2008 Neighborhood Park Bond Update

January 2010 Update:

Park Forestry Program
The DRAFT prioritization for hazard tree abatement will hopefully go before the RPD Commission in early February.  NPC has encouraged RPD to make available all of the assessment information for every park so that we can all have a clear picture of each park's needs, both for hazard tree work, and general maintenance. The $4M allotted in the bond for park forestry will not pay for all the work we need to do, but the assessments can help the community partner with RPD to figure out how to help their park.  For more info visit http://www.sfnpc.org/node/3769.

Please review the draft documents below and send your input or questions to: Karen Mauney-Brodek: Karen.Mauney-Brodek@sfgov.org or (415) 831-2789

Click here to read the DRAFT Tree Hazard Prioritization Plan

Click here to view Rec and Park's presentation, "Tree Risk Area Identification and Prioritization" (PowerPoint)

December 2009 Update:

The Community Opportunity Fund Task Force is in the final stages of approving documents to go before the Commission in January.

The Department has released DRAFTS of the Community Opportunity Fund program guidelines, application evaluation criteria, and an application timeline, so community groups can plan their applications.  (Final opportunity fund documents will be posted on this page as soon as they are released.)

The COF Task Force suggested that RPD post the applications in March, but the actual application submission window is in June, which will give interested applicants ample time to understand and prepare the application.  There will be 3 rounds of applications.  

October 2009 Update:

The 2nd Bond Accountability Report was released in October.  Click here to read the full report (or here for the staff summary.)

In February 2010, RPD and the Port will offer $87 million of 2008 Clean and Safe Neighborhood Park Bonds for sale.

• Neighborhood Park Repair and Renovation Program:
  For individual park status reports, click here.  The February bond sale will fund the planning and design costs for five parks (Mission Dolores, Cabrillo, Glen Canyon, Lafayette and Kimbell).
  
  The conceptual plans for Cayuga, Helen Diller Playground at Dolores Park, Mission Playground, McCoppin and Sunset Playground were all approved by the Rec and Park Commission in recent months.  Palega is behind schedule, with community meetings set to begin this fall.  Fulton Clubhouse renovation plans should be submitted to the Commission shortly.  The February bond sale will fund construction at these seven sites.  We are excited for the groundbreaking this spring at the Helen Diller Playground at Mission Dolores Park, where renovation is expected to be complete by late 2010.
  
  Planning and construction costs for portions of the Restroom Repair, Playfield, Park Forestry, Park Trail, and the Community Opportunity Fund Programs will also be covered by the February 2010 bond sale.
  
  
• The Community Opportunity Fund:
  This winter, the Opportunity Fund Task Force will wrap up its work to craft the program under which $5 million will be allocated to community improvement projects in neighborhood parks.  The Task Force’s recommendations will be considered by the Rec and Park Commission in coming months.   Click here for more information on this process.  NPC is working hard on providing input to the COF Task Force. For the COF program description, click here.
  
  
• Neighborhood Park Restroom Repair and Renovation Program:
  The Restroom program has a budget of $11.4M.  The Restroom Task Force released its final report in July (click here to download.)  Twenty one existing restroom facilities will renovated.  RPD has also prioritized placement of new bathrooms in parks that need them badly.  All restrooms will be built according to green design principles, thus saving the City money by lowering utility bills.
  
  
• Park Forestry:
  The Park Forestry Bond Program has a budget of $4M.  RPD is currently completing an assessment of the trees in our parks and identifying tree hazards.  Click here for a program planning summary (Sept. 2008).  If you would like to suggest an area that needs attention, please email rpdplanning@sfgov.org.
  
  
• Park Trail Reconstruction Program:
  RPD has completed overall program planning and prioritization of the sites to be focused on in this program, which has a budget of $5M. The draft prioritization and project scopes, which can be downloaded here, were approved by the Recreation and Park Commission on June 4, 2009. Starting in fall 2009, planning on individual projects and specific designs will be developed through a community process.  Stay tuned for other community meeting announcements. Please click here to send an email.
  
  
• Playfield Repairs and Reconstruction Program:
  The Recreation and Parks Department is in the second phase of a multi-phased program to renovate city soccer, baseball, and other playing fields with more durable synthetic fields. In FY 2007-2008, the department invested $8.5 million in this program through a revenue bond. This year, an additional $8.5 million for these improvements is committed as part of the Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond. These funds will leverage an anticipated $25 million in matching funds from the City Fields' Foundation.
  
  
• Waterfront Park Repairs, Renovations & Development Program:
  Through this program, which has a budget of $33.5M, RPD is creating new publicly accessible waterfront parks along Port land on the eastern, southern, and northern sides of San Francisco. They envision a continuous waterfront walkway connecting a series of major open spaces, each with a unique recreational opportunity for all San Franciscans to enjoy. 
  
  NPC is particularly engaged in this process because of our advocacy for the Blue Greenway.  The community planning process for the Blue Greenway design standards has been extended through April 2010 so that Blue Greenway projects can be better prioritized.  Click here for a list of waterfront sites. 

Proposition A, the Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond for $185 million, was passed by 71.6% of voters on February 5, 2008. Proposition A is the first step in the City’s new 10-year capital plan to upgrade San Francisco’s declining physical facilities.

You can find out about public meetings, read monthly bond reports, and program updates on RPD's Bond Website here.

BACKGROUND INFO | BOND SUMMARY & ALLOCATION | RELATED READING | ENDORSEMENTS

BACKGROUND INFO ABOUT THE BOND
The bond was prepared by the Recreation and Park Department and the Port of San Francisco to address the capital needs of the City's neighborhood parks and improve open space quality and access along the bay shoreline. It covers the most urgent park repairs – about 10% of the $1.7 billion in work needed in our parks.

It is important to note that the bond will hold property taxes stable. Prop. A bonds are only to be sold as old bonds are repaid, thus “keeping the property tax impact from general obligation bonds approximately the same over time,” according to the City Controller.

Working with the community, RPD used criteria to score which parks are: most at risk in a major earthquake, in the worst condition, located in densely populated neighborhoods and used for a variety of purposes. They came up with a list of parks that received the highest score—these are the parks that will receive substantial repair and restoration work as a result of the bond:

• Chinese Recreation Center (Chinatown Rec Center renovation was approved by Rec and Park Commission in October 2008--click here to read more.)
• Mission Playground
• Palega Playground
• Cayuga Playground
• McCoppin Square
• Sunset Playground
• Fulton Playground
• Mission Dolores Park
• Cabrillo Playground
• Glen Canyon Park
• Lafayette Park (Bond meeting held 10-23-08--click here to read the minutes.)
  
• Kimbell Playground
  

NPC worked hard to ensure that Prop. A requires strict accountability: Major projects are listed in the bond ordinance and budgets are set, a website will allow the public to track bond projects and spending, monthly reports will be generated on the bond program, and annual hearings will be held at Rec/Park & Port Commissions. And perhaps most importantly, an annual independent audit by a citizens’ bond oversight committee will be able to stop the sale of bonds if anything is amiss.

Click here to download the full length Bond Report.

Or click here for bond summary and for a map of parks and restrooms included in bond.

RPD Allocation:

$117.4 M      Neighborhood Parks Renovations
$33.5 M        Waterfront Port Parks
$11.4 M        Restrooms (click here for final report/recommendations from Restroom Task Force)
$8.5 M         City Playfields Artificial Turf Fields Program
$9 M            Reforestation ($4M)** and Trails ($5M)
$5 M            Community Match Fund**
$.2 M           Citizens Oversight Audit Committee
________________________________________

$185 MILLION= TOTAL

**At a special Recreation and Park Commission meeting on Monday, 9/24, the commission voted to increase funding for trees by $2M ($4M total), and the community match fund by $1M ($5M total).

RELATED READING

Click here to go to the RPD Bond Website.

Bond Ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors on September 18, 2007.

Neighborhood Parks Council asked your opinion on the proposed bond in a survey. Click here to view the results of our Bond Survey.