Neighborhood Park Bond Passed by SF Voters in February 2008

APRIL 2009 UPDATE | MARCH 2009 UPDATE | AUGUST 2008 UPDATE | BACKGROUND INFO | BOND SUMMARY & ALLOCATION | RELATED READING | ENDORSEMENTS

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

Congratulations to the tremendous Yes On A--Fix Our Parks team, and everyone’s hard work to win endorsements and get out the vote in the last few weeks. But most of all, thank you to our coalition for casting your votes!

If you would like to join the bond distribution list, or give feedback about the bond to the Rec & Park Planning Department, email rpdplanning@sfgov.org.

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APRIL 2009 UPDATE: Upcoming Community Meeting

Topic: Sunset Playground Renovation
Wednesday, May 13, 200 at 6pm,
at Sunset Rec. Center, 28th Ave & Lawton St.

MARCH 2009 UPDATE: Upcoming Community Meetings

Topic: McCoppin Square Renovation
Monday, March 30, 2009
6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
at Taraval Police Station Community Room
(2345 24th Avenue)

Topic: Fulton Playground Renovation
Thursday, April 16, 2009
6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
at Fulton Clubhouse
(855 27th Avenue)

AUGUST 2008 UPDATE

Click here for August 7th Bond program overview presented to the Rec and Park Commission.

The sale of Bonds has been broken up into three phases, spaced 14 months apart, with the first phase of sales totaling $42,980,000. Of that, approximately $3,500,000 goes toward the Port waterfront parks.

According to the Bond Accountability Report that was released in June, the proceeds from this round of bond sales will go toward planning and design for the first set of neighborhood park projects, funding for construction on the Chinese Recreation Center, and a portion of each of the Special Programs including restrooms, park forestry, park trails, park playfields and the community opportunity fund. A small portion of the money is associated with the sale and issuance of the bond.

The planning and framework development for all of the Special Projects will be critical for successful bond implementation. We encourage park advocates to participate in the process by reading the bond accountability report, attending RPD Commission Hearings and public meetings to discuss bond implementation.

For more information on the first phase of Bond sales and a complete list of projects please click here.

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*
$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
TOTAL = $185 MILLION

*The list of restrooms is still being finalized by the Recreation and Parks Restroom Task Force consisting of department staff and stakeholders.

**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.