Neighbors Need $1 million For Lot Near Ansel Adams' House

courtesy photos

The Ansel Adams house as it looked when it was first built (left), and as it looks today.

 

By Carol Dimmick

A group of Sea Cliff neighbors won a three-month reprieve from the SF Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in their fight to acquire a parcel of land they want to turn into a memorial for photographer Ansel Adams.

In September, the PUC agreed to hold off on plans to subdivide and sell the surplus parcel of land, located at the north end of 24th Avenue, until Jan. 1, 2005 in order to give the neighbors time to raise $1 million towards purchasing the property.

The neighbors want to buy the property and preserve it as an open space memorial to honor the legacy of Adams, who lived in a house adjacent to the site from 1903 to 1960, but they can't afford the $2.8 million price tag the PUC has put on the land.

The property sits alongside Lobos Creek in a fragile eco-system that is gradually being restored by the National Park Service (NPS). The neighbors want the parcel included in the restoration process. They envision planting a grove of trees dedicated as a memorial to the award-winning fine art photographer, who credited the land surrounding his boyhood home as the inspiration for his life-long interest in the environment.

The PUC acquired the property as part of a settlement with the Howard Billman family after a series of storms in 1995 caused a gigantic sink-hole to swallow-up the family home and two vehicles.

Neighbors say the city's plan to subdivide the property into two lots for development is breaking a promise made to the neighbors.

"The Department of Public Works promised that if the City bought the property from the Billmans it would remain as open space," said Mary Russo McAfee, a member of the West Presidio Neighborhood Association.

But PUC officials say they have an obligation to taxpayers to recover the bond money they spent rebuilding the sewer system that was destroyed in the 1995 storm.

"We can't donate the $3 million we spent. If I do not get top dollar for the property, then I am in trouble with my superiors and if I do, I am in trouble with the neighbors," said Gary Dowd, a PUC employee who works for its real estate division.

During the three months, neighbors say they will be exploring a number of options to acquire funds to buy the property and  gather support for their plan. Supervisors Chris Daly, Jake McGoldrick and Michela Alioto-Pier have indicated they already support the idea for a memorial grove.

"I believe the Ansel Adams memorial grove is an infinitely better use of the property than a subdivided lot for two homes," Alioto-Pier said.