified sense of character. Patterns in building siting, form, proportion, texture, detail, and image are strong but more subtle than in the previous example.

Consider the following examples.

In the last example, there is considerably less unity among the images of the facades.”

“When existing patterns and rhythms are ignored, the visual character will be damaged. In each of the examples below, the new building is disruptive to the overall feeling of the streetscape when compared to the block faces on the previous page.

MPIC Holiday Party and Pot-Luck Cook-Off on December 4!

by Dan Liberthson

It’s time to fire up the oven and get out your favorite recipe to prepare for the MPIC Holiday Party and Cook-Off. This has always been the highlight of the year, as neighbors join together to share the warmth of the fire, the tastes of many wonderful dishes, the merriment and entertainment, and the festive atmosphere and decorations in our newly renovated Clubhouse. This is a great way for those new to the neighborhood to meet their neighbors, and for those who have lived here for years to renew old acquaintance, all the while sampling culinary delights and fine Holiday entertainment.

This is one event you do not want to miss! All Miraloma Park residents and business owners are invited to the premiere event of the MPIC calendar. Please put the date on your calendar now, as the next newsletter will come out too late to provide notice.

Date: Sunday, December 4
Time: Eat, drink, make merry: 5 pm to 8 pm; Boswick the Clown appears from 6 to 7
Ambience: Music provided by Laura Lee Brown and Company will comprise a medley of Holiday favorites. Boswick the Clown will provide a zany interlude for the delight of kids and the amusement of their parents.

Feast: The MPIC will provide meats (usually ham, turkey and/or chicken, and roast beef) and drinks (wine, softdrinks, coffee/tea, and the locally famous Champagne Punch). But the real stars of the show will be the potluck specials brought by you, our neighbors and guests. Because the centerpiece of all the fun and the object of the Pot-Luck Cook-off Contest is to taste each other’s fine creations, admission will be free to those who bring a dish to share that will feed at least 6 people. One family can bring one dish, but if you are a large family please bring correspondingly more. The more you bring, the more people can sample your dish, and the better your chances to win one of the excellent prizes donated by our local merchants. The Holiday Pot Luck has had an international flavor in past years, with such favorites as Taco Mix, Stilton Cheese, Moroccan Pasta, Chicken Mogul, and a host of other treats. Categories include Appetizers/soups/salads, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, and Desserts.

Guests who do not bring a dish to feed at least six people will be asked to pay $10 for each person in their party over age 7 to help defray costs. If you have any questions, please phone 281-0892 and leave a message. Please come, show off your best culinary skills, and share this celebration of the Holiday season with your friends and neighbors. And be sure to bring the kids, who will love Boswick the Clown (formerly of Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey circus) and his fantastic and funny acts and balloon creations.

MPIC Clubhouse Rental Liability Coverage Policy

Because of recent questions, we want to explain our policy of requiring insurance coverage for renters’ private events at our facility.

To protect the MPIC’s Clubhouse liability insurance policy from cancellation in the event of a claim made as the result of an incident occurring at a private (as opposed to community) event, we require MPIC Clubhouse renters to purchase insurance coverage specific to the event and with the MPIC as an additional named insured.

The MPIC maintains general liability coverage on the Clubhouse for MPIC-sponsored events, but we are at risk of losing that coverage should we file a claim on this policy resulting from an incident at a private event, and replacement coverage would be difficult and/or very expensive to obtain, given our not-for-profit status. Thus, the requirement that renters obtain event-specific primary coverage during their private events protects the MPIC’s general liability coverage, and is considered a “best practice” community-wide by rental space managers. Were the MPIC to provide this insurance for renters, we would need to increase our rental rates significantly to purchase additional coverage for each private rental.

Insurance options for renters include: (1) Most homeowner’s insurance providers will offer coverage extensions (or “riders”), often free of charge, on a renter’s homeowner policy, to include the MPIC as an additional named insured for the duration of the rental event. The MPIC collects a certificate of insurance (which can be faxed or emailed in scanned form) as proof of this “rider” in advance of the event. (2) If the renter’s own provider does not offer this extended event-specific coverage, it can be purchased from most insurance providers. The MPIC’s own insurance agent, Larry DiGiacomo (415-661-3880), can help prospective renters to purchase insurance for events. (3) If a renter feels strongly that his or her event is for the good of the community, the MPIC will consider assuming the risk if the renter cannot obtain insurance for a reasonable price, depending on the type of event to be held.

In our experience, renters have had no difficulty obtaining event-specific private coverage.  If you have further questions about this policy, please contact Steve Davis, our rental agent, via the MPIC voicemail at 415-281-0892) or by e-mail at miralomapark@gmail.com.

City Ordinance Requires ‘Hidden’ Disposal Bins

by Stephanie Gee

While it is one of the most liberal cities on the West Coast, with protests and people expressing themselves daily, San Francisco does have regulations to keep the city clean and orderly. One of these happens to be the “trash can law,” which states that residents must either hide or conceal their disposal bins from public view. Now, this article is not like one of those Stanley Roberts reports on his television segment “People Behaving Badly,” but just a friendly reminder to fellow neighbors to please store their disposal bins out of view.

With the world preoccupied by global warming, a major recession, and political debates in which people try to tear each other apart, you might ask why I am stressing compliance with a seemingly trivial law that the police are unlikely to enforce. My answer is, it’s a vanity issue concerning our neighborhood’s appearance that also has a practical side. According to the Department of Public Works (DPW), keeping your disposal bins out of sight reduces litter, theft, and vandalism in our city, especially graffiti. And if you are still not convinced, some economists argue that not having big disposal bins in front of houses improves everyone’s property values.

While the City relies on the moral sense of San Franciscans for compliance with the law, DPW can impose a fine to back up the legislature. If you do not conceal your disposal bins and the police happen by, you could receive a citation of up to $500. In essence, this new “trash can law” can be compared with parking laws: it’s better to make the small investment of putting money in the meter or removing your disposal bins from sight than to take a chance on a hefty fine.

That “we all need to make the world a better place, one step at a time” may sound like a cliché, but the small step of hiding our trash cans when they are not at curbside awaiting collection will give our Miraloma neighborhood a face lift. Many neighbors insist they do not have enough space for three large disposal bins in their homes or garages. Yet however inconvenient this requirement might be, we should all find a way to obey this law as a public service that helps keep Miraloma Park pleasant, uncluttered, free of vandalism, and with robust property values.

Of course, there are details as to how the city defines a ‘hidden’ disposal bin, including:

• Garbage and recycle bins cannot be placed on the sidewalk or street before 6 pm on the day immediately prior to collection.
• Property owners are required to remove bins within 24 hours after collection.
• Businesses are required to remove bins immediately, on the following business day, when the business opens.
• Property owners are responsible for the upkeep of enclosures for bins, including cleaning the enclosure and removing any graffiti that may occur.

Those neighbors who hide their disposal bins will help create a chain effect so that all neighbors start to conceal their bins, helping to beautify Miraloma Park. So if you are not already, please be among the first to build the chain. And, as the airline videos always say before take-off, “Thank you for your cooperation!” For more information, please visit http://www.sfdpw.org/index.aspx?page=1378

Summary of Minutes of Board Meeting of October 6

by Dan Liberthson and Carl Schick

E-Mail Motions: R Gee moved to authorize $400 to file an application with the SF Entertainment Commission for a permit to allow for amplified music outside the Clubhouse at the Fall Fiesta; the motion failed. S Chu moved that the MPIC write a letter advocating for maintenance of the basketball backboards at Miraloma Park; the motion passed unanimously. Follow-up: The Recreation and Parks person responsible for our area was contacted and submitted a work order for the maintenance.

Treasurer’s Report: MPIC income for September increased slightly. The very successful Fall Fiesta cost just over $1100. Clubhouse rental income decreased in September to $660, the lowest in several years. As our current prohibition on amplified music may in part be the cause of the decline in rentals, the Board will need to revisit that policy.

Committees: Mt. Davidson Park (ad hoc)—Jacquie Proctor, MPIC’s liaison regarding the Natural Areas Plan, drafted a letter to the Plan’s Environmental Review Officer (in response to request for comment on the draft environmental impact review document) questioning plans to cut down 1600 or more trees on Mt. Davidson and other concerns about the DEIR. Jacquie and other Board Members expressed serious concerns about the potential negative impacts of the plan on recreational use of Mt.

Davidson Park. K Wood moved to accept the premise of Jacquie’s letter and send it under MPIC letterhead as modified by D Liberthson; the motion passed unanimously. Membership (R Gee)—Recent direct mail outreach to lapsed and potential new members has raised overall membership to 660; seven new members joined at the Fall Fiesta. Clubhouse Maintenance (C Mettling-Davis): R Gee submitted a motion for the MPIC to purchase a clock for the clubhouse interior for $39. He has asked for a clubhouse committee meeting in a few weeks to discuss what can go into the MPIC reserve account. Future rental bookings are up and include a new permanent renter, the Botanical Drawing Group. Safety (Robert Gee, Mike Naughton, Brian Stone, Joanne Whitney, Karen Wood): (1) The Safety Committee is exploring formation of a Google Group to be used in sending safety alerts. (2) The Committee discussed developing a process for addressing blighted homes in Miraloma Park, using as a guide the SF Anti-Blight ordinance. (3) Danger for pedestrians crossing O’Shaughnessy at the Del Vale Muni #44 stop was discussed. Possible future actions include requesting Muni to move the stop and/or to increase #36 service during peak hours (possibly in the form of partial runs), thus allowing Del Vale and other residents to use the Teresita/Marietta stop. (4) A hoax message posted to the MPIC Crime Message Board on 9/28/2011 and removed the same day resulted in a waste of police time researching non-existent suspicious events. The MPIC Webmaster monitors the Miralomapark.org site daily, removes problem postings, and bans problem users; he has added to the site a Safety Committee message advising against false postings. (5) A Gaviota Way resident contacted MPIC about cars speeding on Gaviota at school drop-off time. In response, G Noguera requested a traffic assessment of the block, a traffic engineer has been assigned to the case, the SFPD will provide occasional enforcement via radar or lidar, and R Gee will ask Miraloma Elementary Principal Machado to remind parents not to speed in the neighborhood.

Old Business: The Miraloma gas station has officially closed. K Breslin spoke with Olga Reynolds in the mayor’s office about our desire to speak to the Mayor about the Planning Commissions rejection of the Art Deco design for the façade of the new CVS in favor of a “modern” design that we believe is inconsistent with Miraloma Park architectural heritage. The Mayor’s Office said they would contact the Director of Planning to follow up on our letter.

From the Legal Files: How Much is Your Neighbor’s Nuisance Worth?

by Mary Catherine Wiederhold, Esq.

Miraloma Park has many lovely trees and lovely views. What happens when your neighbor’s tree obstructs your view? What is the value of the “nuisance” of your obstructed view? An appellate court found that the value of nuisance is not the same as the reduced value of a home.

In 2002, a Court of Appeal decision held, for the first time, that a row of trees grown over 10 feet high specifically to obstruct a neighbor’s view could be a “spite fence.” Before this decision, a spite fence had to be literally a fence. Recently, the court of appeal held that one neighbor who sued another over an obstructed view had to prove the value of their nuisance with regard to their obstructed view in the trial court before they could be awarded damages. Legally, “nuisance” is defined as injury to the comfort and enjoyment of a homeowner’s property by the obstructed view. 

The case involved two neighbors in Carlsbad. The Vanderpols, whose property was upslope, paid tree trimmers to cut their downslope neighbor’s trees so their view would not be obstructed. This arrangement worked for a couple years. One day, the downslope neighbors, the Starrs, decided the Vanderpols could not trim their trees as much as they were formerly allowed to. The neighbors argued. Then, the Starrs planted 85 new trees along the common border between the properties. Three years later, after the trees obstructed the Vanderpols’ view, their attorney wrote to the Starrs and asked them to trim their trees. The Starrs refused. The Vanderpols sued them for, among other things, nuisance.

The jury found that the Starrs had indeed planted and grown their trees to a height exceeding 10 feet for the specific purpose of annoying the Vanderpols. An appraisal expert testified the Vanderpols’ damages based on the obstruction of their view at $57,000. However, because there was no testimony regarding the value of nuisance damages to the Vanderpols because of their obstructed view, the Court of Appeal reversed the damage award to the Vanderpols and sent the case back to the Superior Court for a new trial.

I receive inquiries from homeowners asking about, among other issues, trees, broken fences, neighbors trespassing to retrieve balls, barking dogs, and the like. I usually advise homeowners to work it out with their neighbors or to mediate their issue at a community board. Litigation for homeowners is stressful and expensive. Even when the law appears to be on your side, you might not receive in court what you expect. The Vanderpols and Starrs will probably never talk with each other again without their lawyers present.

Yards to Gardens, a Project of Earth Island Institute

by Zach Bogoshian (contact: zach@y2g.org)

Yards to Gardens (website y2g.org) is a non-profit organization focused on creating community connections around gardening. In the urban setting, gardening space is at a premium, however it does exist: in the yards of your loving, caring neighbors! We want to empower neighborhoods to become more healthy, connected, and beautiful by creating new localized food systems out of their yards. A free website, y2g.org allows you to find or post yard space, willing gardeners, extra tools, or organic matter.

Yards to Gardens has been a great success in Minneapolis, MN, and we recently brought it to the San Francisco Bay Area! So, If you or someone you know needs a space to garden, has extra yard to share, or some tools sitting around collecting dust, then Y2G is for you. So tell your friends, and put up a listing today! It takes 5 minutes tops!

Please check out http://y2k.org, use it, post on it, share it, write about it, or shoot us some tips on how to make it better (compliments welcome too) by using the feedback tab or emailing zach@y2g.org.

Fog Rise

Fog bursts over the hill,
slaps the insolent blue sky,
then sinks, rests, regathers
and rises again to press up the eaves
until the roof drifts away.

Soothing, soaked in gray,
to stop struggling for distinction
and let Fog do its work—
unglue and gently
float apart everything
with unthinking persistence
like a dinosaur munching swamp greens.

Clear astringent air that dries the glue
sticking everything together,
leave now! Let liquid Fog
loosen the webs and all fall down.

Sight and fret seep away
as the wind slows to a sigh.
Fog stretches, curls,
scratches its belly on the treetops.

by Dan Liberthson
(see liberthson.com for more)

Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines (MPRDG)

To make Miraloma Park home-owners more aware of our MPRDG, we plan to reprint most of the document in the Miraloma Life as space permits. The complete MPRDG appear at www.miralomapark.org. They were adopted into the San Francisco Planning Code in 1999.

SECTION 2 – ORIGINS OF MIRALOMA PARK (CONT’D)

The original development of Miraloma Park followed on the access to the “outside lands” (away from Downtown) afforded by the completion of the Twin Peaks tunnel in 1917. According to Mae Silver in her book Rancho San Miguel, the tunnel “for the outside lands meant the creation of residential communities into park-like settings, housing tracts, and neighborhoods” (Silver, 44). As she explains:

The developers wrote into the deeds of these areas rules regarding ‘nuisances’. . . The new residents created homeowners and neighborhood associations to master the zoning and the building regulations of their area. Later, these groups transformed these original concerns into political muscle dedicated to preserving the integrity of their neighborhoods. (Silver, p 44)

These were urban residential parks conceived with distinctive character and persona still intact today (Silver, 46). The developers created housing tracts as parks incorporating details of refinement, beauty and harmony in the total design. These parks conveyed orderliness and separateness. Inside . . . was an oasis, a refuge, a respite from the rough, brisk business of the city outside. Homes were often similar in structure and style surrounded by sculptured lawns, tree lined streets, vistas and visions of fountains, playgrounds, boulevards and woodlands. Homeowners’ associations maintained and governed these residential parks. (Silver, pp 47-8)

Miraloma Park was built over a period beginning in 1926 and ending in the 1950s. The houses in Miraloma Park were predominantly designed as one story over garage.  A small percentage of homes built after World War II (and located higher up on Mt. Davidson) were designed as two story over garage, but in all Miraloma Park no homes are higher than two-story over garage excepting three later structures on Foerster. Because the homes were adjoined, generous open space behind the homes was provided to allow a green belt between the streets. Advertisements and articles about Miraloma Park emphasize the planned nature of the community.

A Meyer Brothers flier showed a photo of a Miraloma Park street, commenting that “wide green lawns, trees and shrubs flank Miraloma Park’s curving streets,” and emphasizing “the charming results of Controlled Development, careful sub-division and individualized exterior designs. Surroundings such as these safeguard the future value of Miraloma Park homes,” the brochure continued, and it concluded that “years touch lightly on homes that are individually designed and well built, and upon the home district that is carefully planned . . . .”

One owner in the original subdivision said:

“I can now appreciate [the] Meyer Brothers [the developers’] contention that Miraloma Park homes offer city comforts in a suburban setting. The homes themselves are charmingly individual. . . . Miraloma Park is far more quiet and restful than I had imagined anything so close to San Francisco could be. The wooded slopes of Mt. Davidson add a great deal to the beauty of the rural setting.” (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/22/26)

The idea of Miraloma Park as a “suburb within the City” and a planned community was maintained throughout later development. In 1941, when half of the planned 1600 homes had been completed, G. H. Winter, the Meyer Brothers” secretary, said that Miraloma Park was intended as. . . a home center planned as a community development where homes could be sold at moderate cost. . . . The master plan of development outlined in detail specifications for what the firm believed to be the essentials of a suburban home center. The entire tract, for example, was to be developed in units with improvements going into each unit just in advance of building. Streets were to be wide and curved to take full advantage of the contours of the property. Basements were planned along the rear of each home so there would be no unsightly power poles on the streets. (San Francisco Chronicle, 4/20/41, p 10).

Early advertisements present Miraloma Park as a place where the owner exclaims “So this is what they meant by quiet!” and strolls the rolling hills, “knee deep in grass and flowers,” a neighborhood of “backyard farmers,” a place where for a modest price a family can have open space, peace, quiet, and tranquility, “a new kind of living” (Chronicle 4/20/41 p 10). The idea of a planned community was so important to the builders that they completed a Clubhouse for the Miraloma Park Improvement Club (which they donated to the Club in 1936) and built an elementary school in the late 1930s.

The dedication of residents to preserving the parklike surroundings of Miraloma Park was exemplified by the efforts of the Parent-Teachers Association of Commodore Sloat School, in conjunction with the State Parks Commissioner. They fought off plans to build roads and a reservoir at the top of Mt. Davidson and saved the forest cresting the mountain as undeveloped space that was to became a city park of 39.4 acres (Silver, pp 51-2).

Today’s trails circling Mt. Davidson traverse a native plant ecosystem similar to the plant environment known by Jose Noe and even George Vancouver. The value of such a remarkable experience when hiking Mt. Davidson’s trails is impossible to explain with words. One is aware one has walked back into time. Then there is the exhilarating panoramic view from the top of Rancho San Miguel that is spectacular. (Silver, p 52)

The struggle to preserve the mountain-top park that is the source and emblem of the woods-like character of so much of Miraloma Park provided for a strong sense of community among the 2200 households within the neighborhood.

NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER

Ultimately, the concern to preserve neighborhood character extends beyond individual neighborhoods to the well-being of the City as a whole. As the San Francisco Residential Design Guidelines point out,

“ . . . to a large degree the character of San Francisco is defined by the visual quality of its neighborhoods. A single building out of context with its surroundings can have a remarkably disruptive effect on the visual character of a place. It affects nearby buildings, the streetscape, and if repeated often enough, the image of the City as a whole.

Concern for the visual quality of the neighborhoods gave rise, in part, to the November 1986 voter initiative known as Proposition M, which . . . established as a priority policy, that existing neighborhood character be conserved and protected.”

With respect to specific neighborhoods, the San Francisco Residential Design Guidelines define particular criteria and guidelines that will be described and made specific to Miraloma Park in this and the next section. Neighborhood character is first defined, as follows.

“What is the Neighborhood?”

“In assessing whether the visual appearance of a new building or expansion of an existing one conserves the existing neighborhood character, neighborhood is considered at two levels:

• The immediate context. Here the concern is how the building relates to its adjacent buildings (or, in the case of an enlargement, how the addition relates to the existing structure) and how the form of the new or enlarged building impacts the adjacent buildings.

• The broader context. Here the concern is how the building relates to the visual character and scale created by the collection of other buildings in the general vicinity. The buildings on both sides of the street in which the project is located are particularly relevant.”

“What is the Blockface?”

“The blockface is defined as ‘the row of front facades, facing the street, for one length of the
block.’”

“RESPECT OR IMPROVE UPON THE CONTEXT: FLEXIBILITY IN DESIGN”

“In certain neighborhoods, the visual character will be so clearly defined that there is relatively little flexibility to deviate from established patterns. However, in the majority of cases there will be greater leeway in design options.

Building patterns and rhythms which help define the visual character should be respected. A street may have a pattern and a rhythm which unify the rows of buildings on either side. A sudden change in this pattern, an over-sized bay window or a blank facade among more detailed ones, for example, can appear disruptive and visually jarring.

In many areas, architectural styles are mixed or significant demolition and redevelopment have already occurred. Other neighborhoods show little visual character and seem to be awaiting better definitions. Here, design should go beyond compatibility with the existing context; it should take the opportunity to help define a desired future visual character for a place.

Mt. Davidson Park – An Open Space Preserved for Recreation or Native Plants?

By Jacqueline Proctor

In 1995, the City transferred Mt. Davidson Park to the Natural Areas Program with the result that protection and restoration of native plants—rather than public recreation, aesthetics, or forest maintenance—has become the first priority of the few City staff assigned to maintain the park. A recently completed Draft EIR has determined that the Natural Areas Program Plan will have a significant impact on the environment. Indeed, the Plan envisions the negative consequences to public enjoyment of the Park to be beneficial. While the City is busy planting 1000s of street and median trees to “clean the air,” it is giving the OK to spend limited Recreation and Park funds to cut down 1000s of the historic trees along the trail and road areas of Mt. Davidson, restrict public access through native plants areas by installing barriers, prohibiting benches in the best view areas, and fostering the growth of poison oak (a native plant now thriving where non-native shrubs and trees have already been removed). The Miraloma Park Improvement Club Board plans a letter to the City advocating for the Final EIR to recommend preservation of the forest as an historic, natural, recreational, and aesthetic resource, as well as advocating for full access to the native plant area and installation of benches in the view areas. If you have any comments about this plan, please email the board at Miralomapark@gmail.com.

Click link below for Map of Park: brown areas, inside what is now forest, will be cleared of trees.
Natural Area Plan Mt. Davidson

For information about the plan, see http://sfrecpark.org/documents/1_Overview.pdf

T-Mobile Withdraws Cell Tower Application

We have important news to share:  T-Mobile has withdrawn their application to install a new wireless facility at the Miraloma Community Church, 480 Teresita.

Sincere thanks go to all those of you in the neighborhood who attended community meetings, signed petitions, and wrote letters to members of the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors objecting to the construction of a macro-cell tower in our midst and to the Church Board asking them to act in the best interests of their neighbors. Special thanks go to Karen Wood and Dan Liberthson. Board members of the Miraloma Park Improvement Club, for their continual support and encouragement and to Doug Loranger, founder of the San Francisco Antenna-Free Union (SNAFU) for his willingness to share his expertise, answer our many questions, and offer excellent advice throughout this difficult ordeal.

We would like to welcome our new neighbor, Cornerstone Trinity Baptist Church: we hope that their congregation will enjoy many good years in their new and antenna-free location.

Jane Risk, Norman Nager, Faruq Ahmed, Judith Dauphinais; Organizers of the Stop T-Mobile effort

Note: While the application has been withdrawn, it is still not known if it is with any terms or conditions for future activation. The pastor of Cornerstone Trinity Baptist Church has stated that he is committed to preventing any cell tower installation at the Church site.

Report from the Membership Committee

by Robert Gee, MPIC Membership Chair

We are happy to report that MPIC currently has over 650 members! For a long time, membership stayed in the 500+ range. This year, our goal was to increase membership to 600+ and we’ve done it.  We truly appreciate all of you who have joined MPIC and thank you for your support. The larger our membership the greater our ability to advance MPIC’s mission to preserve and improve the quality of life in Miraloma Park.

To be a member of MPIC, you just need to live or own a home in Miraloma Park. Membership is voluntary and is for a 12 month period—one can join at anytime. Did you know that of the 2,200 homes in our neighborhood, almost 1,400 homes have never been members? So over the last few months, we’ve engaged in a campaign to reach out to those 1,400 households by delivering personalized letters inviting them to join. So far, the campaign has been a success as new members continue to join. We also continue to welcome new homeowners to the neighborhood with personalized letters inviting them to join. If you’re a new homeowner, please look out for your letter. This enlarged and ambitious outreach effort would not be possible without the tremendous efforts of MPIC members Peter Renteria, Brian Stone, Vivienne Antal and Deb Atkins plus the many MPIC Board of Directors members who helped to stuff, address, and/or deliver them.

Twelve months can go by quickly and then it’s time to renew your membership. Most members renew at the start of each year. We know everyone is very busy because of jobs, children, and other commitments so it’s easy to forget to renew. We send out emails to members when it’s time to renew their membership so be sure to check your spam folder. We also deliver personalized letters to members to remind them to renew.

So what future plans does the Membership Committee have?  We want to make it as easy as possible to join or renew. We are looking into offering PayPal as a payment option so that a member can join or renew online through our website. We want to hear from you with your suggestions on how to build our membership. Got a question?  Not sure why you should renew?  Just want to talk to a Board member?  Do you want to find out more about what the Club does?  Email us at miralomapark@gmail.com, leave us a message at 415-281-0892, or post a message on our website Message Board at (www.miralomapark.org/boards). Let us know your thoughts about neighborhood topics such as safety, native plant conservation, graffiti abatement, disaster preparation, Club events, zoning and planning, and traffic calming issues.

Our community will be better served by more participation and will be much stronger when neighbors get involved.

Ingleside District Community Safety Update

By Captain Daniel J. Mahoney, Commanding Officer, Ingleside Police Station

Greetings to all. To begin, I just want to thank all the members from the Miraloma Park community for the warm welcome I have received not only upon my arrival at Ingleside but also at the last meeting of the MPIC that I attended. This is a very active, motivated and involved community—which is just what is needed to make our communities safe.

In regard to our community crime problem, I would like to give everyone an update on past crimes and my targeted strategies for combating future crimes. Juanita Way was the scene of a terrible robbery several months ago where a woman was robbed of her purse and injured in the process. Through the diligent efforts of the Ingleside Investigative Team, and working along with the patrol units, they were able to identify the culprits. One has been taken into custody and is currently in the Criminal Justice system. The other has fled the area but we continue in our search for him.

As part of my enforcement strategy, it is clear to the officers of Ingleside that due to our “station footprint” being so large (we cover 6.3 square miles), criminals are driving to areas in cars to commit crimes. This has been verified in several cases where witnesses have reported seeing robbers fleeing in cars away from the crime scene. So—to combat this phenomena, we conduct “Robbery Abatement through Vehicle Enforcement” operations. We watch the anticipated travelled streets looking for known robbery suspects (those on probation or parole) and for vehicles that have been used in past robberies. We then conduct traffic and investigative enforcement. This allows us to know who is travelling through our district and lets them know that we are out there. We have had some success and will continue in that endeavor.

Additionally, I use decoy operations whenever feasible to combat the growing robbery and auto burglary occurrences —and have also had some success. In the middle of August, our “decoy” car was broken into and the thief quickly nabbed. Again—we will be continuing with those operations.

Finally, we have been seen an uptick in certain types of robberies. Thieves have been ripping necklaces right off of the necks of victims—commonly called “chain snatches”—probably due to the high value in gold. I again urge all to be aware—always—of their surroundings and who is near. Taking a page from the Department of Homeland Security, if you “see something—say something”. Ingleside’s best success comes from the police-community partnerships that we have.

Chaves Burglary

Miraloma Park has one of the lowest crime rates in San Francisco, but crimes occasionally do occur in our neighborhood. On Thursday, September 15, 2011, a burglary occurred on the 100 block of Chaves near Agua. According to police, burglars gained access by prying open the recessed front door. Police believe that these burglars may still be operating in the neighborhood. No physical description is available at this time. It is likely that the house was being watched prior to the burglary, because the crime was timed to the homeowner’s absence from home.

Please be alert and call police (553-0123) about any suspicious individuals in the area—especially those ringing doorbells or sitting in a car without apparent legitimate business. Tell Dispatch that the individuals are of special concern because of the recent burglary. If there is any doubt, police should be called to check on the situation. Many burglars have prior convictions and/or outstanding warrants, and officers are always glad to connect with these individuals. Someone with legitimate business will not be arrested or harassed, but an alert resident can prevent crime.

Also, please notify the SFPD at 553-0123 if you observed suspicious activity that may be related to the Chaves crime. Even small details can be helpful in identifying suspects.

Thank you for helping to keep Miraloma Park one of the safest in the City.
MPIC Board of Directors Safety Committee

Beautify Miraloma Park!

It’s not too late: if you’d like to plant a tree in front of your house, you can still sign up to participate in a neighborhood tree planting through the Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) planting program. The subsidized cost for a FUF tree is just $75! FUF makes the whole process easy and affordable, and by participating, you’ll increase the value of your home and potentially those of your neighbors. Your tree will absorb traffic noise and increase privacy. Your soul will benefit from its beauty, and birds (and dogs) will thank you. Needless to say, your tree will help to clean our air by removing carbon dioxide and providing oxygen. What could be better? Just as important, the involvement of neighbors in the planting and care of local trees will build a stronger Miraloma Park community.

The San Francisco Department of Public Works regulates where trees may and may not be planted, but FUF will work with us and DPW to ensure that your tree won’t interfere with utilities or street signs. (Sidewalks must be at least 4 feet wide to accommodate trees.)

If you’d like to participate or just have questions, please call the Miraloma Park Improvement Club at 415.281-0892 or email Miralomapark@gmail.com with your name, address, and phone number. Also, please indicate in your message whether you can help with coordination of this event.

To learn more about Friends of the Urban Forest and their neighborhood tree planting program, visit their website at www.fuf.net.

All I’ve Ever Known

By Stephanie Gee, 11th Grade

My whole life, this small and comforting neighborhood, I have called home.13 years, about 4,745 days, numerous holidays, and special occasions have all happened here. This neighborhood is the escape from the chaos and noise of downtown San Francisco, and is the ultimate suburban environment embedded in a cosmopolitan city.

When I was in grammar school, my teacher would ask the semi-cliché question of, ‘What makes a house a home?’ to which people would respond with phrases such as, my home is where my family and friends are. However much that answer is true, a home cannot exist without other ‘good’ homes surrounding it. Our neighborhood provides a safe environment, relative to the dangers of the outside world. In this neighborhood, it is not just one home that makes us a community, it is many adjoining homes with inhabitants that respect each other.

Without this love and support that Miraloma neighbors provide for one another, our neighborhood would turn up in the newspaper as yet another statistic about a crime scene or a major theft. Yet, somehow, Miraloma has risen above all of the dreary statistics and stayed off the ‘wanted radar’.  This nurturing community of young families, retired couples, and single bachelors is what makes Miraloma unique.

My memories of the late 1990s, when I first moved here, are blurred, with only fuzzy images of the Miraloma playground, the then Tower Market, and winding streets. At only four years, I really had no concept of a neighborhood. The young motorcycle man next door, a black dog named Titus, and the Sullivan family were as close as I got to bonding with neighbors. As time went on, I began to see more of the people that I shared the Bella Vista block with. There was the businesswoman and entrepreneur, the young couple with a newborn baby, and the gardener. So much diversity within one or two blocks, and I could always count on waking up to see freshly planted flowers across the
street every morning that a neighbor had worked so hard to grow.

San Francisco has been a desired place to live, being a unique and diverse city. The average San Franciscan has heard of Pacific Heights, West Portal, The Castro, and the Downtown district, but when asked about Miraloma Park, people draw a blank look. Sure the 36 Teresita Muni line only comes every half an hour, and the biggest restaurant is Tower Burger. However, it is the quaint environment that satisfies us Miraloma neighbors. Also, living in a not as well populated area has its perks. We get to know the dry-cleaning lady well, and the Mollie Stone’s cashier greets you as if you were an old friend. The 36- Teresita Muni line is the only public transportation bus where 90 percent of people say thank you to the driver, and the annual block party allows both parents and kids to enjoy themselves.

In two years I will be headed off to college, maybe somewhere close, or possibly on the East Coast. I want to come home for break to the same neighborhood that I left, one of serenity in a bustling city. But for now, I’ll enjoy my neighbors and community while I can.

Miraloma Park Improvement Club Fall Fiesta

September 10, 2011 at the Clubhouse: This was a terrific event, thanks to the efforts of MPIC Board event organizers Shannon Chu, Thad Sauvain, and Carl Schick: 110 guests of MPIC—children and adults—turned out for the bouncy house, taco truck, toy exchange, and the opportunity to get to know neighbors and make new friends. Thanks, everyone, for a great day!

From the Legal Files: The Sun Will Come out Tomorrow: San Francisco Courts Avoid Some Closures

By Mary Catherine Wiederhold, Esq.

The California legislature passed and Governor Jerry Brown signed the state budget in June. The budget took $350 million out of the judicial branch and took an additional $310 million from a court construction fund. The San Francisco Superior Court, which operates three courthouses, was hit the hardest because the court made the decision last year not to lay off employees and to spend down its reserve.

This year the court has reserves that might be below the state mandate.

Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein had sent out layoff notices to 200 court employees. Virtually the entire civil division was to be shut down. However, as of early September, the San Francisco Superior Court received more than $3 million in additional funds from the state.

This money will guarantee that 14 of the 19 San Francisco courtrooms will remain open. These courtrooms included ones at the Civic Center Courthouse as well as at Juvenile Hall. Criminal trials are constitutionally required to go to trial within a shorter time frame, and they were least affected by the original cuts.

What are the practical effects of the San Francisco Superior court keeping the lights on? Usually the San Francisco Superior Court handles more than 30,000 civil cases every year. The only civil cases that would have gone to trial if the civil division had closed would have been cases facing a mandatory five year deadline for a trial. The five year period is measured from the date the case is filed. For elderly people who file lawsuits, there was the very real possibility that they would not have lived to see resolution of their cases. Obtaining a divorce would have taken a year and a half instead of six months. Although 98% of all cases settle, many cases settle right before the jury is sworn in.

The bigger picture is whether the Legislature’s cuts to the court system are constitutional. Under the California Constitution, the three branches of government, executive, legislative and judicial, are supposed to be independent. With the June budget the legislative and executive branches have effectively crippled the judicial branch by slashing its funding. Even with the increased funding, open access to the San Francisco Superior Court remains in doubt. As the 19th century British politician William Gladstone stated, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”


Miraloma Park Fall Fiesta

Saturday, September 10, 1 to 4 pm at the MPIC Clubhouse The MPIC invites you to join your neighbors for an afternoon of food and fun for kids and adults! Highlights will include a Taco Truck, a Bouncy House outside, and a Toy and Media Exchange inside the Clubhouse. At 1 pm the taco truck will serve burritos and tacos in the Clubhouse parking lot. Beer, soda, and juice boxes will also be provided. Please bring toy and media items to exchange. This is a great opportunity to clean out your closets and garages before the holidays and trade items you no longer use for something fun and new to you. Exchange tables will be labeled for baby/toddler toys, bigger kid toys, and books/games/music/movies, also categorized by age group, including grown-ups. This exchange will be based on the honor system, with drop off from 1 to 2 pm, priority selection from 2 to 3 pm so those who bring items can select a similar number of items to take home, and free-for-all selection from 3 to 4 pm for any remaining items.

• Here some members enjoy bouncy fun at the MPIC’s 2010 Spring Fling. Come out to the 2011 Fall Fiesta to make some more memories!

• The weather was great for the 2010 Spring Fling, and we hope the sun will shine again for the 2011 Fall Fiesta.

West of Twin Peaks Central Council Mayoral Candidate Forum

Saturday, October 1, 10 am to 12 pm St. Stephens Catholic Church Parish Hall 451 Eucalyptus Drive, San Francisco The West of Twin Peaks Central Council represents 19 homeowner organizations located on the Westside of San Francisco including Miraloma Park. Together with these organizations, the MPIC is sponsoring this mayoral debate. The format will include a panel of candidates as well as print, radio and television journalists, and both debate and Q&A. Submit advance questions to Avrum Shepard via email to: ashepard@well.com

An Open Letter to the Miraloma Park Improvement Club From Ned Dahdah of Miraloma Auto Care

Dear MPIC, Alas, we are closing our doors at the end of September. A BIG thanks for your loyalty and patronage for all these years. I would like to personally and formally thank all of you who are reading this and have supported Miraloma Auto Care, as well as the entire community. My appreciation is beyond words. You have taken an active stand in Miraloma Park for our overall well-being for generations to come. Thanks from all of us at Miraloma Auto Care. Thank you for standing behind our small business in such a BIG way. You are in our thoughts and we couldn’t have done it without you. — Ned Dahdah, Proprietor

Miraloma Elementary School Traffic

By MPIC Board of Directors Safety Committee On August 15, Miraloma Elementary started the 2011/2012 school year by welcoming approximately 370 students. What is most notable this year is that most of the 60 incoming kindergarteners live in Miraloma Park! With the start of school comes the many cars entering andleaving the school vicinity etween 7:40 am and 8:15 am. Traffic becomes quite congested in the morning during arrival/drop off time. Some children will be dropped off but many parents will park their cars for about 20 minutes in order to attend the daily Morning Circle. Morning Circle is a great opportunity for all of the children, parents and teachers to gather together in the school yard for announcements, important messages and daily lessons delivered by Ron Machado, the principal. In the past, residents in the immediate vicinity of the school have reported serious problems from school related parking and traffic congestion. MPIC appreciates that parent involvement has been a key factor in improving the school’s performance and we commend the efforts of parents and faculty to make Miraloma Elementary an excellent school. MPIC has continued to work collaboratively with the school and SFPD on a comprehensive plan with both educational and enforcement components. Mr. Machado has issued guidelines to the school community emphasizing a need to maintain positive relationships with the neighbors by not blocking driveways or parking illegally at corners, intersections, sidewalk bulb cutouts, red zones and fire hydrants. Parents are encouraged to car pool, to leave home earlier and to seek parking a few blocks away from the school and enjoy the walk toschool with their children. The school has implemented a very effective traffic flow plan to reduce congestion as outlined in the map below.



All Miraloma Park residents who drive within the vicinity of the school during arrival times should follow this recommend traffic flow. All of these guidelines will result in good relationships with the neighbors and provide the most secure, efficient and safe environment possible for the community, especially the students. The school will also be posting flyers in the immediate vicinity of the school to remind parents of the suggested traffic flow and to park legally. SFPD will be on hand during the first weeks of school to provide traffic control and enforcement. Throughout the school year, if you are a resident whose driveway is blocked, please call Mr. Machado’s office at 469-4734 and he/or his staff will immediately advise the car’s owner to move his or her car. Just be sure to provide the following information: your address, the license number, make, model and color of the car blocking your driveway. You can also send an email to Mr. Machado atmachador@sfusd.edu regarding any non urgent traffic and parking matters. We encourage you to learn more about Miraloma Elementary by going to www.Miralomasf.com. Please keep MPIC posted regarding improvement or continuing problems by emailing us at miralomapark@gmail.com or leaving us a voice message at 281-0892.

Report from the MPIC Board of Directors Safety Committee

Recently, a real estate broker friend expressed the concern that publicizing crimes in Miraloma Park could harmfully impact property values in the neighborhood. The MPIC Board Safety Committee disagrees. In our view, the greater community awareness of the few crimes in Miraloma Park—and in any neighborhood—the stronger and more effective will be prevention efforts, and the safer the neighborhood. We do not accept as a given that all urban areas are prone to crimes and that we just have to accept this condition. Miraloma Park does experience crimes from time to time—we’re not a gated community. Butcompare our low frequency of reported crime with that of neighboring areas: http://www.crimemapping.com/map.aspx?aid=4ee9679d-816d-4985-ac9e-6a8ab222a67c. (Please note that the Crimemapping.com data entry process results in some inaccuracies—e.g., the occasional entry of a doorbell-ringing incident as an actual burglary—but its mapping system does provide a broad picture of reported crimes in a given area.) The MPIC Safety Committee follows up with the SFPD on serious crimes and crime trends in Miraloma Park. We share our information with the SFPD and request targeted SFPD enforcement and increased patrols. We obtain from the SFPD factual non-confidential background information that may help in preventing future crimes, and post leaflets to request any witness information, alert residents to the nature of the crime and possible preventive steps, and to deter perpetrators from returning. In addition, MPIC contacts the DA’s office about cases that we deem to be serious threats to community safety to urge prosecution and for the purpose of ensuring that the DA has any relevant information at our disposal. Robbery. On the afternoon of June 20, 2011, a Miraloma Park resident was walking on the 200 block of Juanita Way near Marne when two males approached her, pulled her to the ground, dragged her into the roadway, and repeatedly punched and kicked her until they were able to rip her purse off of her person. The victim sustained numerous serious injuries and was taken by ambulance for emergency care. Her cries for help were heard by neighbors who came running out of their homes to assist her. Police response was speedy, and their follow-up in the case was careful and professional. The alert and responsive neighbors were able to provide police with a description of the car used in the crime. These suspects were also implicated in other muggings in Glen Park and in the Taraval District. One of the suspects is in custody; the other has been identified and is being sought by police. MPIC has been in contact with the DA’s office and has advocated for prosecution of the case. DUI Rollover. On April 12, 2011 at around 1:30 PM, a driver rolled her car over in the middle of the 600 block of Rockdale Drive, a narrow roadway with only a slight curve. The driver was on her way to pick up her child and another child at Miraloma Elementary. Her vehicle struck two cars but miraculously—especially since at 1:30 PM, the streets are populated with parents arriving to pick up their children from Miraloma Elementary. She was arrested as a DUI. MPIC contacted the DA about this case. However, the DA was forced to dismiss the case due to the unavailability of evidence: blood results from the Medical Examiner’s Office. For 2.5 months we continued to check in with the DA’s office only to learn that the Medical Examiner’s backlog of lab work had resulted in dismissal of charges against the DUI suspect. We appealed to City officials, with the result that the suspect’s lab work was completed and showed a high blood alcohol level, and the suspect was charged by the DA. MPIC’s objective to ensure that those who commit crimes in Miraloma Park do not do so with impunity. Other Safety Committee Notes: 1. Committee members Robert Gee, Mike Naughton, and Karen Wood met with SOTA/Academy of Arts and Sciences Principal Carmelo Sgarlato to discuss the need for consistent and daily monitoring of student activity in the Portola shopping area. We explained that trespassing and other illegal/nuisance activities were unacceptable in Miraloma Park. This was a friendly meeting, and we were impressed with the commitment of the school administrators not only to students’ well being, but to that of the community. Mr. Sgarlato said that SOTA campus has 4 security staff personnel for monitoring the areas near the school and that more were needed. We explored the possibility— however unlikely—of finding City funding for at least one additional security staff person for 4 hours per day during the school year. Unfortunately, the approximate annual cost for one additional part-time security staff person proved higher than expected: more than $27,000+ (benefits @ 78% of salary included). We were not successful in this attempt. 2. A group of Miraloma School parents has proposed a no-parking restriction on the south side of Reposa between Rockdale and Teresita, M-F, 7:00 and 8:00 AM only. Two-way passage is not possible on this block when cars are parked on both sides of the street, as is typically the case during school drop-off times. MPIC Traffic Safety Chair Gary Noguera supplied the group with SFMTA information about the application process. 3. The night of July 4, 2000, Mt. Davidson experienced a large brushfire that threatened neighboring homes. Despite being engulfed in fog, fireworks at the summit ignited the tinder-dry grasses on the Mountain. As happened in Oakland, burning eucalyptus branches could have spread fire to other areas than ours. As we have done annually since then, MPIC advocated this year for 4th of July SFPD presence on Mountain, and Officers Ng and Tillan endured the fog and wind to prevent the use of fireworks, thus keeping the Mountain and surrounding areas safe. 4. MPIC VP Robert Gee met early in August with Miraloma Elementary Principal Ron Machado to discuss re-implementation of the MPIC Miraloma School Traffic and Parking Congestion Mitigation Plan developed over a six-month period by the MPIC Safety Committee and the SFPD with the full cooperation of Mr. Machado and the School community. This partnership has resulted in tremendous improvement in traffic and parking conditions.

From the Ingleside Station Daily e-Crime Reports

Note: On August 9, 2011, a resident of the 600 block of Rockdale posted the following message on the MPIC Message Board (http://www.miralomapark.org/boards/viewtopic.php?pid=1190#1190): Last night at about 1:30 AM, at least two strangers came to our door and a female complained that somebody “stole her clothes”. She sounded young, possibly a teenager. The lights were on on [sic] our house, so it’s no surprise they chose our house. A male and a female were definitely on the stairs. From a glance out the window, you could tell the female was Caucasian. The female rang and knocked loudly on the door and was saying stuff like “It’s freezing out here! I lost my clothes! Please help me!” It was pretty unconvincing. They were possibly trying to make us believe the female was alone because the only other voice we heard was a soft male voice. After I offered to call the police, they left in a hurry and didn’t say anything else. I believe that the male, who was closer to the door than the female, wanted to force his way into the house if we opened the door. Note: Other Message Board members replied that calling 9-1-1 at the time of the incident was appropriate. It was. For your own safety and that of your neighbors, when in doubt, make the 9-1-1 call and let the dispatcher decide whether or not the incident qualifies as an emergency call.

There’s Still Time to Participate in the Neighborhood Tree Planting

By Robert Gee It’s not too late if you are still interested in planting a tree in front of your house. We have some neighbors already signed up but we need at least 25 to participate in a neighborhood tree planting through the Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) planting program. The subsidized cost for a FUF tree is just $75. FUF makes the whole process easy and affordable. Please consider the many benefits you receive when you plant a tree. Trees increase property values and become more attractive to current residents and new homebuyers. Trees also create relaxing, beautiful, healthy spaces providing color, texture, air and shade. They absorb traffic noise, calm traffic and increase privacy. Trees also clean the air by helping to remove carbon dioxide and provide oxygen. Better yet, the involvement of neighbors in the planting and care of local trees can help build a stronger Miraloma Park community. Just be aware that San Francisco Dept. of Public Works has set certain limitations where trees may not be planted. Trees cannot be planted near a traffic sign, next to a street light or utility pole as well as next to utility lines or on a sidewalk that is less than 4 feet wide. FUF will work with us and DPW to make sure your tree won’t interfere with any utilities. So invite your neighbors and participate in our neighborhood tree planting. If you are interested or just have questions about whether you have enough space in front of your house, please call the Miraloma Park Improvement Club at (415) 281-0892 or send an email to Miralomapark@gmail.com with your name, address, phone number. Also indicate in your message whether you can help with coordination of this event. It takes a team to make this successful. To learn more about Friends of the Urban Forest and their neighborhood tree planting program, visit their website at www.fuf.net.

Are you ready for the BIG SHAKE!

by Bill Jeong, Mt. Davidson/Miraloma Park NERT Coordinator Hi Neighbors, Are you ready for the Big Shake! When the big earthquake or an emergency hits you and your home, do you know what to do? By knowing what to do, you and your family can have control of your well being as well as being survivors. Do you have a Plan for your family? Do you have Supplies to survive the emergency? Do you know Where to get information or How tostop severe bleeding? Why would you want to make a plan, well, would you like to: • Have control of the emergency situation • Want to be a survivor • Reduce anxiety • Be able to help yourself and your love ones Are you aware that in a major disaster or emergency, your services such as power, water, gas, phones, and medical services may not be available? Let’s start with making a plan that way you can get control of the situation and survive. You can start by writing the plan down on a piece of paper. Start by talking with your loved ones and listing the following and getting their input and ideas as well: • Two places to meet after a disaster or emergency o A place just outside of your home o A place outside of you block or neighborhood, if you cannot go back to your home. • A phone contact person that lives far enough outside of your area which will not be affected by the disaster (out of state or at theoutreaches of your state) • Two escape routes from each room in your home • A plan for your pets • A list of all your and your loved ones’ special needs • A list of all important papers and the place where they are located for immediate pickup. • Important current pictures of family members, including pets • Consider buying renter or homeowner insurance • Practice your plan, update when necessary Next month, we’ll look at making a supply kit to survive a disaster If you would like to get more info right away on preparing yourself and your family for a disaster, please go to http://www.redcrossbayarea.org and select Prepare or go to http://www.sf-fire.org/index.aspx?page=870, select More Preparedness Information then Family Disaster Plan. Lastly, I wanted to remind everyone again about the opportunity for free Neighborhood Emergency Readiness Team (NERT) Training. The curriculum consists of the following: NERT SCHEDULE To find out how to register for the free classes, go to http://www.sf-fire.org/index.aspx?page=879 and select Training Schedule & Registration on the left hand column of the page.

The SF Botanical Garden Grey-to-Green Program Transform Your Sidewalk Into a Garden – Saturdays through November

The San Francisco Department of Public Works has teamed up with the SF Botanical Garden Society and SF Parks Trust to bring you free Saturday workshops to teach you everything you need to know to “green” your sidewalk. You’ll receive step-by-step instructions to transform your sidewalk into a garden including permitting, designing, and maintenance—recommendations for trees and drought tolerant plants for sun or shade. When are these Workshops? Classes held Saturday mornings from February to November, 2011, from 9:00 am-10:00am at the County Fair Building at the SanFrancisco Botanical Garden.  www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/Grey2Green.

Coyotes In Urban Areas, Miraloma Park Included

The following information is provided by the California Department of Fish and Game. You may not realize it—a simple bag of garbage, bowl of pet food, or plate of leftovers left outside your home or vacation site, can cause severe harm to wildlife. Whether you live in a city or a rural part of California, wild animals are your neighbors. Most wild animals will not bother you. They naturally fear humans and keep their distance—so long as they remain fully wild. Coyotes play an important role in the ecosystem, helping to keep rodent populations under control. But if wild animals have access to human food and garbage, they want more and more. They lose their natural fear of humans and can become aggressive. Never feed or attempt to tame coyotes. The result may be deadly conflicts with pets or livestock, or serious injuries to small children. Pick up fallen fruit and cover compost piles. Allowing wild animals access to human food is dead wrong. Please stash your food and trash. Please respect and protect wild animals. Keep them wild. For additional information, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/coyote.

Miraloma Church sold to Cornerstone Church

The church closed escrow and I spoke with the Buyer’s agent – Maria Fong of Coldwell Banker mailto:maria.fong@comcast.net. Maria confirmed that she is a member of Cornerstone Church, and the church will be using the property as a church. They have a lot of work to do on the church, beginning with a new roof in the next few weeks. They hope to be good neighbors, and have been to our website to familiarize themselves with the neighborhood.

MPIC Board Meeting Summaries

by Dan Liberthson, Joanne Whitney, and Kathy Rawlins June 2, 2011 Meeting E-mail Motion: Approved to send a letter to Supervisor Weiner opposing his initiative that would enable the Board of Supervisors to change/modify/eliminate voter-approved initiates 3 years after they have gone into effect. Treasurer’s Report: Gardener’s bill was very large but due to changeover in gardener’s Suggested that a reserve fund be set apart for capital expenditures Committees: Safety—Police are investigating DUI incident with rollover of car in Miraloma Park. Met with SOTA officials over issue of increasing the number of campus guards. Zoning and Planning (ZAP) —Discussion of implications of Planning Department’s not requiring an environmental report on the Los Palmos at Foerster project to replace one lot with one home with four lots for a total of 4 homes. This development might be a test case for ignoring CEQA requirements and for increased density in western neighborhoods. Membership—582 members as of June. Events—S Chu to be chair of events committee with special emphasis on activities for children and families. Suggestions include a book exchange, a party with a Taco Truck or other food venue, possibly an City election event. Board election on June 16 will have Police Captain, Supervisor Elsbernd, other community leaders for discussion and wine and cheese. Umbrella Community Organizations: Coalition of SF Neighbors (G Noguera) —Discussed Housing Element and delivery of Yellow Pages. West of Twin Peaks Central Council (K Breslin)—discussed Housing Element and windmill policy for City. Supervisor Avalos (running for mayor) spoke. Ingleside Community Advisory Board to the Police (CAB; J Whitney) Discussed a City-wide meeting of all 10 PCABs held on May 10 with Police Chief Suhr present. Police will distribute safety posters warning people to be aware of their surroundings in order to prevent street robberies. Clubhouse maintenance: C Mettling Davis will be manager for this quarter. Steve Davis is now rental agent. C Mettling-Davis to continue investigating method of making outside stairs safe and slip-proof. Cost of $550 to haul away trash, old lumber etc under the clubhouse approved; work party to be organized for June 4. Cleaning service willnow come monthly and C Mettling Davis to check with K Rawlins about what problems in maintenance to check. G Issacson will check on which lightbulbs are best in terms of color produced and price. Compact fluorescents considered preferable to incandescents. New Business: J Whitney announced that she will resign as Recording Secretary but remain on Board and as Sergeant at Arms. R Gee agreed to spearhead tree planting for Miraloma Park in conjunction with Friends of Urban Forest. August 4, 2011 E-mail Motions passed: $650 for ratproofing Clubhouse; reimbursement of rental fee to Sunday church group for witnessing rats in Clubhouse; $75 to haul away garden debris; $250 to West of Twin Peaks for Mayoral Candidate Forum. Motion to participate in suit supporting CEQA enforcement at Los Palmos development site was tabled until discussion and then vote on-line by Aug 15, 2011. Treasurer’s Report (T Sauvain): As of July 30, the MPIC’s net worth was 21,664.94, an increase of $2984 from our $18,681 in June. This increase was mostly due to the credit of $3169 we received from State Farm for our cancelled insurance policy with them. Our income for July decreased from June slightly. We had no Miraloma Life advertising income or outlay (no newsletter in July) and our membership renewals were pretty constant. We paid two emergency bills for the Clubhouse: $650 for rat proofing and $431 to re-key the place after our renter’s lockbox was broken into. There were no other major outlays. Overall, we are a bit below our net worth from earlier in the year, mostly because of big bills for insurance that are no more than previous years, but are paid all at once. I recommend that we do a reserve study and move forward on front stair repairs. Clubhouse rental activity through July remained relatively constant from June: $2032 vs $1802 in June. Guests: Ingleside Police Station Captain Mahoney shared his plans for the Ingleside district, including emphases on pedestrian safety with stings on ‘distracted´ drivers (Ingleside has highest number of citations). The number one issue is robberies, especially those with ‘mugged’ victims. Steve Williams, Attorney for opponents of Los Palmos development—Board of Supervisors has issued a Categorical Exemption stating that no EIR is required. Neighbors opposing and Mr. Williams hold that an EIR is required and are suing the City on that basis. In discussion whether MPIC to be involved in suit as co-petitioner, Mr. Williams said he is unaware of any retribution to organizations who were co-petitioners. Arguing to uphold CEQA does not necessarily means we are opposing the project, Mr. Williams said, but many Board members still co-petitioner stance as a liability risk. Amicus brief suggested as way to participate without incurring risk of suit by developers. Committees: Safety—See articles in this Miraloma Life issue. Membership—Membership total is 534. Signed membership request letters will go out to 1460 addresses; volunteers sought to help stuff and deliver them. Events—Plans for Fall festival discussed (see article in this Miraloma Life issue) Umbrella Community Organizations: Coalition of SF Neighbors (G Noguera) — Mayor Ed Lee presented DPW Department’s Mohammad Nuru’s bond for repair of streets & potholes. Ingleside Community Advisory Board (CAB— J Whitney) Attended sponsored National Night Out at Crocker Park. New Business: Carl Schick welcomes as new Board Member, appointed by President Karen Breslin. He will need to be confirmed at the next general meeting with a quorum.

Bad Decisions: Supervisors Accept 2004-9 Housing Element EIR and Recommend Adoption of
Housing Element

by Dan Liberthson

In the April and May issues of the Miraloma Life, articles about the Housing Element (HE) described in detail how the Planning Department and Commission, after a Court mandated environmental impact review (EIR) of Draft 2 of the HE, illegally made significant changes in the wording of the document, changes not analyzed by the EIR, and thus disregarded the Court’s judgment. Draft 3 of the HE includes changed language that eliminates density limits from RH-1 and RH-2 neighborhoods in pursuit of the goal of equalizing housing density throughout the City (“density equity”).

In addition to setting the stage for abolishing single-family zoning, Draft 3 opens much of the City along “transit corridors” (any streets with buses or light rail running on them) to high-density development projects with limited parking. It also drastically reduces current open space and backyard size requirements (threatening residents’ light and view), facilitates building to the 40-foot height limit throughout most existing lots in these neighborhoods, provides for legalization and promotion of illegal units and subdivision of single-family units in R1- zoned neighborhoods, and in the interests of “fairness,” gives ‘community’ interests outside R-1/R-2 neighborhoods a say in what should or should not be built in these neighborhoods, interests that could include developers and special interest groups.

Neighborhood organizations representing R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods had accepted HE Draft 2! But although strong arguments in favor of Draft 2 and against accepting the EIR as valid for Draft 3 were made at the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors appeal hearings, these arguments were rejected. On May 10, by a vote of eight to three, they affirmed the Planning Commission’s certification of the EIR. Only Supervisors Elsbernd, Chu, and Farrell supported the neighborhoods’ position. Supervisors Avalos, Campos, Cohen, Chiu, Farrell, Mar, Mirkarimi, Kim, and Wiener voted to uphold the EIR, in effect blessing the neighborhood-unfriendly Draft 3 document created after the EIR had been completed. This outcome can be compared with making major unreviewed and un-agreed changes in a home remodeling design after obtaining a permit!

On May 16, the Board’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee—Supervisors Cohen, Mar, and Wiener—unanimously voted to send HE Draft 3 to the full Board with a recommendation for approval. Sadly, at the latter hearing Supervisor Malia Cohen implied that the absence at the hearing of large numbers of Asians, African Americans, and Latinos opposed to the Draft 3 indicated that those who did attend to oppose it were a select, non-ethnically diverse minority. Supervisor Cohen is evidently unfamiliar with the broad ethnic and economic diversity of neighborhoods West of Twin Peaks. Many readers will find in her comments a whiff of the well-worn “NIMBY” (not-in-my-back-yard) slur so often used to denigrate single-family-home neighborhoods’ efforts to protect their neighborhood character.

Moreover, in our many years of attending and testifying at public agency hearings, this was the first instance we’ve encountered of hearsay testimony being admitted: both Supervisor Cohen and Planning Department staff stated for the record that many residents of various ethnicities supported Draft 3, and no one questioned this claim. But why weren’t these residents at the hearing, what specifically was the nature of their testimony, and how much did they really know about this document? Planning Staff stated that only 30 words were changed from HE Draft 2 to Draft 3, and that the in fact substantive changes in the new document were minor. But a word count is not a useful gauge of meaning—changing 30 or even 3 key words in the US constitution could transform this country from democracy to dictatorship.

The new language degrades neighborhood self-determination by allowing “community stakeholders”—e.g., developers and residents of other neighborhoods—to participate in neighborhood building project decision-making. It’s only a “policy document” the Department reassures us, and all projects will still need neighborhood approval. But if future zoning changes are not contemplated, why change City policy to accommodate them? The Land Use and Economic Development Committee members asked not one question of the Department about why these 30 words were changed and what the changes meant. But every neighborhood advocate present knew what they meant, as described above. The real story was being disingenuously withheld.

What is the real story? Draft 3 of the HE sells out the City’s character for money in the form of promises of grants via the Association of Bay Area Governments—ABAG, a regional organization in charge of determining quotas for new housing. These grants reward any municipality that goes further than required by State law in building new homes: in the case of HE Draft 3, twice as many homes (about 60,000) as the minimum ABAG asks of San Francisco (about 30,000). In seizing this bait, SF’s Planning Department and its supporters have established a policy to densify a city that is already denser than any other major US city except New York. The reward grants may help grow the Planning Department and supplement the City budget, but this is a bad deal for SF’s single-family neighborhoods, and the compliant Supervisors have failed to exercise their power to protect the City and its residents from planned degradation. They have instead supported a version of the HE that was not environmentally reviewed and caters to developers’ and ideologues’ densifying interests.

We thank Supervisors Elsbernd, Chu, and Farrell for supporting neighborhood character conservation in San Francisco. We and other San Franciscans will not forget you and the courage that you demonstrated in opposing the money grab and insisting on a fair and legal process. And we will remember, particularly when they next stand for public office, the majority of the Supervisors who turned their backs on due process and sold out the unique and irreplaceable characters of San Francisco’s residential neighborhoods.

Update on the New CVS Drugstore

by Gary Noguera

On April 28, the SF Planning Commissioners gave conditional approval to the demolition of Nad’s Miraloma Gas on the corner of Portola and Fowler. In its place will be a brand new 7000 square foot building that will house a CVS drugstore. As most of you know, the MPIC ha s be en working with CVS to ensure that the new building will match the Art Deco/Spanish style of the homes in Miraloma Park. We were very excited that what started out as a “glass box” became a Deco-style building on the theme of Tower Market. As you will notice in the photo below, the building will have a rounded entry and Deco lines on the façade, and is a perfect match for the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, one of the commissioners at the hearing called the design “god awful”. To say the least, we were very surprised and disappointed. The MPIC hosted at least five meetings open to the all residents, where presentations were made about the design. Everyone at the meetings was welcome to give feedback, and some minor changes were made based on neighbors’ comments. Not a single person objected to the design, and many were impressed by it.

The Commissioners sent the matter back to the Planning Department to get the design changed to something more modern. We have asked for help from Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, who totally supports our position that the design should not be changed, and we have written to the Department and the Commissioners in support of our position.

The Commissioners agreed to limit the hours of operation for the CVS store to between 7:00 am and 10:00 pm. CVS has agreed not to sell alcohol at the store, a concession the MPIC Board worked hard to accomplish.

The Commission asked CVS to re-design the building to something more “modern” in style, and submit this modified design to the Planning Department. Then CVS will present the new design to the MPIC Board, and we plan to have a town-hall meeting to see if people prefer the Art Deco or the “modern” design. We will continue to provide updates in future issues of the Miraloma Life.

MPIC Spring Social and Board Election on June 16

The MPIC’s annual Spring Social and Election will be held from 7:15 to 8:45 pm on June 16. Supervisor Elsbernd and Police Captain Cassanego have been invited, and many of the MPIC Board members will attend. Wine, cheese, fruit, desserts, and nonalcoholic beverages will be supplied by the MPIC. Please come and meet your neighbors, officials, and Board, and enjoy tasty treats and good company. All Miraloma Park residents are invited, and MPIC members in good standing (2011 dues paid as of May 16) may vote for Directors and Officers on the slate, which follows.

Directors: Karen Breslin, Shannon Chu, Gary Noguera, Kathy Rawlins
Officer: Sergeant-At-Arms: Joanne Whitney

About Parking: What’s Up With That?

by Captain Louis Cassanego, Ingleside Station

I was notified by the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) that the Department of Parking and Traffic will be stepping up sidewalk violation enforcement, and was asked to inform the community of the plan. Parking is in such high demand that parking across the sidewalk, even in front of your own house, is common. However, this is a violation, because cars parked across or on the sidewalk block pedestrians’ access, especially those who have limited mobility. Please inform your friends and neighbors.

A tip from MPIC Board: Don’t get parking tickets because you don’t have change for the meter. MTA parking meter cards are a convenient way to pay for meters. You can buy them at stores across the city and on-line at the MTA website: http://www.sfmta.com/cms/pmeter/ parkingcard.htm.

Crime Report for Miraloma Park: March 8-May 9, 2011

Neighbor Alert: Arson

On May 7, 2011 at approximately 12:37 AM, an arsonist set fire to an outdoor refuse bin at Miraloma Elementary School causing damage to the school building. Fortunately, the SFFD was able to extinguish the fire before major damage resulted.

Please call police if you see or hear or see anyone in the school or Miraloma Field/Playground properties late at night: 553-0123 for loitering, 911 for suspected crime in progress; if in doubt, call 911. (The Field and Playground close at 10:00 PM.)

If you observed suspicious activity that may be related to this crime, please contact the SFPD at 553-0123. Even small details can be helpful in identifying suspects. The children, faculty, administration, and parents of Miraloma Elementary School have done a tremendous job to create a school of which we all can be proud. Please help to support their efforts. Thank you for your help! — Board of Directors Safety Committee, Miraloma Park Improvement Club

From the Legal Files: Why Arbitration is Fundamentally Unfair

by Mary Catherine Wiederhold, Esq.

I believe that arbitration can be unfair in deciding real estate issues. A recent case from Glendale is especially illustrative. Current law prohibits a court from reviewing an arbitrator’s award. This is because California has a “strong public policy in favor of arbitration as a speedy and relatively inexpensive means of dispute resolution.”

A case will be reviewed by the appellate court, however, if the arbitration procedures interfere with a party’s right to a fair hearing. Recently an appellate court held that an arbitrator improperly excluded one party’s right to have a corporate officer sit in an arbitration hearing. The secretary for a corporation was not allowed to sit with the corporation’s attorney at counsel’s table.

The corporate owner of an assembly hall negotiated with a caterer. After negotiations concluded the caterer spent approximately $300,000 to remodel the hall. When the caterer held the first event, Glendale police officers informed the caterer that the hall could not be operated after 12:30 a.m. The caterer then learned that it could not operate using the hall’s liquor license. It sued the corporate owners of the hall and the hall’s president individually. All parties agreed to submit to arbitration.

At arbitration, the arbitrator allowed the president of the corporation to testify but refused to allow the secretary for the hall to stay in the room where the arbitration was being held. The secretary had been in negotiations with the caterer. The secretary would have assisted the attorney as to exactly what oral representations had been made regarding the time that the hall could stay open and any restrictions on the hall’s liquor license. However, only the president was allowed in the arbitration and to sit at the attorney’s table.

The hall’s president was not present during the approximate one-year-long lease negotiations. The president testified that although he signed the lease with the caterer, he was not involved in drafting the lease or the lease addenda. The president failed to recall any conversations with the caterer about the liquor license or the operation of the hall.

The appellate court held that the arbitrator’s conduct unfairly prejudiced the hall by not allowing the secretary to sit at the attorney’s table and assist the attorney in asking questions of the caterer. The appellate court agreed with the hall and overturned an award to the caterer of approximately $1,250,000. The court sent the case back to the same arbitrator for further proceedings. One legal commentator stated that if this matter had started in superior court and the appellate court sent the matter back, the parties would be able to object to having the same judge hear their matter again. However, this is not an option with arbitration. Consult an attorney before you agree to arbitration.

Summary of Minutes of MPIC Board Meeting of May 5, 2011

by Joanne Whitney and Dan Liberthson

President Karen Breslin presided. As there was no quorum, the minutes of the March Board meeting were corrected but approval was postponed until the June meeting. An email motion to send a letter to the Planning Department supporting CVS’s design for their planned Portola store was unanimously approved.

Treasurer (T Sauvain): Current MPIC net worth is $27,127.94 (about 4,000 lower than figure for March because moneys owed, e.g., deposits on rentals, were inadvertently left out of the March figure). Printing and distribution of the Miraloma Life, at $2,838.73, was the biggest expense and Clubhouse rentals ($1,397.50), newsletter ad fees ($420), and dues ($150) provided the income.

Membership Committee (R Gee): The MPIC now has 582 members A meeting will be scheduled to work on a new membership appeal by mail.

Zoning and Planning (ZAP; C Mettling-Davis): The Planning Commission asked CVS to revise the design for their planned Portola store, calling it old fashioned and “god-awful.” ZAP to write a letter in support of the design, to which the Board had input. The ZAP Committee and full Board decided that the ZAP committee’s duty was to interpret the Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines (MPRDG) and not to act as mediators between disagreeing parties, or between disagreeing parties and the Planning Department and Commission. ZAP will not meet with neighbors to hash out issues but will attend pre-application meetings and explain the MPRDG when necessary. D Liberthson explained critical aspects of the Housing Element and asked Board members to attend the May 10 Board of Supervisors hearing on the environmental impact report (EIR). Is this the beginning of the end of R1 and R2 zoning in SF and a change in the standard of living of the R1/R2 neighborhoods? Events: Shannon Chu to chair Events Committee with emphasis on events for children and families.

Community Organizations: Coalition for SF Neighborhoods (CSFN; G Noguera): Discussed Housing Element and opposition to new community center building on Presidio near car barn. West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WOTPCC; K Breslin): Discussed Housing Element; Board of Supervisors President David Chiu present. Request for dog washing business permit in Stern Grove opposed. Ingleside Police Community Advisory Board (CAB; J Whitney): City-wide meeting of all ten police CABs to be held on May 10. New police chief will preside and report on safety posters, Youth Forum, and safety in Crocker Amazon Park.

Clubhouse Maintenance (G Issacson): C Mettling Davis will be point person for the second quarter, with Steve Davis temporary rental agent. Mettling-Davis continues investigating how to make the outside stairs safe. Contract for maintaining the grounds at the Clubhouse and caring for the native plant garden given to Casey Allen, President of California Native Plant Society. Rec & Park at request of PUC (which owns the Clubhouse land) cleared a large fallen tree and its stump and left new chips; trunk was cut into rounds placed along the perimeter of the parking lot. Discussion of removal of eucalyptus; PUC arborist to inspect trees. K Wood made point that she would not approve of any live tree being removed unless it was a safety hazard. Some renters are leaving too much garbage; how to handle excess discussed. P Renteria noted that someone left outside water running. D Liberthson installed locking device on external faucet to prevent water theft. Cleaning service will now come monthly; K Rawlins will inform C Mettling-Davis about problems they should check. G Issacson to check on which lightbulbs are best for Clubhouse in terms of color produced, price, energy consumed. June 4, 9-12 will be a workday: all Board members and any interested party can work on the MPIC building and grounds. All members of the Maintenance Committee will take turns checking on the condition of Clubhouse after rentals.

Newsletter (D Liberthson): Chris Long, an East-Bay student and freelance graphics designer, worked with Phil Laird to do layout on May issue of Miraloma Life; Chris will take over that function for $100 per issue.

New Business: R Gee will spearhead tree planting for Miraloma Park in conjunction with Friends of the Urban Forest. J Whitney and G Issacson will be at Clubhouse from 7:30 to 8 pm on May 19 to accept nominations from the floor from members in good standing.

Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines (MPRDG)

To make Miraloma Park home-owners more aware of our MPRDG, we plan to reprint most of the document in the Miraloma Life, as space permits. The complete MPRDG are on the MPIC website, miralomapark.org. The cover and front matter appear below, with drawings of homes and streetscapes typical of older Miraloma areas.

MIRALOMA PARK RESIDENTIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES

October 1999

Miraloma Park Improvement Club
350 O’Shaughnessy Boulevard
San Francisco CA 94127

Acknowledgments

These guidelines were written by Miraloma Park Improvement Club and reviewed by the San Francisco Department of City Planning. The MPIC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of D. Scott Brasfield, AIA, who reviewed portions of the document and contributed the section on “The Design Process.” These guidelines are dedicated to the memory of Bruce Flynn, architect and friend of Miraloma Park and all San Francisco, who reviewed portions of the text and suggested correct architectural terminology.

Prefatory Note

Unless otherwise indicated, sections in quotation marks are quoted verbatim from the Residential Design Guidelines of the City of San Francisco (1989).

SECTION 1 – MIRALOMA PARK DESIGN GUIDELINES BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

In recent years the premium on residential property in San Francisco has encouraged development that has been unsympathetic to the character of the existing built environment. While the Planning Code provides general limits on the development of lots, the application of these limits may conflict with neighborhood character.

The renovation of a residence is a major commitment of time, effort, and money. The reasons for renovation vary: some people renovate as an investment, some to improve their building’s design, and some to provide space for a growing family. Whatever the reason, renovations should respect and improve on the character of the neighborhood and the predominant features of the block-face, as well as the amenities of adjacent homes.

Legal Basis

The Planning Commission adopted the Residential Conservation Amendments to the Planning Code on January 11, 1996, which, among other things, recognized the potential of having Residential Design Guidelines for specific areas of the City (Section 311 of the Planning Code). On October 21, 1999, the Planning Commission, under Resolution No. 14903, approved the Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines (see Appendix A).

Purpose and Intent

“To a large degree, the character of San Francisco is defined by the visual quality of its neighborhoods. A single building out of context with its surroundings can have a remarkably disruptive effect on the visual character of a place. It affects nearby buildings, the streetscape, and, if repeated often enough, the image of the city as a whole.

Concern for the visual quality of the neighborhoods gave rise, in part, to the November 1996 voter initiative known as Proposition M which, among other things, established as a priority policy, that existing neighborhood character be conserved and protected.”

To ensure this, the Planning Commission, on January 11, 1996 adopted the Residential Conservation Amendments, which require, among other things, that the Planning Department use the Residential Design Guidelines, including design guidelines for specific areas, for review of permit applications for alteration or new construction permits in residential districts. The purpose of these Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines is to assist in determining whether a new building, or the expansion of an existing one, is visually compatible with the character of its neighborhood.

“The Planning and Building Codes establish basic limitations on the size of a building. A building built out to the legal limits established for height and setbacks and rear yards may, however, result in a building which is not compatible with the character of its neighborhood.”

To address this problem, Section 311 of the Planning Code establishes procedures for review of building permit applications in Residential Districts in order to determine compatibility of the proposal with the neighborhood.

The Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines establish criteria for neighborhood compatibility, not the maximum expectations for good design. “Meeting the minimum criteria will not alone assure a successful project. That will require a sensitive design, carefully executed, and using quality materials. A thoughtful application of the guidelines will, however, assist in creating a project that is compatible with neighborhood character and will reduce the potential for conflict and the delay and expense of project revisions.”

The Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines “do not prescribe specific architectural styles or images, nor do they encourage direct imitation of the past or radical departures from the existing design context. There are many appropriate design responses to a given situation. These Guidelines are most concerned with whether the design respects the project’s context, and consciously responds to patterns and rhythms on the block-face with a design that is compatible and that will contribute to the quality of the neighborhood.”

The Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines are intended to be used by project sponsors and their designers in the project design process, by neighbors and community groups in their review of projects, and by the Department of City Planning staff and the City Planning Commission in their review and approval or disapproval of projects.

The Destruction of San Francisco’s RH-1 and RH-2 Neighborhoods

by George Wooding, President, West of Twin Peaks Central Council

San Francisco neighborhoods that consist of single-family homes had better get ready for major changes. On March 24, the San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved the 2009 “Housing Element.” The Housing Element is the Planning Department’s blueprint for what can and cannot be built in neighborhoods. All new Planning Department decisions will be based on this new planning constitution. Current RH-1 (residential housing/one family) and RH-2 (residential housing/two families) are based on single-family units being built on individual property lots. The single-family houses in West of Twin Peaks neighborhoods are almost exclusively RH-1 homes. Neighborhood planning decisions used to be based on lot size for single-family homes.

The 2009 Housing Element will replace the current lot size designations and instead allow Planning to base zoning decisions on density.  The new density zoning means that the Planning Department will now be able to create secondary units or rebuild single family homes as multi-unit housing in single-family neighborhoods. The new density-based zoning will someday allow your neighbor to subdivide his/her current house into smaller separate units, or tear down an existing house and rebuild it as a multi-unit structure. John Rahaim, SF Director of City Planning states, “It is important to understand that the Housing Element is a policy document, not code. In order for the Planning Department to change the zoning classification, heights, densities, parking requirements, etc. in any part of the City, the Planning Code must be changed. Any such changes must be reviewed by the Planning Commission, and approved by the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor. The Housing Element draft is very clear that when we do propose such changes, we must do so after a public process involving stakeholders.” But note that the 2009 Housing Element lays the necessary foundation for Code changes  allowing greater building and population density in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods.

The 2009 Housing Element has undergone three revisions, with the third revision being made public in February including several changes made by the Planning Department after the 2009 Housing Element Environmental Impact Report (EIR) had been completed. This final (February) revision included the new changes in density zoning to RH-1 and RH-2 neighborhoods and substantially increased the number of additional single-family homes throughout San Francisco that will qualify for density zoning.

Why did the Planning Department decide to base neighborhood zoning on density, rather than on lot size? In 2008, Senate Bill 375 was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger. Its purpose: to promote reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by limiting vehicle miles traveled (VMT’s); approximately 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions come from cars. Although San Francisco already has one of the lowest greenhouse emissions for a major city in California and the nation, the City will receive more State and Federal transit funds if it tries to reduce VMT’s and create and design mixed-use, transit oriented, high -density housing. In addition, the average SF property tax is based on a purchased home value of $357,000 and the density per lot averages about 2.1 people per house. Since Proposition 13, collectable property taxes have remained low in relation to the value of individual homes. Increasing building density in the RH-1 and RH-2 neighborhoods will enable the City to charge more and higher property taxes, since every new unit will have to pay a property tax based on current value.

MUNI is an underfunded basket-case featuring unreliable service, constant service cuts, an 8.5- to 7.5-mile per hour average speed, a $40 million annual shortfall in revenue, and it is headed for insolvency. Who would want to buy a 850-square-foot,“density” condo with no garage for $550,000 on or near a undependable transit line? Oh by the way: your kid goes to school five miles away from your house, your new job is in San Mateo, and one-third of your 100-unit condo development is devoted to affordable housing. Your $550,000 condo is one of the affordable housing units. Your vandalized car is parked eight blocks away in front of somebody’s house with a secondary unit, which no longer has a garage. Meanwhile, in the RH-1 and RH-2 neighborhoods people are converting their garages into secondary housing units to generate rental income. The house across the street was just torn down and turned into a triplex that is 10 feet taller than any of the surrounding homes. The triplex can be larger because it conforms to the 40-foot height limit for RH-1 neighborhoods—even though every other house in the area is only 30 feet tall. Once a few other homes in the neighborhood have added a third story, Planning will claim that there is a height precedent “in the zoning envelope” that is already developed. There is absolutely no parking, because most of the RH-1 parking garages have been turned into secondary units, more people live in your neighborhood, and the people who purchased housing near transit lines with no parking are using your RH-1 density-zoned neighborhood to park their cars.

Middle-class families can no longer afford to purchase RH-1 single-family housing because they are now competing with developers who want to build a second unit or rebuild the original house for clients willing to pay an additional $150,000 more than the middle-class family. Welcome to the future of density planning and the end of the middle-class family in San Francisco.

The final betrayal of RH-1 and RH-2 neighborhoods: Planning revised the term “neighborhood-supported” to “community-based.” The “neighborhood-supported” designation meant that your neighborhood was the major stakeholder in defending its own character. RH-1 and RH-2 homeowner and associations and their established neighborhood covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs), as well as neighborhood associations, will eventually lose their right of self-determination to well-financed community-based developers. After substitution of the term “community-based” in the 2009 Housing Element, the document now states: “Any new community-based planning processes should be initiated in partnership with the neighborhood and involve the full range of City stakeholders.” Why would neighborhood stakeholders need citywide input from the developers, lobbyists, think-tanks, and non-profits that claim to be the community-based component? Director of Planning John Rahaim explains, “The Planning Department has always included a broad variety of stakeholders in our work. We cannot deny anyone the right to speak about a project or plan. I do not believe it is appropriate for me to state that one point of view is more important than another. In each planning effort we must consider a range of issues, some of which apply to the immediate neighborhood and some to the City at large. The term ‘community based’ simply reflects this broader participation.” Basically, this is a nice way of telling the lower income RH-1 and RH-2 neighborhoods that they are screwed.

The Winners: Developers; contractors; the Planning Department, since approximately 85% of its revenue comes from developer fees; the City, which may receive more State and Federal funds and more property taxes. The Losers: RH-1 and RH-2 neighborhoods, homeowner’s associations, neighborhood associations, middle-income families with children, and anyone who has to rely on MUNI as their sole means of transportation.

The primary goal of the 2009 Housing Element was to create 31,000 housing units in San Francisco and thereby to reduce VMT’s. The 2010 census reported that San Francisco already has 31,131 vacant units, or 8.3% of the 376,942 total units. The City has approximately 30,000 illegal in-law/secondary units; between 2000 and 2008, only 80 of these illegal units were legalized and only 204 illegal units were removed. The new 2009 Housing Element revisions to the RH-1 and RH-2 secondary units—and the recent revision to add secondary units to housing in proximity to major MUNI transit lines—have opened the door to almost 70,000 potential new housing units. Why do we need so many new housing units when so many existing units are currently vacant?

The laws of unintended consequences are about to shine on the Planning Department. San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions will increase rather than decrease. More people will result in more greenhouse gas emissions. The average vehicle miles traveled will increase as the number of cars increases due to under-funded and under-maintained mass transit and job commutes. San Francisco will become overbuilt, while middle-class families with kids flee the City and vacancy rates continue to increase.

Be assured that the RH-1 and RH-2 neighborhoods will fight the Planning Department at every step to maintain our neighborhood character and keep secondary units and multi-unit housing out of our neighborhoods.

To make your views known about the 2009 Housing Element, contact Board of Supervisors President David Chiu at David.Chiu@sfgov.org and District 7 Supervisor Sean Elsbernd at Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org.

Auto Break-ins in Miraloma Park

by Captain Louis Cassanego, Ingleside Police Station

I would like to address the increase of auto break-ins in the Miraloma Park Neighborhood. For the entire Ingleside Police District, we’ve had 237 such break-ins, compared to 165 at the same time last year—a 44% increase. Glen Park has been hit hardest, and Miraloma Park more than usual. Miraloma Park was historically isolated from this type of crime due to its hilly terrain and distance from major transit routes. But this natural barrier has been breached. From witnesses’ accounts, suspects have been seen fleeing in cars after breaking into victim’  cars. So, the suspects are extremely mobile and are able to slip in and out of the area quickly. The thefts usually occur from 2 to 6 AM, when residents are asleep in their homes.
 
Why are the suspects choosing your neighborhood? It is because the area is upper middle class, the streets are dark and quiet with very little vehicular or pedestrian traffic late at night, and the residents may feel secure and therefore leave items in their cars. In other words, the suspects are going to an area with a higher chance of success in stealing valuable items from cars.
 
How can we defeat these thieves? The basic answer is to leave nothing in your car to steal. Note, I didn’t say leave nothing of value in your car, but leave nothing at all. Whether it is a laptop bag, sunglasses, or a nickel, the thief will take the chance to break-in. A laptop is a great find. Expensive sunglasses can be sold for five dollars. And a nickel may indicate there’s other currency in the car. A thief who breaks into cars is like a gold prospector; he is willing to pan a stream for a life time after seeing a tiny gold nugget shining near the water’s edge. Even so, in about a third of our car break-ins nothing was taken because there was nothing to take. Some thieves will smash a car window and rummage through the glove compartment on the chance of “hitting it big.”
 
Neighbors need to be vigilant for each other. If you see a suspicious person or vehicle in the area, call the police. You will know what is suspicious, because you are the expert in your neighborhood. You know who fits in and who doesn’t. You know what is out of place. It’s what’s called time, manner, and place. If any of these three pieces doesn’t fit in the puzzle, it’s probably suspicious.
 
Ingleside officers are briefed on the crime patterns in the district. It’s part of our Daily Mission. Targeted enforcement is the key to arresting the criminals and stop the crime. As plainclothes officers are preparing to conduct surveillance operations, uniformed officers are combing the area in both marked and unmarked cars. So far, the thieves have either been lucky or have had their sixth sense dialed up. You must picture the terrain. The sound of any car driving down a winding street or of footsteps of a resident walking his dog will send the criminal away or to secret himself until the threat is gone. That is why your neighborhood is so attractive to these thieves. The terrain gives them the advantage. Our officers have conducted traffic enforcement on the streets leading in and out of the area in hope of deterring offenders before they enter your neighborhood. Teresita Boulevard is our focus.
 
Finally, inform your neighbors. Please talk to everyone on your block about the problem. Join your neighborhood watch group or association and visit Ingleside’s website at www.InglesidePoliceStation.com for reports, arrests, crime prevention tips, and resources.

Captain’s Prevention Tip: Leaving the front porch light on throughout the night can serve as a deterrent to vehicle crimes. An energy efficient compact fluorescent bulb casts a lot of light.

Miraloma Community Church Cell Tower – On Hold Indefinitely!

by Jane and Jerry Risk, Norman Nager, and Faruq Ahmad

There have been many encouraging developments since our last article in the March 2011 Miraloma Life, as described below:

On March 1, we met with Mike Hayes, Treasurer of the Interim Board of the Miraloma Community Church. He informed us that the Interim Board is recommending to the Reformed Church in America (RCA) that the Miraloma Community Church property be sold for suitable community use. The Interim Board opposes the construction of a cell tower in the church steeple on the grounds that it could hinder the sale of the property. We were glad to see that the goals of the Miraloma Community Church Interim Board, the neighbors, and the MPIC are closely aligned.

On March 17, we held a neighborhood meeting in the MPIC Clubhouse. Approximately 25 neighbors attended. They signed petitions, completed cell phone surveys, and offered many good suggestions for ways to give an effective presentation in front of the Planning Department. It was most encouraging to know that we have the support of a substantial number of neighborhood residents. Special thanks go to all of you who wrote the letters opposing the construction of the cell tower that we saw in the Planning Department’s case file.

On March 20, the following news item appeared in the New York Times:

AT&T to buy T-Mobile USA for about $39 billion
From the Associated Press
March 20, 2011
NEW YORK—
AT&T Inc., the country’s second-largest wireless carrier in the United
States, on Sunday said it will buy T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest, from
Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion.

On March 30, after requesting an update on the Miraloma Community Church file from the San Francisco Planning Department, we received the following letter from Adrian Putra, case planner:  “At the request of T-Mobile this application is being put on hold indefinitely. From my understanding T-Mobile wishes to conduct more community outreach.”

On April 2, we received a letter from Mike Hayes. He told us that the Interim Board has received permission from the RCA’s Central California Classis to sell the church property and will be requesting T-Mobile not to go forward with the cell tower permit process. “Then hopefully this will all be behind us,” Mike wrote.

While everything looks good, something unexpected could happen, so we need to stay focused until T-Mobile formally withdraws its application in writing.

Let’s watch and hope!

 
Welcome, NERT Members: Coming Activities

by Bill Jeong, Mt. Davidson/Miraloma Park NERT Coordinator
 
Welcome, NERT Members and prospective NERTs, to Mt. Davidson/Miraloma Park NERT! I am now your NERT Coordinator. Thanks for your patience and interest in learning to help yourself, your family, and your neighborhood in times of emergency and disaster. There is no “IF,” but only a “WHEN” the next disaster will happen. Many of you have such questions such as: do we meet regularly, do we have a place to meet, and do we have a staging area?

We can’t answer all of these queries yet, but we will be working on them. We do have a previously identified staging area: Miraloma Playground, Omar at Sequoia Streets. I’d welcome suggestions or ideas of where, when, how often we should meet.
 
Some great news: the Miraloma Park Improvement Club (MPIC) strongly supports increasing the number of NERT responders and providing the information residents need to get prepared for the next disaster. The Miraloma Life will continue to post NERT-related articles (including how to prepare for disaster). The MPIC’s support offers a strong foundation for our NERT group, so that we can help neighbors survive and thrive in disasters. But we need your personal energy too! Please contact me if your are interested in helping the team grow, at billjeong01@gmail.com, mobile phone: 510-508-0700, or office phone 415-427-8012.

Following are NERT training classes starting in May and June. We could hold our own NERT training classes if we get at least 30 neighbors to sign up.

Contact me if you are interested.
 
May:
 
Haight: 1563 Page Street, The Urban School of San Francisco
Tuesdays 6:30-9:30 pm, Sessions 1-6, one each week, starting May 10

Western Addition: 916 Laguna at Golden Gate, Bethel AME Church Hall
Thursdays, 6:30-9:30 pm, Sessions 1-6, one each week, starting May 19

June:
 
Financial District: 215 Fremont Street, Charles Schwab
Fridays, 9 am-4 pm, Sessions 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 on June 10, 17, and 24, respectively

Marina: 2325 Union at Steiner, St. Mary the Virgin Church Hall
Thursdays, 6:30-9:30 pm, Sessions 1-6, one each week, starting June 23

Ham Communications Team Training (HCT):
 
SFFD Division of Training, 2310 Folsom Street at 19th St.
(Park in lot at 19th St. along the back wall.)
All classes 6:30- 9:00 pm

Tuesday, May 24: HCT Buttons and Knobs—Basic Hands-on Radio Operation
Wednesday, May 25—HCT Messaging for HAMs and Non-HAMs
Thursday, May 26: HCT Buttons and Knobs—Advanced Hands-on Radio Operation
  

Let’s Plant More Trees in Miraloma Park

by Robert Gee
 
Back in 2002, I participated in a Miraloma Park neighborhood tree planting with the help of the non- profit Friends of the Urban Forest of San Francisco (FUF).  It was a memorable event. A large group of us gathered early on a Saturday morning at the Miraloma Church where all of the new trees were stored. After coffee and bagels, we headed out to different houses to plant the trees. Under the watchful eyes of FUF and with the help of my neighbors, I planted a skinny 5 foot tall tree in front of my house. Now, nine years later, it’s a beautiful, healthy twelve-foot tall evergreen that withstands our wind and fog. 
 
The benefits we receive from an urban forest are immense. Trees create relaxing, beautiful, healthy spaces. They absorb traffic noise, calm traffic, and increase privacy.  Trees also clean the air by helping to remove carbon dioxide and provide oxygen. Better yet, the involvement of neighbors in the planting and care of local trees can help build a stronger sense of neighborhood and civic pride.
 
If you were to plant your own tree in front of your house, the cost of planting could be over $400. However, the subsidized cost for a FUF tree through a neighborhood planting is just $75.  FUF will help with the permit processing, check for underground utilities, cut and remove the concrete, auger the holes, order the trees, assist with the planting, and conduct tree care over the first 18 months.
 
To qualify for the subsidized tree planting through FUF, we’ll need to sign up at least 25 to 30 neighbors. Once we get the minimum number of neighbors, the Miraloma Park Improvement Club (MPIC) can help coordinate and distribute the application forms, working with FUF to begin the process of communicating to you the procedures, including marking your sidewalk where the tree is wanted, selecting the right tree that does well in our area, and announce a planting date.
 
On the day of the scheduled planting, we’ll get together to help distribute the trees and supplies and FUF will demonstrate how to plant the trees. We’ll break into smaller groups and then help plant everyone’s trees. When we are all done, we can celebrate our hard work with a potluck lunch at the MPIC clubhouse.
 
But this is more than just about planting a few trees … it’s about improving our entire neighborhood’s quality of life. So invite your neighbors and participate in a neighborhood tree planting. If you are interested in participating, please call the MPIC at (415) 281-0892 or send an email to Miralomapark@gmail.com with your name, address, and phone number. Also indicate in your message whether you can help with coordination of this event.  It takes a team to make this successful.
 
To learn more about FUF and their neighborhood tree planting program, visit their website at www.fuf.net. 
 

 
From the Legal Files: Should Condominium Homeowners Associations Be Shielded From Lawsuits?

by Mary Catherine Wiederhold, Esq.

Generally, a condominium homeowners association (HOA) enjoys immunity from civil suits concerning the maintenance and repair of the common areas.

This is called “judicial deference.” Courts generally defer to the decisions of the HOA. But what if an HOA fails to act on a known problem? An appellate court recently ruled that an HOA is not immune from civil suits if it fails to act appropriately to fix long-standing problems.

In 1986, the Affans bought a first floor condominium unit in a Huntington Beach building as a vacation home. From 1999 to 2005, every time they arrived at their home for visits, they found sewage residue in their kitchen sink or in their bathroom sink and tub. Every time, they reported the problem to the property manager of the complex. The Affans also reported the problem to at least one member of the HOA. After each report, the HOA would hire a plumber to snake the Affans’ lines. Drain pipes were shared between the units and were considered part of the common areas. The problem persisted, but the HOA did not take more aggressive action.

In 2005, the HOA did hire a plumber to perform routine maintenance on the main drainage plumbing of the entire building. The plumber performed a procedure that involved forced-water cleaning of the drainage line to the sewer system. This is an inferior method of clearing blockage. Some plumbers use instead a “scouring” procedure because the water might not have the force to remove the problem. Two weeks later, a major sewage backup damaged the Affans’ unit. Kitchen sink debris and grease from the upstairs units “erupted” through the drain into the Affans’ bathroom, sink, tub, and vanity closet. Sewage poured onto the floors of the bedrooms. The plumber made some emergency repairs.

The Affans filed a lawsuit alleging that the HOA failed to undertake any maintenance of the condominium’s main plumbing lines despite the recurring plumbing problems. Even after filing the suit, there was another sewage backup into the Affans’ home. The HOA finally hired a plumber to properly clear out the drain lines leading to the sewer using the scouring method.

The appellate court found that judicial deference regarding the HOAs handling of the Affans’ sewage problem was not applicable. Judicial deference does not shield an HOA for their failure to take appropriate action, the court ruled. Rather, it shields HOAs from actions that condominium homeowners do not agree with. In this case, though the HOA talked about taking action when they learned about the problem in 1999, they did nothing until 2008.

One legal commentator believes that this decision will cause a “backup” of litigation because disgruntled condominium owners will sue their HOAs over lack of repairs or incomplete repairs. But it is one thing for HOAs to make an informed but ultimately wrong decision regarding repairs. It is quite another for an HOA to know about a sewage backup problem for years and not act appropriately to fix it. 
 

NOTICE: Nominations Open for MPIC Board

On Thursday, May 19, from 7:30 pm to 8 pm, at the MPIC Clubhouse, nominations from the floor for MPIC Director may be made by MPIC members in good standing (2011 dues paid by April 19, 2011).

Summary of Minutes of MPIC Board Meeting of April 7, 2011

by Joanne Whitney and Dan Liberthson

A quorum was present, with President Karen Breslin presiding. The minutes of the February Board meeting were approved with corrections. An e-mail motion by G. Noguera to support hours of 7 am to 10 pm for CVS since they promised not to sell liquour was unanimously approved.

Treasurer (T. Sauvain): Current MPIC net worth is $32,770.75, increased nearly $2000 from February. March rental income was robust and MPIC ad income was over $2000. Finishing work in kitchen (new floor and sink) cost $1734. Strong recommendation to repair and slip-proof front stairs and set aside a fund for future major clubhouse repairs. Switching to State Farm insurance will save $2500 per year, reducing annual insurance cost to $3600.

Based on feedback from R. Gee’s audit (see below), T. Sauvain is now providing Ads Coordinator S. Kirkham with quarterly report on all advertising checks and reconciled his and her records for first quarter 2011. R. Gee assisted by Viviane Antal conducted an extensive review of fiscal procedures and reported all aspects generally in good shape including advertising and rentals. Gee recommended some procedural changes, including greater detail in monthly reconciliations between income and expenses. Facilitation of conversion of MPIC from 501(c)4 to 501(c)3 corporation, so that donations to MPIC will be tax deductable, is in progress.

Membership Committee (R. Gee): MPIC now has 572 members. Approved request by R. Gee for approval to purchase mailing supplies to contact neighbors re membership. E-mail query planned to create member e-mail trees to help with various Club activities.

Zoning and Planning (ZAP; C. Mettling-Davis): Boad of Supervisors (BOS) approved plan to convert one lot into four at Los Palmos-Foerster and build three additional homes despite opposition by MPIC and some neighbors, leaving civil lawsuit as the sole remedy. The BOS also approved the 2009 Housing Element and certified its EIR. Broad opposition expected by neighborhood groups (see lead article in this issue of Miraloma Life). The sale of the gas station at Portola where CVS will be located is official. CVS has agreed not to sell alcoholic beverages at the store, as requested by MPIC and other community representatives, and MPIC in turn agreed to 7 am to 10 pm hours of operation requested by CVS (see e-mail motion above).

Graffiti (S. Kirkham): Tags on Clubhouse to be removed or painted over ASAP by any available Graffiti Team member and then repainted in matching paint by Maintenance Committee as soon as practicable.

Community Organizations: Coalition for SF Neighborhoods (CSFN; G. Noguera): Amendment to change term of officers from 3 years to 5 years passed. Also passed, a rule that a delegate may hold more than one position. Supported extension of period to examine new laws concerning unleashed dogs in Golden Gate Park. Discussed appeal to Bank of America to limit new building at Park Merced complex. West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WOTPCC; K. Breslin): High speed rail discussed. Planning Comissioner Antonini questioned and attempted to explain why he voted for Housing Element. All agreed that Housing Element an important item and density consideration may be critical to the maintenance of West of Twin Peaks neighborhoods (see lead article in this issue of the Miraloma Life). Ingleside Community Police Advisory Board (CAB; J. Whitney): Safety Posters and cards warning pedestrians to be alert to potential threats in their surroundings translated into Spanish and Chinese and will be printed gratis. Paper must be paid for. City-wide meeting of all 10 Police Advisory Boards will be held on May 10. J. Whitney said she will continue to attend and report on Ingleside Commuinity Police Advisory Board.

Clubhouse Maintenance (G. Issacson): C. Mettling Davis will take over as Maintenance Committee Chair for next quarter. Kitchen sink and flooring installed. Mettling-Davis investigating method of making outside stairs safe. D. Liberthson suggested that the contract for maintaining the grounds at the clubhouse and caring for the native plant garden be given to Casey Allen, President of the SF Native Plant Assn, after resolution of questions about draft contract e-mailed to Board Members. June 4 will be a workday where all Board members and any interested party may come to work on the MPIC building and grounds. All members of the Maintenance Committee will take turns checking on the condition of clubhouse after rentals. D Liberthson will check phone calls once a day
J. O’Donnell joined the Building and Maintenance Committee. K. Rawlins asked for a detailed contract for the Clubhouse Rental Agent.

Newsletter (D. Liberthson): Liberthson moved approval of $100 per issue to pay layout person to replace P. Laird; motion approved; Liberthson to seek candidates.
 
New Business: K. Breslin appointed a nominating committee comprising K. Wood, R. Gee and M. Naughton. J. Whitney announced that she would not be running for another term after hers expires in June.

Guests: Peter Renteria (helping out with various tasks such as mail pick-up and delivery); Charles Higuera (neighbor for 27 years on Juanita, wanting to get up to date on MPIC activities); and Greg Miller of the San Francisco Ocean Edge Association. Mr. Miller described efforts to stop construction of 11 acres of new soccer fields and a water treatment plant at the far western edge of Golden Gate Park, including 7 acres of artificial turf with lights would be 60 feet tall shining into people’s homes, brightening the night sky, and making star gazing from the sea shore impossible. Over 123 trees would be removed as well as native plants and grasses, impacting native flora and fauna and urbanizing the west end of the Park. Mr. Miller invited to submit an article to the Miraloma Life.