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Supervisors advance plan to buy 900 Innis for waterfront parkland
Summary
The Budget and Finance Committee voted to send a resolution to the full Board recommending acquisition of the 900 Innis Avenue property for $2.975 million, citing long-standing community support, waterfront connectivity and potential EPA Brownfields funding for cleanup.
The Budget and Finance Committee on July 16 voted to forward to the full Board a resolution recommending the city acquire 900 Innis Avenue for future parkland. Chair Mark Farrell and members said the property represents a rare opportunity to extend the India Basin shoreline parks and complete a key segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail.
Holly Pearson, a planner in the Recreation and Park Department’s Capital and Planning Division, told the committee the site is a little more than 2 acres sitting between India Basin Shoreline Park and India Basin Open Space and contains a landmarked Shipwrights Cottage. The department recommends the city purchase the land from the Tenderloin Housing Clinic for $2,975,000 and hold it through the Real Estate Division for up to 24 months while partners and design details are arranged.
Pearson said environmental work shows a wide range of remediation scenarios. A Phase I/II assessment produced cleanup estimates that range from under $500,000 to about $2.8 million depending on excavation depth and area. She said Rec and Park is refining the estimate and is exploring funding through the Open Space Acquisition Fund and federal Brownfields grants; the Parks Alliance and others have already helped secure a $500,000 Coastal Conservancy planning grant for design and outreach.
The Budget and Legislative Analyst reported that paying the purchase price and financing costs would bring Open Space Acquisition Fund expenditures for these items to an estimated $3.126 million and leave a projected fund balance of about $6.0 million as of June 30, 2014. The analyst recommended making approval contingent on Recreation and Park Commission approval of the final memorandum of understanding (MOU) governing the Real Estate Division’s holding arrangement and requested a report prior to final Board approval on the terms of that MOU and on remediation, development and maintenance funding by Dec. 31, 2015.
Multiple neighborhood groups and nonprofit park advocates urged approval during public comment, stressing the site’s role in the long-range Blue Greenway vision for the southeast waterfront. Rec and Park staff said they have been working closely with Build Inc., the Parks Alliance and the Trust for Public Land on potential land configurations and a possible land-swap that would maximize contiguous open space.
Supervisor Scott Wiener moved to forward the item with the analyst’s recommended amendments; the committee accepted the motion and amendments without objection. The measure now moves to the full Board of Supervisors for final action.
