Ansel Adams Grove

To:  City and County of San Francisco

PETITION for the creation of the Ansel Adams Grove

WHEREAS; the property located at 107 24th Avenue (the “Billman Lot”), would provide an ideal venue for a San Francisco memorial to honor the legacy of the City’s “most famous native son” Ansel Adams, as it is located adjacent to the house where he lived for 57 years, and also adjacent to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), of which Adams was personally instrumental in the creation and establishment; and

WHEREAS; the subject property suffered catastrophic consequences on Dec. 11, 1995 due to the collapse of a 100 year-old sewer resulting in a massive sinkhole, causing the loss of the Billman’s enormous Tudor-style home including an established forest and pond on their property, as well as an extensive 100 year-old garden grove planted on the adjacent property by Ansel Adams and his family, both of which served as natural buffers between the residential city area and the national parkland; and

WHEREAS; Lobos Creek is a unique, valuable natural resource; serves as the main source of drinking water for the Presidio National Park as well as an emergency water source for San Francisco; provides essential habitat and eco-systems which support numerous native animal and plant species in the GGNRA; and

WHEREAS; the impact of construction and development on the watershed with regard to erosion, run-off, possible introduction of toxins into the drinking water and non-native species to the Lobos Creek restoration project is unknown, and that any sale for the purposes of development would violate the Precautionary Principle, adopted as a City Ordinance since June 2004; and

WHEREAS; by Act of Congress in 2000, the parcel was annexed for inclusion within the borders of the GGNRA, and that by federal law “the Secretary of the Interior shall preserve the recreation area, as far as possible, in its natural setting, and protect it from development and uses which would destroy the scenic beauty and natural character of the area";

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: we, the undersigned, urge the SFPUC and the City of San Francisco not to offer for sale at auction the parcel in question for the purpose of residential/ commercial development, but rather, to designate the parcel as protected open space, and further to support the creation of the Ansel Adams Grove on the site as a memorial to one of San Francisco's most distinguished citizens and one of the world's most respected conservationists.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Ansel Adams Grove Petition to City and County of San Francisco was created by Citizens for the Creation of the Ansel Adams Grove and written by Thomas McAfee (mcafeetr@mac.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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