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February 2023
Dear Neighbors,
The new year came in blustery with wind and rain that took out more than a few trees, including one of the pines at the end of Cherry Street. A crew of DPW workers were out on January 1 taking off the lights adorning the tree and chopping the fallen tree, which measured at least three stories high. According to DPW, the tree was about 60 years old, and was allegedly planted by a neighbor in the early 1960s. Anyone who can confirm the story of its planting is welcome to write with more details!
This newsletter has information about the 3700 California project and new construction at San Francisco University High School. It also includes a memoriam for former PHAN president Bob Friese, and updates from SFPD's Richmond Station, among other news.
It may seem that we are constantly nagging neighbors for dues. But it's for a good cause. We purposefully keep our dues low because when we do need to get City Hall's attention, having a large number of dues-paying members can make all the difference. If you haven't yet had a chance to join PHAN, you can pay your annual dues of $40 with PayPal or send a check to PHAN, P.O. Box 29503, SF, CA 94129.
As always, you can reach out to us by emailing us at info@phansf.org.
Thanks for your support!
The Board of PHAN
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Planning Department Approves
University High School California Street Expansion Plan
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The Planning Commission has approved University High School's plans to expand its campus to 3150 California Street. Currently the site of a shopping center that includes Pet Food Express, the California campus will consist of a 50,000-square foot building that will include a full-size gymnasium, cafeteria, and classrooms. The University High School campus has multiple sites including buildings at Sacramento and Lyon, Washington between Lyon and Baker, and Jackson between Lyon and Baker. Construction on the project is tentatively scheduled to begin Summer 2023. If you have questions about the project, email 3150California@sfuhs.org. | |
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In Memoriam: Bob Friese
1941-2021
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During the pandemic, PHAN lost one of its long time board members, Bob Friese, who died of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Bob loved living in Presidio Heights, and if you were lucky enough to bump into him on his walk to and from the 1-California, which he took every day to his office, that was probably the best part of your day because Bob was always warm, funny and friendly. He was a quintessential people person.
In addition to founding his own law firm, Bob was chair of San Francisco Beautiful, which was founded in 1947 to keep San Francisco looking its best. Bob applied those same civic booster skills to PHAN, which he led as President. "Bob Friese was an an absolute treasure," shares PHAN board member Bill Vlahos. "He brought a tremendous amount of knowledge, passion for our neighborhood and City and a great sense of humor to the PHAN Board. We will miss him at PHAN meetings, the local restaurants and seeing him practice his hook shot at the basketball court at Clay Street Playground!" PHAN extends its condolences to Bob's wife Chandra, and their children, Matthew, Mark and Laura.
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More News on 3700 California |  | |
We reported in our last newsletter that Prado Group has purchased the former CPMC site at 3700 California. According to a December 2022 article in the SF Business Times, Prado paid over $50 million for the five-acre site which is entitled for 273 homes. Prado is also the developer for the 3333 California site, which is the former UCSF conference center adjacent to Laurel Village.
A planning hearing for the project is scheduled for THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2023, "not before 1:00 PM" per the notice. The hearing will be held at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place Room 400 and there is a remote link to join the hearing: https://sfplanning.org/remotehearings.
According to the planning hearing notice: "On February 27, 2020, the project consisting of the demolition of five of the existing six hospital buildings and new construction of 31 new residential buildings with a total of 273 residential units received approvals by the Planning Commission of its Conditional Use and Planned Unit Development applications under Motion No. 20672. These approvals are valid for a period of 3 years. The project would modify the conditions of approval for the Conditional Use and Planned Unit Development by extending their validity by three years. No changes are proposed to the previously approved project. The authorizations would be valid until February 27, 2026. A modification of the conditions of approval and extension to the period of authorization for the existing entitlements is not considered a “Project” under CEQA."
You can find a copy of the planning hearing notice as well as the planning documents filed by the Prado Group here. The planning documents filed by Prado are the same documents filed by the previous developer of the site with renderings created by Robert AM Stern, the previous architect affiliated with the project. This older article also has renderings of the site that were previously done by the former developer.
If you have questions, comments or news to share about this project, please reach out to PHAN at info@phansf.org.
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Join the PHAN Board of Directors | |
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If you read December's newsletter, you will recall that we wrote about the city's Adopt-A-Drain program. Then came the Rain-Pocalypse and while some of us were thinking about how to build an ark, a lot of you decided to adopt a neighborhood drain! The city allows you to name your drain, and some of you took up the challenge. Prince was a popular inspiration with three "Purple Drains" (Pacific &Locust and end of Maple). Mythology and history figured into other choices: "Scylla," "Charybdis" and "Styxus" (all at Pacific & Jackson); the "Assyrian Aqueduct" (Clay & Locust), and "Zodiac Drain" (Washington & Cherry). More musical inspiration: "Sir Drains A Lot," "Going Off the Rails Like a Crazy Drain," (both at Pacific & Spruce); "She's My Kind of Drain," "Here Comes the Drain Again," and "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Drain" (all at Jackson & Spruce); and "Grateful Drain" (Washington & Maple). And there were puns: "Quiche LaDrain" (Pacific & Locust), "Drainn Wilson" (Pacific & Clay); and "Drain Goodall" (Pacific & Sacramento). There are still drains hoping to get adopted and named. To find out more about the program, head to this link.
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SFPD Richmond Station Update | |
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The new police captain for the Richmond Station, which covers Presidio Heights is Chris Canning. His bio can be found here and he can be reached at chris.canning@sfgov.org. You can reach the station at 415-666-8000. The non-emergency SFPD line is 415-553-0123.
The Richmond Station holds regular community meetings, and the next one is scheduled for Tuesday, February 28, from 5:00-6:00 PM at the Golden Gate Park Senior Center, located at 6106 Fulton at 37th Street. The meeting is in-person and there is no video link.
The station publishes a newsletter with crime data and neighborhood information. You can go to this page to sign up for the newsletter which is delivered to your email inbox.
Tip of the Day: No neighborhood is immune from crime, and many homes in the neighborhood have burglar alarms, but many of us don't set those alarms before we go out for the day. One tip is to get in the habit of using and setting your house alarm and familiarizing members of your household in how to set and turn off the alarm.
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Forward This Newsletter!
Join PHAN! We Need Your Support!
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As noted above, i f you aren't yet a member of PHAN or want to pay your annual dues, it's easy. Go to our website www.phansf.org to pay via PayPal or send a check to PHAN at P.O. Box 29503, San Francisco, CA 94129. Thank you!
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You can reach out to PHAN by emailing info@phansf.org. Let us know what we should include in future newsletters, send us comments, suggestions or corrections. We are not the NYT, but we do our best to get it right and are open to suggestions!
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