and i think, you know, it's a wonderful thing and a great example of coexistence of two activities, human and species activities. so, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> paul. commissioners, i'm paul slavin. i'm a director with the pacifica historical society. we have long appreciated the historical significance of the sharp park golf course being designed by one of golf's greatest and most famous architects, alastair mc kenzie. it's been the cultural center of the sea side community. we appreciate greatly the work that park and rec has done -- rec and park has done to improve the conditions at the

port for the golfers and most importantly for the protected species. we realize what a long process it's been to put together the significant natural resource areas, managements plans. we've watched that process for years, attended many of the meetings. and we hope that you can now go forward with that as it stands and not to remove sharp park from the plan. to do so and rechoirv a separate e-i-r for sharp park would be to obstruct the excellent work that's going on right now and would just needlessly endanger what we consider a municipal masterpiece. thank you. >> thank you. >> richard.

commissioners, i'm richard harris, the san francisco public park alliance. we have 6,000 members. i'm also a san francisco resident and have been a golfer in sharp park for most of my life. we support funding for the completion of the e-i-r which is what is good for you on agenda number 9 of the sun ramp. this is 18-year process. you hear the controversy here. there were two or three hearings here by the planning commission on the e-i-r. there was the extra hearing. i don't know how many thousands

of comments there were, but there are a lot of comments which has engendered the meeting. to spend more money to finish the e-i-r. some of the comments you've had today go to the ultimate merits. there will be time for discussing that. right now the issue is to finish the funding of the e-i-r. we support that. we are opposed to dropping sharp park out of that. sharp park has been part of it for 18 years. there is a reference by a young woman earlier in the comment period, she thought there had been a promise that sharp park would be separated from the e-i-r. that's not so. i submitted a letter to the capital committee on april -- on august 7th which is part of your packet. exhibit 3 to that packet is the

thing that she refers to, she is specifically referring a paragraph on page 3.10 which is in the middle of the page of e-i-r recommendations. what's being referred to there was when the board of supervisors in 2009 directed rec and park to study three alternatives at sharp, they said study eliminating the golf course. study turning into a 9-hole golf course. study having an 18-hole golf course, all of which would have to be consistent with habitat restoration [speaker not understood]. what's referred to here is because sharp park has been designated by the planning department under the california environmental quality act as a historic resource property, if sharp park were to have been eliminated or reduced to 9

holes, that would require a separate e-i-r. and that's what is [speaker not understood] there. not the [speaker not understood] that has been contemplated here. we also support the habitat restoration number 10 on your agenda. >> thank you very much. thank you very much. >> is there any other public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. commissioners? >> commissioner low. >> yes, this came before -- both items came before the capital committee a couple -- at the regular capital committee in august. regarding item 9 on completing the e-i-r, i do agree with the comment that we have to finish what we started. and while the contents of sin rap or the natural area plan may be controversial or will be

a matter of later discussion, we do need the tools to complete the e-i-r so we can evaluate those alternatives. so, i am in favor of item 9 on completing what we started. responding to the public comments to the draft e-i-r so we can move that finally forward to final e-i-r so we can evaluate both plans. regarding number 10, i think whats was overlooked on sharp park is we're under federal directive to get this work done. and we just have to comply. so, on item 10 we also have to move that forward. >> thanks, commissioner. my own observation, i couldn't agree more on item 9. i think that this is not a debate about whether there should be a plan or not a plan or how many trees should or shouldn't come down. this is finishing a job that was started. i think no one anticipated would be as complex or as extensive as it was.

and with added elements relating to climate change late in the game and lots of comments coming in [speaker not understood], whether a third-party consultant for peer review is an asset or not is a recommendation of staff and this is ultimately going to be a planning department analysis when they look at what come in. as to sharp park, i've never hidden the fact that i'm a fan of not only golf, but alastair mc kenzie. i was told literately two days ago and i don't know it to be a fact, but it was told me by a golf historian. when sharp park was built it was ranked as the number one course in america. now it's been compromised over the years by the ocean, by highways, by frogs, by snakes, and it's been modified. but this effort is to restore it to the greatest extent

possible that's compatible with providing a good environment for both frog and snake and golfer. and i think it's a good plan. i've looked at it carefully and wholeheartedly support it. with that, let me ask commissioner, you had a com? ment? >> yes. ~ having served as a commissioner during all of these discussions, i can unequivocally attest to the fact that we had numerous -- we had countless number of experts come before us to discuss the merits of the nap plan, the existence or the continuation of the sharp park, and all the different configurations for how -- how to preserve sharp

park and have the coexistence and protect the species there. it was always the discussion of nap plan along with sharp park. we're always front and center together, as i recall. there was never any discussion that i heard of to do separate e-i-rs and there was always -- there was always discussion that we should -- i mean, although the -- there was controversy during the -- during all the comments and there were numerous subcommittee meetings and so on. it was always -- from my understanding, there was

continued agreement that we should have a plan, that we should put forward this plan and that we should invest whatever resources we could to make this plan happen. and i am fully in support of both items 9 and 10, of finishing the job that we started. and actually it will be -- i will feel most gratified having spent hundreds of hours of my time to see something come of this plan. so, i am fully in support of item 9 and keeping the nap plan with sharp park front and center until we continue -- until we complete this project. >> thank you, commissioner. seeing no other commission comments, i would entertain a motion. >> and we do need to vote on these separately.

>> right. so, let's take item 9 first. >> move. >> second. >> been moved and seconded. all those in favor. >> aye. >> so moved. item 10? >> so moved. >> second. >> moved and seconded. all those in favor? >> aye. >> so moved. thank you very much. >> commissioners, we are now on item 11, golden gate park [speaker not understood] triangle conceptual plan approval. excuse me. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is abigail mayer. i work on park and recreation partnership team and i'm here to present on item 11.

before you today, we are requesting four independent actions all of which are interrelated and are therefore being presented to you as a single item. the first is to approve a conceptual plan for landscape improvements and temporary art installations at [speaker not understood] triangle in golden gate park. the second is to approve a possible donor recognition plan for the project. 3 is to recommend that the board of supervisors accept from the san francisco parks alliance on behalf of the friends of kito triangle a cash grant in the amount of $19,000 for the cost of the department project manager. and in addition to that, an in grant valued at up to $650,000 of design and construction services for the project. the fourth item is to approve a memorandum of understanding

with the san francisco parks alliance for the design and construction of the project. i'm happy to give you some background on this project and then i'll turn it over to jeff miller, the landscape architect who is working on this. about two years ago karma crane and [speaker not understood] approached the department [speaker not understood]. since karma has a personal connection with golden gate park and the particular area known as kifa triangle, department staff decided to move forward working with sam and carla on the landscape improvement project. carla has been involved in many bay area art projects and institutions and sam is the executive director of green museum.org. so, together they funded the friends of kifa triangle with the intent of creating a more inviting and beautiful entry to golden gate park at kiva triangle. carla and sam reached out to the parks alliance for the fiscal sponsorship and support

and they have volunteered in golden gate park the support of the cost of new trees and they've hosted numerous public events and picnics. the friends engaged company mayer landscape architects to work with the community and with the recreation and park department. jeff miller and carla have been committed partners on this project. the planning process for landscape improvements and temporary art installations at kiva triangle wrapped up in may with the third and final community meeting held jointly by rec/park jeff miller of parks alliance and the friends group. at that meeting jeff presented the final plan for landscape enhancements which included [speaker not understood], stabilize access entrance and [speaker not understood] such as the kiosk and possibly log benches. at this meeting sam bower presented the plan for temporary nature based art installations.

so, like i said, jeff miller is with us today to walk you through the conceptual plan. as he wraps up his presentation, i will then show you the conceptual ideas for the art part of this project and give you a brief summary on the m-o-u. so, let me just load the presentation. >> hello, commissioners. i'm jeffery miller, miller

landscape architects. it's been a real pleasure to work with the friends of kiza and the members of this project. we're happy to be involved. so, we want to take you through the presentation that was given to the committee and want to share with the whole commission what the plan consists of. you can see in the first slide the context. we are at kiza triangle just west of the stadium. what we noticed is a lot of people don't even know this is part of golden gate park. but it indeed is part of the park and is where the project is located. the next slide is showing an aerial of the triangle. you can see some of the issues immediately in the triangle. there, there are two pads that are beaten in through what is dedicated as a meadow in the

park master plan. what really is happening is people are working at u.c. medical center parking -- parking going back and forth to move their cars so they don't get tickets. so, they're beating these into the park over the years. the next slide is showing those pads and the character, the erosion that's happened in the park. there is a lack of accessibility through the park. so, this became one of the goals of our plan was to establish an accessible pathway through. another issue that is clear when you visit this area is that it's somewhat -- you can see on the top right slide, looks kind of like a used parking lot. cars facing immediately into the park. no buffer, no sense of really being in a green space there.

so, this is one of the thing that we wanted to address. one of the uses that came up in the public meetings that's a kind of sacred use of the area, the discus throw which was located outside of kesar stadium so people didn't get hit by the disks during track meets. it's used for various events and we've worked with coaches and athletic directors in the area to preserve this in our plan. the park is presently irrigated by a quick coupler system that's manually operated. there are pipes underneath the park and quick couplers all over it. if you visit it, you'll see gardeners moving sprinklers from one quick coupler to the next. and it's resulted in somewhat marginal maintenance of the lawn. so, a part of our plan is to

install an automatic irrigation system in the area. this is the plan and you can see by the plan there is a new accessible path leading from lincoln way across and through to the main body of golden gate park. we did reach out to the department of public works to establish a new crosswalk there across kesar drive. presently the existing crosswalk is at the left there. people have to cross into an island and wait at an island and cross to get to the children's playground. so, we did manage to secure an assurance from the department of public works that they would establish a new crosswalk there with crossing lights to make a direct link into the park. and our plan consists of

increased planting at the edge at the southern edge to kind of shield the parked cars from view and reestablish the meadow as a form. there are a few new trees that will be planted in the park. there are new entry areas that will have kiosks. trash cans and features of the park that will kind of locate people where they are and direct them into the area. we had located along the pathway several locations for benches that will allow people to sit and enjoy the park while we've maintained the openness of the space. you can see in the plan the kind of triangle of the discus. so, this was a major thing that came out of the public meetings, was to shift the path out of the way of the discus thrower so people could have a

safe passage across. the path will consist of a natural paved, much like what is at the new lafayette park out at lands end and it's a good stable surface that's accessible. we have talked to the accessibility coordinator about this and seems accessible -- acceptable to them. the next is a planting scheme. we vetted the plants with the parks department, so, they've looked at all the trees, looked at all the shrubs. and the main thing about the shrubs is that they will be low, low enough to look into the park but high enough to shield the cars along the south. there is one particularly dedicated natural art space you can see in the circle there to the right that will be a kind of agricultural changing exhibit.

but i think sam and carla might talk a little about that afterward. so, the next is some of the plants that will be used [speaker not understood], there are existing [speaker not understood] in the park that will reinforce and we'll plant some new iron wood trees as well. some of the other plantings are shown here. the arbutist will highlight the entryways of the space. strawberry trees, and the plants will be -- the interesting thing is with the new irrigation system, we think that the maintenance, dedicated maintenance work on the park will be dedicated particularly to maintenance of the plants in the park as opposed to moving around hoses to take care of the lawn. so, that concludes my presentation.

>> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, jeff. as we mentioned, in addition to the paths and the additional plantings, the friends of kesar triangle group, they have worked with the community to form the kesar triangle arts coalition. the arts coalition is a volunteer-run advisory and planning group that combines art, ecology, and community engagement to support activities and cultural infrastructure at kesar triangle. there has recently been local interest and art programs, art programming and created more artful and inviting entries to golden gate parka long lincoln way. [speaker not understood] curating and supervising art component of this project. at its july 2013 meeting, the arts commission approved five nature-based temporary public art projects and i can show you pictures of those.

this first one is by daniel mccormick and o'brien. these artists plan to create sculptures from world and natural elements at the entryway of kesar triangle. these sculptures will celebrate the environment and eventually become part of it. not only will they look beautiful and interesting, but they will help prevent the reoccurrence of erosion at the mark of the entryways and protect the planting and direct people onto the paths. mr. mccormick and ms. o'brien have created natural art installations in golden gate national recreation areas and the east bay regional parks and their sculptures have been on display at local museums such as the [speaker not understood]

museum. the next event is by cameron hawkinson, and he intends to install temporary ground installations most likely little areas for people to sit. and he hopes that they will serve as an artful and interesting element to the park. the quigley house is an original idea from the arts coalition. according to local historian patrick quigley was the superintendent of construction in golden gate park from the early 1870s to 1912. patrick and his large family, they had at least seven children, lived in a house situated in kesar triangle. patrick lived in the house until he passed away in 1912. then the house stood empty and was considered haunted until it burned down in 1914.

the idea behind this art project is to use 400 pieces of recycle ed brick to outline where the quigley house once stood and the 400 is to honor the past and present golden gate park staff. this is another original idea from the kesar arts coalition which also has a historical reference. this triangle is an example of one of the types of agricultural art projects that is being proposed in the plan and the idea is to plant barley since this is a natural plant and was once grown there to feed the horses. this is an example actually of an art project that the arts commission considered more landscaping rather than art. so, this was not one that they thought the need to review or

approve, but i did want to share it with you today just to show you some of the beautiful ways that artists can install some natural art that sort of is there for people to enjoy and then kind of blends in with the current grass. this is an idea to add some color and beauty to the discus cage while it is not being used. this is an anonymous artist who may be able to decorate the cage. and as i mentioned, the friend of kesar triangle have had numerous picnics and social gatherings at the triangle and they plan to continue doing so. the m-o-u before you establishes the framework for collaboration between rec/park, the parks alliance, and the friends [speaker not understood] this project.

the agreement [speaker not understood] assigns roles, responsibilities to design construction of the project. specifically the m-o-u includes the following provisions. the san francisco parks alliance as fiscal agent to the friends shall provide all labor, materials, and project and construction management services necessary for the completion of design and the construction of the project in accordance with this hopefully commission approved conceptual plan. the parks alliance again is the fiscal agent shall provide funding and services necessary to implement the conceptual plan. the proximate budget value in place of the landscape improvement is valued at up to $650,000. in addition, there will be a cash gift to support the cost of one of our project managers from the capital division to oversee the construction document review process. and also construction.

the city, of course, shall be responsible for the maintenance of the project according to the proposition fee maintenance standards. as you may have noticed, the conceptual plan does president have a typical donor recognition plan like cabrillo playground like we see some some of our other parks. the friends at this point are not proposing any formal or permanent recognition. however, i think that it may be nice when the time is right to install an appropriate plaque honoring the friends of kesar triangle, specifically honoring david and carla crane and their foundation for supporting such a beautiful project. if that decision is made, then of course that plaque will be in accordance with our guidelines under the recognition and plaques. that's about it. that concludes our presentation, but we're happy to answer any questions. thank you. >> thank you. >> i have three cards. dee [speaker not understood]. carla crane. and sam bower.

good morning, commissioners and director. [speaker not understood] with the san francisco parks alliance. we're the fiscal sponsor for the friends of kesar triangle. it's a real privilege to be working with this group on this very interesting project that brings kind of a special treatment to this area of golden gate park at kesar triangle. we're really excited about this project because of the great vision that it has to bring some artistic elements and the connection with eco logic design into the park. we feel it is an opportunity to make it a special place and possibly is a model we can use in other parks around the city as well. the great thing is it also builds on activation events that the group has already been doing. we've been able to have some events where we're out in the park enjoying music, blowing bb