Supes Move to Restrict Access to Presidio Hospital

By Carol Dimmick

A battle that has been simmering for months over a controversial housing project planned for the Presidio boiled over in September after supervisors Jake McGoldrick and Michela Alioto-Pier sponsored a resolution to close off the entrances to the Presidio at 14th and 15th Avenues.

If adopted by the SF Board of Supervisors, the resolution would severely limit traffic entering and exiting a housing development the Presidio Trust wants to build at the site of the former Public Health Service Hospital.

Neighbors say they were forced to take action after the Trust ignored their concerns about the size of the proposed plan.

"The Presidio Trust has not budged from their preference for a 350-unit apartment complex first announced a year ago. The proposal by McGoldrick and Alioto-Pier would close the 14th and 15th avenue gates should the Presidio Trust not heed the neighborhood's and City's desire to preserve the quality of life along the Lake Street corridor," said Claudia Lewis, president of the Richmond Presidio Neighbors.

Officials from the Trust reacted swiftly, calling the resolution an attempt to barricade citizens from a national park and an over-reaction by city officials to the concerns of a few homeowners.

"This resolution barricades an entrance to a national park. It is ironic and unfortunate that in the 148 years the army was here it didn't close the Presidio. This is an attempt to barricade the Presidio from its own citizens in order to placate the concerns of a couple of blocks of homeowners," said Craig Middleton, executive director of the Presidio Trust.

Middleton also indicated, in a letter sent to the two supervisors, that the Trust's attorneys are looking into the legality of closing off the entrances.

Tension between the community and the Trust erupted earlier this year after Trust officials signaled their preference to build a 350-unit housing complex, the largest of four plans under consideration, at the 42-acre site. Although the Trust continues to say no decision has been made on the size and scope of the project, neighbors have called for the Trust to scale-back the project to 200 housing units and to build a dedicated road to the site from Park Presidio Boulevard to spare the neighborhood from increased traffic the project is expected to generate.

The renovation of the long-closed hospital is part of a master plan by the Presidio Trust to develop the site in order to meet a goal of financial self-sufficiency by 2013 imposed by the federal government. The housing is expected to generate revenue in excess of $1 million a year through leasing fees.

Signs are emerging that the controversial project has caught the attention of Mayor Gavin Newsom. Newsom recently ordered the newly created Office of Base Reuse and Land Development to co-ordinate the City's response to a supplemental environmental study of the project being prepared by the Trust. The deadline for public comment on report has been extended until Nov. 12.

Sources close to the mayor say he may personally step in to assist with negotiations if the neighbors and the Trust are unable to reach an agreement. The neighbors have indicated they want the project scaled-back to 200 units, a change in the design of the project to include more large units for families and an access road to the site from Park Presidio Boulevard to mitigate the impact of traffic on the neighborhood.

A public meeting to discuss the project will be held on Nov. 4, at 6:30 p.m., at the Presidio Officers' Club.