RLN Meeting Tuesday, Sept 10th

Hello Neighbors,

Due the Labor Day holiday, the September meeting of RLN, will be one week later than normal, Sept 10th, 7-8:30pm at SF Public Library, Plymouth @ Ocean.

AGENDA
1. Welcome
2. Approval Minutes
3. Monthly updates:
– SF Parks Alliance
– DPW
– Contractors
– Grant applications
– Other ongoing issues
– Your concerns
4. Closing

Minutes Updated September 27, 2019

1. Welcome

Neighbors Robert Muehlbauer; Moneka Urbanske; Lynn Yuan; Scott Kauffman; Patricia Ris; Danielle Casey Callaghan

2. Approval of August Minutes

·       Moneka’s update on Neighborfest include that it’s a bureocratic project that has too many demands (e.g., certain days the festivity can be held, etc.) and not worth dealing with. We should hold our own neighborhood gathering for Parcel 4, as described below.

3. Monthly updates:
SF Parks Alliance – Marissa has left SFPA for a position with Urban Sprouts. Our SF Parks Alliance contacts moving forward will be Claude Imbault and Amanda Montez

Claude Imbault, Associate Director of Partner Experience
claude@sfparksalliance.org – (415) 606-5856 (cell)

Amanda Montez, Director of Programs
amanda@sfparksalliance.org – (202) 329 – 2566 (cell)

Follow up:

·       Danielle will send a note of thanks to Marissa on behalf of RLN– Marissa was a great asset to the team, especially pushing though the LMNOP contract.

·       Should Claude and Amanda be added to the Google group list? If so, Warren, please add them to the list.

Progress at Parcel 4

Stairs – planking has been installed, stained, and sealed.

Railings – Shop drawings were created by the fabricator and approved by DPW. On 9/5, Tyler communicated that approval to the company that will fabricate the railings and will confirm the schedule for installation. Six weeks is the expected timeline. Sorting who could approve drawings took a bit of work.

Thanks to Nahal for coordinating review of shop drawings by DPW. This process highlighted the importance of having good relationships with our partners.

Tyler has said that as soon as the railings are installed, the lane can be reopened.

Fence – LMNOP staff placed what was thought to be the fence line but upon further review of our survey and Richard’s, the north-south running line was moved to extend the house-side of the sidewalk instead of the road-side of the sidewalk. The folks at 3 Caine Ave shared their survey confirming this line placement. Mary Beth is ready to approve the new location of the fence and has requested that Richard meet to review the line. Richard would like a shadowbox style erected. The other options are flat top with a cap or dog eared. One benefit of shadowbox is that both sides look the same so no one is getting the rail side.

Does someone have our full-size survey from 2014 to share with Mary Beth?

Follow up:

·       Patricia and Robert will look for their copies of the surveys.

·       What is the cost of the shadowbox fence and is this accounted for in the LMNOP bid?

Water – the water supply line that runs up the parcel is old and corroded. In the initial work on site, it was cracked creating a leak that continued about 3 days. LMNOP immediately contacted the Water Department who sent out the sewer people. Mary Beth’s report to 311 was also directed to Sewer but was quickly rerouted to Water. The Water Department put in a temporary fix and are working on a long-term solution.

The Water Department personnel who put in the temporary fix told Tyler that the pipe has been a known issue. That pipe supplies Gen’s house and doesn’t feed Caine Ave. as we have been told.

This pipe could be the better location for our meter. Mary Beth has contacted Jeff Fong, at New Installations Unit of the Water Department (who was very helpful with the meter application) for input on the best siting of the meter. Tyler sees three options: near the break in the pipe (about midway up the stairs close to Gen’s house), at the bottom of the stairs off the now-temporary pipe, or on Caine Ave. The Caine Ave. site seems the most difficult and possibly costly as we haven’t located the pipe to tie into and would involve cutting the sidewalk. The other locations include a known pipe location and no concrete cutting. The spot midway up the stairs would also allow for the backflow prevention device to be somewhat concealed.

Update: Jeff Fong has agreed to the new location (Northside of Ridge Lane halfway between Caine and San Miguel) – once the installation is scheduled, the foreman can approve the location. Tyler can now move forward with the Backflow Prevention Device Installation.

Follow up:

·       Mary Beth met with Tyler onsite on Sept 11. She will update Nahal and Eric about the new location, which is at nearly the same elevation as the sidewalk.

Landscaping – As can be seen, really big weeds were removed when LMNOP returned. The landscaper was been on site to start planning. They will first soak the site with water repeatedly to force germination of the existing weed seeds. Once sprouted, those weeds will be removed. The landscaper has used this method of weed removal successfully (avoiding the use of chemical) on other projects. Later this fall, they will return to complete the plantings. Landscaping work will not delay opening of the lane.

Update: there was a discussion about over-weeding of native plants along the lane and a desire to have a neighborhood gathering where people can be educated about the native landscapes that attracts (and is vital to) many butterflies. Perhaps this can be part of the impending Parcel 4 celebration (see below).

Bollards and benches are also part of LMNOP’s scope of work. They will need one of the bollards from Lynn soon to plan installation. Tyler and Lynn have been in touch.

Update: Lynn has given a bollard to Tyler. Can someone please clarify that this is for Parcel 4 and NOT for Parcel 1?

Parcel 4 Celebration

In anticipation of Parcel 4 being re-opened upon installation of the railings, we would like to plan a day of celebration and neighborhood clean up on Saturday, November 9^th from 10a-12p. Details will be planned at the October meeting – once confirmed, SF leaders (Safai, etc.) should be notified.

Parcel 1 Bollards

As we learned in August, the top sections of three lights were stolen from Parcel 1. Scott purchased one replacement at a cost of $500 from a distributor in Victoria – thank you, Nahal, for your help in negotiating this discount!

Follow up:

·       Moneka has been wanting a comprehensive list of our costs and available money, so she will contact SF Parks Alliance – that information will help us learn if we can purchase two more replacements ($1000 total)

Parcel 3 Construction

Jerry Cullinane joined the meeting and explained that he is at an impasse with the city for the property a the top of Caine/against Ridge Lane. Jerry has proposed three buildings on the property: the two front units face Caine, are approx. 7’ lower than Charles’ house, and are each three bedrooms with one parking spot. The third building faces Ridge Lane, is approximately the same height as Charles’ house, is three stories and three bedrooms. SF planners are suggesting he scrap this third building, make the front two units longer and add an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to each of them. Jerry explained to them that his design has support from a neighborhood group (RLN) advocating for the third building, in order to increase traffic on Ridge Lane. The planners suggested that if RLN writes a letter noting this support, it would go a long way in Jerry’s efforts to build the three units.

Discussion ensued about the difference between two units, each with an ADU vs. three units, and there was a consensus of support for Jerry’s three-building design with one caveat: that Jerry lower the height of the third building to two stories. Jerry was amenable.

Follow up:

·       Jerry will ask the architect to redesign the third building to two stories (and probably two bedrooms). He will share the plans with Robert and will provide a digital version of the updated design.

·       Robert will draft a letter of support and will circulate it to the RLN group for approval and signatures.

Community Challenge Grant

Nahal, thank you for bringing the grant to our attention. Applications open Sept 11 and are due Oct 16.

Update: There was consensus at the meeting to NOT apply for this cycle of the grant and instead to wait until 2020. Reasons for this decision include: a feeling that the city will not grant more money considering that we’ve had a lack of progress thus far; a reminder that the grant is term-based and we are not even sure what parcel the money would be used for, let alone ready to enter into contract and spend the money; a lack of availability by group members to devote themselves to writing the grant at this time. If we wait until 2020, we should be able to show that Parcel 4 has been completed and we can use the enthusiasm from that progress to bolster a better application.

Follow up:

·       Danielle will download the 2019 application and guidelines to provide some guidance in advance of next year’s application—these will be saved to the RLN Google Drive.

Other issues

·       Moneka suggests that we do not go through the city for clean-up days, but instead organize clean up days ourselves and call 311 afterwards to pick up the debris. It would be great if we could organize group clean-ups approximately three times a year in April, July and October. These can be casual gatherings with bagels and coffee. Also, maybe group members can adopt a section of the lane to clear of trash every so often.

·       There is an OMI Health and Wellness Fair at Minnie and Lovie Ward Rec Center on 9/21 at 11a. Moneka has more information if you’d like it.

·       There is a Planning Commission Meeting for the Balboa Reservoir Project being held on 9/12. The project is in the Environmental Impact Report stage, which is a big step towards approval. Construction will not begin until 2022 or 2023.

·       Did anyone go to the second planning meeting for the Balboa Park Station Parking Lot plan? If so, can you please share any notes or observations? Thank you again, Warren, for your notes on the first meeting.

·       As a reminder, the RLN Shared Folder exists on Google Drive as a place to store information about the project. Much information is stored there already, but it would be good to think about what knowledge you have that should be stored in the folder to be shared with the group.

Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8uSx4YiOwdafjZuVHA4U2YwemJmVlpQUE1wak93dHpVWEdSdFVDOGpTUEZINVlKdEMzNm8

·       Eric M. has decided to step away from RLN. The website is tied to a personal account and has been archived. It will go offline on 9/15. He has provided Warren with a file of the site. We need to determine how to replace the website.

Eric’s decision also puts a spotlight on our need to take care of ourselves and each other through this very long and often stressful process – and serves as a reminder that everyone is making contributions to this project in their own way. Also, please make the group aware of personal financial undertakings for the project as the group may be unaware of your contributions.

Follow up:

·         Who manages the ridgelaneneighbors@gmail.com email address? If it’s Eric, Warren, can you please check in with him about having this account managed by a current member of RLN?

·         Danielle will look into starting a new website. Patricia suggested using Wix instead of WordPress and is looking into some details about Wix. It’s possible that the file Eric provided to Warren will be easily transferred to Wordpress, so that may be easiest – but thank you in advance, Patricia, for researching.

·         The group would like to see logos of partners on the new website. Patricia will gather the logos for this purpose, and Robert will print a sheet that can be added to the kiosks. Partners discussed include: SF Parks Alliance, DPW, PUC, CCG, OMICC, Mayor’s Office (and perhaps more that Patricia noted).

5. Closing