gifted with one thing after another. john mclaren's for everything was putting hedges around monuments because he wanted to maintain their rural character. my father's attitude was that way. all the old line rec and park people have the same idea. one of the earlier speakers talked about the birds. we are part of pacific flyway. lots of birds come through and the also [unintelligible] you want to maintain an environment where they survive and do not fly away. >president olague: if looks could limit their comments to the draft eir, we would appreciate it. >> if there is anyone else in the second row who wants to speak at this time.

we can go to the cards. there is a gentleman in the third row. that is fine. >> the evening. -- good evening. i love soccer, adult soccer, youth soccer. however, i do not believe that the soccer field should be synthetic or feature nighttime light spread the field should remain natural with no lights.

the west sunset fields should be considered an alternative. the planning department needs to take a comprehensive look at what is happening at the western edge. they are having a wastewater treatment sewage plant beside the soccer field. you have to think of what this will mean to the entire project. i believe also the soccer field has not been fully renovated since 1998. rpd is not giving the film to thrive and is jumping to this new alternative. there would be better served and the people would be better served if the fields remained grass. thank you. president olague: thank you. anyone else requiring special accommodations?

kendlwe will ask families with children if they would like to come up at this time. if the children are here because of the school situation. we realize you have to -- there she is. there is a child. if you want to pull the mike down. you can hold that. someone can hold it for her. >> thank you commissioners. i may 6 prater -- i am a sixth grader and i play basketball and rent cross-country. i am here to raise my voice against putting in a synthetic

turf. i love sports but i cannot be so selfish to harm the environment. this is one jini you can i get back into the bottle. the proposed eir cites a connecticut study that admits the water was fatally toxic to aquatic life. as the winner of the national science foundation kids science challenge, i studied that chemical content of grass and turf runoff water with a doctor from uc santa cruz and we found the water from the turf to be 100% fatal to a quiet life. 100%. the eir acknowledges this. the peer reviewed studies confirm this. the state of california and usgs say the chalet is likely to

flood in the event of severe ocean storms. it is not -- a matter of when, not if there is flooding. if chrome rubber gets into the water, wildlife will die. i love golden gate park and its ecosystem and i urge you to vote against this. it is a picture that paints a thousand words. a video paints a million. i urge you to look at the video i made with my digital microscope of the chemical in the runoff water. see how the water gets into its digestive system and kills it. do not allow this. please don't know. -- vote no. [applause] president olague: there is

another child. if you could come out to the mike. we do not want you stuck here all night. with the rest of us. >> ipla play lacross at beach chalet. it is hard to use. when i tried to play their i cannot scoops the ball. the grass is sometimes really over ground. there are pro for holes, we stepped in them and get hurt. one time at another part, my friend and i were running there, we had a soccer practice and he stepped in a gopher hole and broke his ankle. it is sometimes not very safe like that. it is hard to use for us. one of the things, it would be easier if we had a turf field

because we would not have to water it as much, for one. it is obvious we would get more use out of it if it was like that. if we had the lights there, we could play after dark. if you look at candle fields, and has a lot of use. i know because i practice there and i see everyone playing fair and it is easy to work on and it is fun. i think the point of the fields there is really, i am no environmental expert but the main thing it is used for is for sports. if we want something that works for sports, we should have one of the things that is easy for it to be played on. if the grass was kept in perfect upkeep, that would be nice. it is easier to make -- keep the turf field nice and ready to go every time. and it would be a lot easier and

i think we would all have a lot more fun playing on it if that is the point of the field. thank you. president olague: thank you. [applause] >> [gavel] >> president chiu: good afternoon, welcome to the san francisco board of supervisors meeting for the team -- that seems to be it for the children. president olague: that seems to be it for the children. >> i am qualified historic architect and co-founder of the landscapes survey, northern california chapter. this is a companion program that complement's the historic american buildings survey. it was created in 2000 and its purpose is to record our nation's cultural landscapes for

future generations. these kids we just heard from. the value of historic buildings has been acknowledged for decades. only recently have we realized our cultural resources are equally important. they tell the story of our heritage, they define who we are, as americans. the significance of the larger urban park movement is well documented in many sources including the national register nomination for our golden gate park. few would question the claim that second to new york's central park, golden gate park is the most important example of this movement in the country. as planning commissioners, where charged with protecting this national treasure. not just for san franciscans but for all americans and beyond that, to visitors from around the world. golden gate park demonstrates

who we are as americans and what we value. it represents the four were thinking of william hammond hall and others who understood over 100 years ago our needs today. our need to be able to escape the intensity of urban living and be able to enjoy sylvan and pastoral views, to preserve nature within our city. you'll notice i am speaking about the park as a whole, which the er failed to do. the issue before you today is not just about the fields, one small piece of the park. before you this evening is a proposal to profoundly and forever alter the beach chalet fields. how will this affect golden gate park as a whole? imagine this. supposing a museum curator wide to alter the position of the hands in that painting of the

mona lisa, possibly adding a bright and dazzling rang. would such a change alter the effect of the painting? please ask yourself, how well the addition of artificial turf in -- and new light standards affect golden gate park is a whole? our masterpiece. thank you. [applause] president olague: thank you. >> let me interrupt you. the applause for the children was an honorable and wonderful. thank you very much. they deserved it. if we cannot applaud for the rest of the people, it would move this along faster. thank you. >> good evening. i will limit my comments to the e.r. and its adequacy. heritage agrees with the finding that the proposed project will result in significant adverse impact in

resources including the historic day, the beach shelle, the wind bill and cottage. ponder view -- upon review, the report fails to acknowledge conflicts with the golden gate master plan and fails to evaluate a reasonable range of feasible alternatives to proposed projects. are proposing to introduce artificial turf into the park, the project is inconsistent with the golden gate master plan policies that prioritize protection of the pastoral and sell than landscape. as stated previously, herridge believes there is more than one feasible alternative to the project. alternative three and four outlined in the draft er appear to be feasible because the deir acknowledges it meets objectives. we believe the city can improve on that. we joined the historic preservation commission in urging the department to consider a hybrid alternative

that combines elements of alternatives to, 3, and for including natural grass and reduced lighting. this solution will allow for renovated fields with natural turf and no or significantly reduced lighting. as well as read it -- renovated fields using artificial turf and additional lighting. this approach will meet most of the stated project objectives while retaining the essence of the fields of golden gate park's western end. president olague: thank you. >> good day. i am a volunteer of -- and a nest to monitor and i keep track of, this is 18 wrapped her nest in the west end of golden gate park. great horned owls, red tail hawks and doves cooper's hawks.

i want to talk about the effect of light pollution on these birds. as you know, the weather in the western end is almost always gray. that gray and overcast will provide a great reflector for these flights and the environmental impact report does not adequately address this. these birds run on light cycles. their mating behavior, they're feeding, -- their feeding, their cycle of life is based on light. we're asking to turn this park and to and all the summer project for we have five extra hours of light in the winter. the birds are not going to like that. this is potentially very bad for

the birds but it will be good for these birds's pray. the major prey are rats. these are the major suppressors of firman traded to get rid of these birds, the rats will increase. what happens then is you have increased pressure to use rodenticides and rodenticides began a downward cycle of poisoned birds. we lost all our great horned owls to the use of rodenticide. we have three nesting pairs back. there have been back for a few years. if we lose these birds part of what makes this place the wild place the designers envisioned.

>> hello, commissioners. i am here on behalf of the golden gate audubon society. we have been working to protect the interests of bay area bird'' habitats and the people care about them. all those issues come here. we do support a project that meets the needs of recreational users but we want to respect the cultural and biological the values. i will talk about the deir now. it is incomplete and family flawed. it does not assess all the impacts, especially the impact to biological resources. it does not propose measures and fails to consider all reasonable alternatives. first and foremost it fails to assess impacts of the biological, aesthetic, and other impacts. they detected use of the soccer

fields by myriad species. during the breeding season, even a species that is rare. there will suffer impact because of the conversion of the area at to what is ecologically the equivalent of a parking lot. there's no doubt. that is what that is. you might as well paved over. that is what astroturf is like. even worse given quality concerns. it states conclusions without supporting its findings, without citing studies or other data, this is not allowed by ceqa and it renders the plan flawed. i will give you an example. this will take 9 acres of the fields themselves out of use. if you look at this map, which

shares to the amount of green space that is here. there are two other spots that compared to that. if you look in a broader -- within a 5 mile radius, the red dots are spots within the park that are the size of this or larger. there is not a lot of open grassland habitat even within a 5 mile radius to talk about. they just lump together open space altogether. there's many other examples of the inadequacy of the study. with flights and the noise and increased human activity. the biological impacts that will occur once this has been ripped up. they provide no basis for the conclusion it will last 10 or 15 years. it fails to provide adequate mitigation measures. nothing -- it does nothing for lights and does not consider

alternatives. this will serve a regional audience. thank you. president olague: our next speakers. >> i have children at home so i'm going ahead as one of the special groups. i am the executive director of the san francisco police activities league. i am also a parent of two years in san francisco that are seventh generation san francisco on its -- san franciscans. we are serving --president olags

there are children sitting here and i was during my comments toward getting the children home so they can prepare for school. >> i am sorry. we will let this go. i have kids at home waiting alone. we serve 5000 kids every year in san francisco. we pride ourselves in never turning anyone away for lack of ability to pay for low fees but we turn away hundreds of kids and volunteers every year because we do not have the space for them to play. i am here in support of the renovation. it would go a long way in ensuring our children would have more access to health the sports and activities. our families, our 2500 kids that place soccer, those families prefer the crocker amazon and

turf fields. families say they refuse to go to grass fields because they're dangerous and people are getting hurt. we have a very serious issue of that. those families are not here because their home with their kids right now. an important thing and want to make a point of, i brought something before i came. these have been playing fields for 80 years. this is not a change in use. i found something here, this is from 1959. the very first journal that is talking about the first team, and happened to be a soccer team. this was taken at the beach chalet in may 1959. these fields were soccer fields back then. one of the things that is different is our city had resources and money and the ability to keep grass fields up. we do not have that ability anymore.

we have made huge improvements to fields, provided more access to sports and families and kids and i am active in trying to keep families in san francisco. this is one more thing we need to do to provide more access to kids. we're having families leave because they can do sports and activities in other cities. this is not a zoning change. let's make sure we make it right for the families and kids who have been using these facilities for generations. thank you. president olague: if you heard your name, please come up. >> good evening. members of the planning commission. i am a resident homeowner and

taxpayer in san francisco. i have two daughters in grades five and seven -- second. both enjoy the park and both play soccer. one play competitively and one recreational league. we have made a conscious choice to live here. because of the offerings of urban life. as we know, that is not without its compromises. i can assure you for every -- there are 100 more mothers like me at home that are not able to make it this evening. there have been many times where i have had to do with my children being disappointed because games were canceled, there were injuries, the fields were overcrowded. i think a lot of the previous speakers have addressed that. one of the additional complaints, by delaying this proposal, we always run the risk when the field is not attended,

whether it is a field, playground or part, it becomes vulnerable to urban blight. this proposal is 0 and fully funded which is fiscally responsible. i asked you not to extend the public comment any further. and i request you support a proposed renovation. >> i am a parent and lacrosse coach and i and all those roles over 26 years in the city i have had an opportunity to work with kids and their families through sports. i think that as i speak for the project, the comments i would have about the draft er is that

i agree that it is adequate. it is difficult to deal with these competing issues. as one who enjoys the park foley and enjoys being out and around i still fall on the side of the kids. i fall on the side of active engagement through sports, with life lessons. we are confronting issues of obesity, issues of the injuries in the field my students have incurred, sprained ankles, twisted knees. these are real issues. i think we have to agree that the draft eir has been complete

and addresses the issues that are important. thank you. >> good evening. i am a 43-year resident of san francisco, currently living witn the outer richmond. the deir states the project has a "cigna begin and unavoidable impact on historic resources." i believe this impact is more apparent after the magnificent recent restoration of the completion of the restoration of the murphy went filled. -- when mail. -- when mail. -- windmill. think of the hundreds of

thousands of people who will visit. a sports complex adjacent to the path with artificial turf and stadium lighting is interested and incompatible with the surroundings. i would like to see the eir include an alternative that restartrestores the fields withl grass and no lighting. this is the alternative that is compatible with the golden gate master plan that says the western edge of the park shall remain solvent and pastoral. synthetic turf and artificial lighting along outside of golden gate park. thank you. >> thank you. i started -- i have read the entire draft the are. i find the mitigations are

acceptable. my concern is it does not deal with the safety of the users of this facility. in 1992, i started with a shovel and a wheelbarrow trying to fill the holes that were rampant. in 1996, if you could -- we had a young boy. this was alex goodman. he broke his ankle in a whole. i was fortunate enough to get this picture before. we spent $4 million on our soccer field. in 1998 we redid the soccer field. he made to " i think we need to repeat. he says we have the best 11 soccer fields in the country in golden gate park. we will make the same commitment to maintaining these fields as

we have restoring them. a year later i did surveys repeatedly. this was one year later. it is not possible for us to maintain natural lawn fields in 10 francisco with the number of recreational users we have. even if we have all the gardeners in the world we still cannot do it. you need to consider the safety of the children and adults that will use these fields and the future. the natural grass roots and gopher holes should not be considered historic. when you -- thank you. president olague: our next speakers.