Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

February 21, 2008

At 117 Greenwich Street

 

The meeting began a 6:00 p.m. and was called to order by President Fred Allardyce.

 

Board members in attendance in addition to President Allardyce:  Morton Beebe, Bill Benkavitch, Carol Parlette, Lee Radner, Linda Schwartz, and Diana Taylor.

 

Board members who were absent:  Debra Bleemer, Felix Rodriguez, Bill Sauro, Joe Wyman and member-in-waiting Jonathan Middlebrook.

 

1.  Presentation of Proposed Condominium Project at 555 Washington Street.  Jeffrey Heller of Heller Manus Architects, Andrew Segal of Lowe Enterprises and Frank Noto presented the proposed development to the Board.  The proposal calls for a 400 foot tall building with a rectangular base that transitions to a circular top.  The land is zoned for 200 foot height.  The building would have 248 residences plus retail shops and restaurants at the base.  The entire Transamerica Plaza would be redone, and Redwood Park would be increased in size from 17,985 square feet to 22,022 square feet.  The presenters discussed the history of the site, different designs that were considered during the process, showed various views of the skyline with the building, and shadow renderings.  There was no discussion about the proposed four levels of subsurface parking that is part of this project.  Mr. Heller stated that they have not gone far with this building proposal, and are still in the design process.  He believes this is a great design opportunity for this site.

 

2.  Approval of Minutes.  The minutes of the January 17, 2008 meeting were approved as amended by unanimous vote.

 

3.  Treasurer’s Report.  Carol Parlette distributed the Treasurer’s Report with Balance Sheet and Income Statement as of 2/18/2008.  The Budget for 2008 was reviewed and approved.  Carol stated that she is still finishing up membership renewals and the next big push for membership will be in the fall when dues are collected for the 2009 year.

 

4.  Waterfront Action Committee Reports.

 

            A  8 Washington Street Condominiums.  Lee Radner, in a phone call of today with the SF Planning Department, stated that he is waiting for the 1st EIR draft to be issued.  Lee also reported on the SF Port Commission informational presentation on February 12th concerning Seawall Lot 351.  There are 3 options being considered.  First, do nothing; second enter into exclusive negotiations with San Francisco Waterfront Partners for their proposal to develop the existing Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club site combined with Seawall Lot 351; third issue an RFP for developing Seawall Lot by itself.  Lee has been asked to meet with the SF Port representative Kathleen Diohep to discuss community involvement in the RFP process.  Diana Taylor and Carol Parlette with also be meeting with Kathleen.  The Board had a brief discussion on how this community involvement could be structured, and who should be represented.  Lee and Diana agreed to discuss the results of their separate meetings.

 

            B  555 Washington Street Condominiums.  The Board had a short recap on the presentation from earlier in the evening and the THD Planning & Zoning Committee comments.  Diana Taylor felt more information is needed and there should be another scoping meeting, which assumes additional community involvement (adjacent neighborhoods would be invited to attend by the Planning Dept.). Previous notification did not include BCNA residents.  No action or position was taken.

 

            C.  Exploratorium.  Diana Taylor received a request from the Exploratorium to meet with Board members and other neighborhood associations.  Morton Beebe and Linda Schwartz volunteered to meet with Exploratorium about design issues.

 

            D.  Broadway Housing – plans for bus cutout.  The Board briefly discussed this proposal.  Carol Parlette stated that more information is needed, including drawings and traffic flow impacts.

 

            E.  New housing on Broadway between Sansome & Battery.  The Board briefly discussed this proposal and agreed that more information is needed.

 

5.  Existing & New Committee Activities for 2008

 

            A.  Membership Committee is still working on ways to increase membership.

 

            B.  Community Opportunity Fund.  Discussion deferred due to illness of Joe Wyman.

 

            C.  Newsletter Committee.  Fred stated that June Osterberg is working on the newsletter, which needs to go out during the 1st quarter of 2008.  As a side discussion, the Board agreed that the list of BCNA members should not be distributed to anyone (privacy issues).

 

            D.  Program & Social Committee.  Fred stated that he hopes to have two events this year.  One would be with the District 3 Board of Supervisors candidates, probably in August.  This event could be a combined FOGG and BCNA meeting.

 

6.  Next Meeting.  The next BCNA Board Meeting was scheduled for March 20, 2008.

 

7.  Adjournment.  The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Bill Benkavitch

Recorder