A conceptual, overhead rendering of the four renovated fields at Beach Chalet
City Fields Foundation issued a press release today about a legal ruling that will finally allow the Beach Chalet Soccer Fields renovation project to proceed:
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The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the City Fields Foundation announced today that Superior Court Judge Teri L. Jackson has ruled in favor of the renovation of the Beach Chalet Athletic Fields in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Judge Jackson found that the City’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) adequately reviewed the project under the California Environmental Quality Act. Recreation and Parks and the City Fields Foundation can now bid the project and then initiate construction.
San Francisco Recreation and Parks and the nonprofit City Fields Foundation are jointly funding the $14,000,000 renovation of the Beach Chalet Athletic Fields. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2014 and the fields are expected to reopen in 2015.
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On their website, City Fields posted “The lawsuit challenging Beach Chalet’s environmental review has been denied! Congrats and thank you to all of you, the City Attorney’s Office and our partners at Recreation and Parks! Yahoo!”.
More about the renovation from the City Fields website:
City Fields and SF Recreation and Parks are proposing to install synthetic turf, field lights and on-field spectator seating – bleachers on either end of the field and low profile bench seating between the two center fields. A new viewing plaza will connect to the restored restrooms with new paths leading from JFK Drive in the Park to the athletic fields.
A children’s play area will occupy the little ones while spectators watch the games from adjacent barbeques and picnic areas. With neighbors in mind, field light heights were reduced by 20 feet so the light standards will not be visible from surrounding neighborhoods and “open play” hours will be posted to ensure community access to the new fields.
A new pick-up & drop-off area near the restroom will increase safety for kids and athletes and 81 bike parking spots will be installed. Twenty new spaces will be added to the existing car parking lot to keep additional cars off park roads and a pathway will encircle the fields to provide disability access and to make it easier for everyone to enjoy the fields. The current eight foot fence will be lowered to four feet around most of the fields and rise to 16 feet behind the goals to keep balls in bounds.
Sarah B.
An overhead view showing the renovated parking, playground and seating area.
Instead of tall bleachers, an 18-inch raised walkway featuring built-in spectator
benches runs across the center of the fields.
Why not leave it the way it is, except for the new lights
Grand plans, that will smell like rubber.
It’s disappointing that despite compelling evidence to the contrary as well as a substantial body of good law, Judge Jackson ruled for the City of San Francisco and City Fields Foundation, and against all those who are concerned about preserving Golden Gate Park and protecting our children from exposure to toxic chemicals found in the rubber tire crumb used on these fields. It is astonishing that the city that claims to be the greenest in the country lags behind New York City and Los Angeles, both of which have banned toxic turf on playfields in parks and schools. It’s a very sad day for all of us who care about children, the Park, and the environment.
The mindset of those in favor of installing synthetic turf in a beautiful green park, in San Francisco, during a global warming pattern, while shuttling back & forth in their gas burning SUV’s, are examples of the crazy selfishness (at our expense) and entitlement so prevalent in many people today.
Hey, you could always boycott it, and they will have spent all that money for nothing, as the field goes unused. Maybe then they will listen when we tell them we don’t want toxic synthetic turf.
There’s still time. Write, call talk to our Supervisor Eric Mar and tell him you think this project is a terrible idea.
Burning tens of thousands of watts of stadium lights past 10pm every night? How much does that cost? Multiply the number of watts times the hours they’ll burn times the rate of electricity. Who pays for that? The taxpayers. Prediction: RecPark will whine they need more money and guess what – they’ll get it.
This plan is anything but “green” which the City loves to tout and drive down our throats. Eric Mar voted for this b/c he was very worried about his then upcoming election which he was predicted to lose. The City Fields foundation is a shell name for the Fisher family. I abhor lack of transparency and RecPark can take private money for pet projects and hide who’s behind things. What an un-natural imposition in our neighborhood. I feel like Richmond residents got lip service in public hearings and we’ve been run over by outsiders.
Great for youth sports in sf. Thousands of hours of stadium lights? Are u joking? Do u think the Giants will be playing there? How about the millions of gallons of fresh water that parks and rec wastes watering sidewalks and roadways with errant spigots every day during RAINY SEASON. Also The City Fields Foundation is not a Shell Co that’s just silly. The Fischer family isn’t hiding anything. They donated the money to improve youth sports experience in sf, nothing more. Everyone knows that.
As for lip service. This project went thru FIVE YEARS of mtgs approvals and hearings. It wasn’t rubber stamped like people are stating here.
Parks and rec has shown that they don’t have the field space and cannot possibly take care of fields to provide a safe even level playing field for kids to play on. Just look at the botched polo fields project that went millions over budget only to have to be totally redone and now is basically the same condition as before. Straight out of taxpayers wallet. These turf fields are privately funded and cut back 90% on upkeep. This is a great project for youth sports in SF and I am very happy our kids will have a nice.new safe place to play and watch games.