January 2008Letters to the EditorDear Editor, It’s unfortunate that you published two letters to the editor in the December View that made a number of inaccurate slurs against Joe Boss, myself, and a lot of others. In one letter Nancy Anding claims that a developer “identified” the Eastern Neighborhoods Public Benefit Fund advisors; in another Kepa Askenazy claims that Joe Boss “hand-picked” them. The fact is that the Fund’s advisors were asked to serve because of their elected leadership positions in volunteer neighborhood associations. I declined to serve, specifically to avoid a conflict of interest with my other volunteer work. I am not paid by anyone for any of my nonprofit or neighborhood work, and I have run dozens of Boosters and Plan Potrero Hill meetings over the years that have been praised by neighbors, developers and City representatives for their fairness and value. The 650 Townsend project was pushed by the Planning Department, prompting the need to quickly create a public benefits program where the City was failing to do so. The letters to the editor ignore the clear benefits of having a fund dedicated to better local transit planning and neighborhood improvements for popular nonprofit causes, all governed by federal laws that prohibit any individual from benefiting from the nonprofits’ operations. And they ignore the other advisors of the Public Benefit Fund, all of whom are also elected leaders of neighborhood associations, known for their strong advocacy, leadership, and fairness. Much of this was reported in November’s View; Ms. Anding and Ms. Askenazy chose to ignore the facts in their letters. It’s disappointing that the View chose to undermine its own article. Ms. Askenazy refers to a conflict-of-interest policy that is part of the Boosters bylaws; we believe our policy is appropriate, and that no one has acted in violation of it. By the time this issue of the View is out we’ll post our bylaws at our website, www.potreroboosters.org, so anyone interested can review the policy for themselves. The fact that someone can work for a developer and still be positively engaged in the Potrero Hill community is an insult to anyone on the Hill who works as a contractor, carpenter, architect, or realtor, among many others.
President, Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association Dear Editor: The recent efforts of two longtime community leaders to “exact” $1.5 million in funds from a developer seeking permits has caused a community outcry over the way it was done. As the View’s initial editorial implied, this is perhaps not only because of the lack of a fully vetted transparent process, but that the transaction also involved a conflict of interest. As someone who continues to work on both the community and developer sides of protracted building battles, I found the editorial and the subsequent negative letters disappointing. Instead of supporting increased involvement in community process around these important issues, I fear the View’s editorial and the comments made by others in the letters will only encourage apathy and community disengagement at a time when it’s crucial that many voices be heard and action taken by as many people as possible. Most troublesome is that the important issues are being lost in the focus on suggestions of impropriety and misguided process. It needs to be made clear that in no way did any of the community members involved in this deal benefit personally from any of the funds exacted. The news story that ought to be written is about how community leaders have taken charge of an often log-jammed process. The Planning Department is promising, like it always has, to encourage the creation of new community services and open space to offset the impact of new buildings on the existing neighborhood. It’s quite possible that without the courageous leadership of Tony Kelly and Joe Boss, a less substantial precedent for developer contributions to a public benefits fund may have resulted, and another wasteful legal battle would have ensued. Instead, we have an example of developers cooperatively working with community leaders to create a process for financially supporting community services. It’s reasonable for people to be concerned over how the funds were exacted and over the appearance of “backroom” dealing. But the community needs to know that the efforts that have yielded this huge public benefit have surely sent shock-waves through the developer community. It shows that a united community will embolden its leaders to take direct action. We need to show more resolve, not less, as this process unfolds. We must continue to work aggressively with developers to ensure that what gets built is what everyone wants and can ultimately live with.
Architect, Third Street
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