THE GOLDEN GATEWAY TENNIS & SWIM CLUB A Factual Perspective On The Proposed 8 Washington Street Development

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Presented by: Friends of Golden Gateway

MISSION

FOGG’s mission is to preserve the Golden Gate-way Tennis & Swim Club as a planned commu-nity intended decades ago.

Recreation and Open Space Element (ROSE) City General Plan May 2009 Draft

Policy 2.11: “Support private recreational facili-ties that provide a community benefit”

“If San Francisco is to continue to offer its resi-dents the opportunity to live in a vibrant, civic, livable place, yet still connect with the wonders of the natural world, we need to have a frame-work to that ensures a world-class open space sys-tem. The goal of the City’s Open Space Frame-work is to continue the City’s legacy of fine parks and recreational opportunities, and the policies of the Recreation and Open Space Element are intended to guide the City’s decisions so they expand that open space system for the benefit of its citizens.” —Section 1.1

We as residents of San Francisco and users of this unique Club agree with stated city policy which clearly says in more than one way that current facilities should be preserved for the betterment of our city.

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INTRODUCTION

The Golden Gateway recreation facility is the product of the 1950’s Redevelopment Agency proposal for approximately 51 acres of Downtown area including the Hyatt Regency, Embarcadero Center Office towers, Maritime Plaza, Golden Gateway Apartments, Golden Gateway Commons, and Sydney G. Walton Square. At the time, it was agreed upon that this development needed community space. From this proposal, the Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club arose. The Club now services not only this large downtown area, but the entire city and beyond.

FOGG believes the current need for open recreation space has only increased since the 50’s. The present proposal for the 8 Washington Street project of 170 luxury condominiums and a 400

This document will illustrate three tenets:

I. The present club in scope and capacity serves an irreplaceable community and city service.

II. The proposed project by San Francisco Water-front Partners is counterproductive to the needs of the community and city.

III. There are viable alternatives that should be explored.

plus space underground parking garage diminishes the neighborhood’s open recreational space to the point that it will serve far fewer families and San Francisco residents. Instead it will serve only those who are wealthy enough to invest in a luxury condominium.

The Club was a result of a requirement by the Redevelopment Agency for community space. Although the RDA sponsorship and protection of this area has expired the need for active, open recreational space has not.

This is a facility the city cannot afford to loose. It exists. It is taken care of at no cost to the city. It should be kept. The question is quality of life for the many or luxury for the few.

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PART I

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OPEN SPACE

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The Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club. Why this Open Recreational Space is worth saving for the City.A. Density of District 3

District 3 has the greatest density of any neighborhood in San Francisco. In fact it is the densest neighborhood in the country outside of Manhattan.

There are over 50 thousand people per square mile in District 3.

25% of the neighborhood residents are seniors, which is twice the national average.

Density needs to be offset by making recreation available to the residents.

The area’s proximity to active open space does not meet the city’s standard per the Planning Department’s Northeast Embarcadero Study.

District 3 has less than 50 square feet of open space per resident.

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B. Facilities Provided in the Surrounding Neighborhood and Beyond

As this diagram illustrates, the only outdoor recreation space in this neighborhood is at Golden Gateway Tennis and Swim Club.

Outdoor recreation is vital to a city’s livability. There are at least 20 indoor fitness centers in the immediate area but Golden Gateway is the only outdoor facility.

District 3 tennis courts:

Golden Gateway Tennis and Swim Club (9 courts)

Bay Club (2) *will be made into parking in 2010

North Beach Playground (2)

Alice Marble (4)

Helen Willis (1)

The area’s proximity to active open space does not meet the city’s standard per the Planning Department’s Northeast Embarcadero Study.

INDOOR FITNESS FACILITIES(FINANCIAL DISTRICT)

OUTDOOR FACILITIES• Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club

INDOOR FACILITIES (Minimum of 20)• SF Bay Club• B of A Center• Club One (Sansome)• Club One (Embarcadero)• Club One (California)• Club One (Mason)• Club One (Third)• Club One (Market)• 24–Hour Fitness (Second)• 24–Hour Fitness (Bay)• 24–Hour Fitness (California)• Crunch Fitness (Spear)• YMCA (Embarcadero)• YMCA (Chinatown)• Simpson’s & Associates• Nob Hill Spa• Peak Performance Pilates• Sports Club LA• Crunch Club LA• Metropolitan Club • True Health Club• The Olympic Club

OUTDOOR RECREATION Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club INDOOR RECREATION Health Clubs

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What does the loss of this open recreation facility mean to the City?

If the proposal for 8 Washington is approved as it is it will mean the loss of 5 courts on site which means the loss of 400 existing tennis memberships. With only 4 courts remaining that will leave room for approximately 320 tennis memberships. Just enough for the owners of the 170 luxury condominiums ... and not many more.

Almost 500 current memberships will no longer be available.

Existing Tennis Programs at Golden Gateway serve over 800 tennis members. They engage in the following types of tennis:

• Spontaneous Play

• League Tennis

• Professional Lessons

• Ladder Tennis

• Flex League

• Kids Tennis Camp

Only the Golden Gate-way with 9 tennis courts can support all these community based tennis activities.

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Only The Golden Gateway Can Offer These Unique Outdoor Recreation Opportunities For The Community.

Elderly Fitness

• Exercise Classes

• Water Aerobics

• Senior Tennis League

• Social programs that provide a feeling of community.

Swim Programs

• Swim Lessons for Children

• Masters Swimming for Adults

• Open swim at the ONLY outdoor year round pool in San Francisco.

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KIDS CAMP

Kids Camp serves roughly 700+ campers (ages 3-12) and supports an additional 20+ seasonal employees each summer by providing activities like Tennis, Swimming, Skateboarding, Arts & Crafts, and team-building in a fun, structured learning environment.In the past 3 years alone, Kids Camp has supported upwards of $30,000 in scholarship awards to low-income families so that those children may benefit from these amazing youth programs.

Kids Camp truly is a family. It creates life-long bonds among campers - many of whom grow up to be counselors and staff members. If these families, campers, councilors and staff no longer have an outdoor facility for swimming, tennis and play to send their children to camp, they will be driven to other parts of the Bay Area for these needs. This is both contrary to the city’s stance on retaining families and sustainable green communities.

Relaxation in an Urban Atmosphere … beautiful open areas where people gather.

• Weekly BBQ’s

• Social gatherings

• Birthday parties

• Community events

The social focus of the neighborhood … This is where the neighbors come to hang out!

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PUBLIC OUTREACH

(Harper For Kids, Saint Vincent De Paul Holiday Clothing Drive, tennis event for the National Center for Gay and Lesbian Rights)

The Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club is a one of a kind facility that offers health, wellness and a sense of community to residents of San Francisco. Taking it away or altering it will leave a gaping hole in our community.

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POLICY 2.11 (Recreation and Open Space – General Plan, Draft)

Support private recreational facilities that provide a community benefit.

Outdoor space is not the only medium for physical activity. San Franciscans use indoor recreation spaces for activities like swimming, tennis, basketball, ping-pong, yoga, general fitness and group classes. And private recre-ational sources, such as clubs and gyms, offer residents spaces to participate in such activities. In permitting new development, San Francisco should continue to encourage the development of private recreational facilities to supplement those provided by the city.

Some private recreational facilities act in a quasi-public manner. These may provide free or low-cost community access, supplementing the work that the City is able to do in provid-ing needy communities with active education programs, sports and recreational activities. Examples include the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other community-based organizations.

These types of facilities should be supported, and the loss of recreational space they provide should be addressed by any replacement project.For-profit recreational facilities can offer similar education, sport and recreational benefits, provided the participant can pay. Examples include country and tennis clubs, yoga studios, and private gyms, like Gold’s or 24 Hour Fitness. These facilities should receive qualified support, based on the level at which they can demonstrate they are meeting a user population’s need. Such facilities should be encouraged to partner with communities or com-munity organizations to help address community members that are not able to afford full rates, by offering neighborhood discounts or “community class” rates. The City should also look for opportunities to partner with such private organizations, to provide benefits to the public at a lower cost.

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PART II

The San Francisco Waterfront Partners Proposal (What it Fails to Achieve)

A. Community Needs

For the owners of 170 luxury condominiums who may or may not become full time residents of this neighborhood life will be grand. For the 1,600 members of the Golden Gateway tennis and swim club, 700 children served by Kids Camp each sum-mer and the thousands of other residents in the surrounding neighborhood, 8 Washington will disrupt their lives completely for 3 years and then, most likely, will not serve them at all.

B. Housing Needs

District 3 has the greatest density of any neighborhood in San Francisco. In fact it is the densest neighbor-hood in the country outside of Manhattan. Within the past two years many office buildings have been converted into condominiums in this area.

Is this really where we need to put more housing? Is this really where we need to direct more cars to travel? As the greatest density area in the city we definitely should be looking at ways to get people to take public transportation to this area, not directing more cars here.

C. Waterfront Development Goals

The Planning Department’s Northeast Embar-cadero Study states that active open space for the area is presently not met. Why would we remove what little we have?

D. Parking Needs

San Francisco has a Transit First policy. Once again, other than the very wealthy, how does the San Francisco Waterfront Partners’ plan serve this community and the citizens of San Francisco?

a)We should be encouraging more people to take any number of public transportation options to the downtown area.

b)Contemporary planning theory states that accom-modations for the car has been exhausted in the US. It is time to invest in other modes of transportation (pedestrian, bicycle, mass transit) all are readily accessible in this area, but can always be improved in this area. In addition, creative parking concepts have become the norm in planning processes. This includes: bundled parking, shared time of day use systems, and valet and shuttle systems. Specifically to this project we could make better use of the Embarcadero and surrounding office buildings emptying out on weekends.

c)Ferry Building management is presently making a proposal to include up to 100 spaces in the rear to provide direct access to the shops in the Ferry Building.

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PART III

There Are Alternatives

A. Retain the Open Recreation Space

An affordable open recreation space is paramount to the community. Maintaining all of the present facility is necessary.

B. Provide a Street Face at The Embarcadero

FOGG is presently working with Club management on ways to improve the exterior fencing to provide a better visual of the recreational space.

In addition there are many projects that can utilize the existing Port of San Francisco parking and provide a reasonably scaled building suitable for this important pedestrian passage. We believe a 40 ft. height limit – similar to the piers across the way is appropriate.

C. Provide a Use in Keeping with Port Requirements

Condominiums are not an allowable use of Port Property. We should eliminate the gerrymandering of the San Francisco Waterfront Partners proposal and provide the Port with a steady income stream. One appropriate use is a hotel.

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A Proposal

The following diagrams a possible solution that would bring all of the above to the site. This is only an example, but illustrates a very possible and real solution to the area.

FOGG FEASABILITY STUDY FOR 8 WASHINGTON

SITE AND GROUND LEVEL PLAN

A Hotel Entry LevelB Ramp To Lower Level GarageC Stadium Tennis CourtD Covered Tennis CourtsE Hotel/ Athletic Club FacilityF Exisiting Tennis CourtsG Athletic Club FacilityH Existing PoolsI Golden Gateway ApartmentsJ Golden Gateway CommonsK Pier BuildingsL Ferry Park

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PART III

A ROOM LEVELS AT 3-4 STORY HOTEL B COVERED TENNIS COURTSC EXISTING SWIMMING POOLSD 2 STORY CLUB FACILITYE FERRY PARK

F PIER BUILDINGSG 200–250 CAR PARKING GARAGEH HOTEL ABOVEI NEW ATHLETIC CLUB FACILITY ABOVEJ EXISTING CLUB FACILITY ABOVE

FOGG FEASABILITY STUDY FOR WASHINGTON 8

UPPER LEVEL PLANS

GARAGE LEVEL PLAN

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FOGG FEASABILITY STUDY FOR WASHINGTON 8

UPPER LEVEL PLANS

GARAGE LEVEL PLAN

WASHINGTON STREET ELEVATION

EMBARCADERO ELEVATION

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What does the community have to say about the 8 Washington Project?

The (8 Washington) project will do nothing to enhance the beauty of the San Francisco waterfront. We love this city and through the years have seen many beautiful historic landmarks and open space destroyed in the name of progress. The citizens of San Francisco lose and the developers gain untold wealth at the expense of others.- Patrick and Dorothy Moore

There are very few options for anyone in San Francisco to enjoy open space let alone use it recreationally. Specifically these are the only tennis courts in the eastern portion of San Francisco. If this area is developed for yet more housing we are losing one of the very few places in which tennis and swimming can happen outdoors.- Anne Cook

The viability of the City depends on keeping it livable for its residents. The current GGT&S Club is a unique asset that serves the recreational and fitness needs of a very diverse San Francisco population. I have seen toddlers learn to swim, children at summer camp, disabled people exercise, seniors keeping fit as well as able-bodied teens and adults making use of the facilities. It is an oasis that once tampered with will be destroyed.- Paul A. Epstein

As an urban planner who has been involved with housing and development (including a term as the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency), I am opposed to new market rate housing on this site and the emasculation of the Tennis and Swim Club which has served the downtown and particularly this dense neighborhood for more than 30 years.- Edward Helfeld, FAICF, ALSA

Over the last 12 years I have depended upon the open recreational space to maintain my health, fitness and sanity while working in an increasingly dense downtown environment. My son and husband regularly use the club, especially during the summer months when our neighborhood in the Outer Richmond is cloaked in fog. My son’s school has organized water safety swim classes at GGTSC … and kids from all over the city attend Kid’s Camp and take swim and tennis lessons there. The proposed luxury condominium project will make this recreational gem history.- Renee A. Richards

PART III

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According to the city of San Francisco’s Recreation and Open Space Element of the General Plan, open space is important to San Francisco because it:

• Provides tangible economic benefit.

• Improves residents physical and mental health.

• Promotes environmental sustainability.

• Helps address environmental justice across the

community.

• Defines San Francisco for it’s residents and for the region.

If you wish to participate in FOGG’s effort or obtain more information please contact coaches@fogg.us or write to:

FOGG, 405 Davis Ct. #703, San Francisco, CA 94111

For more information about our efforts to preserve the Club - and to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our website, www.fogg.us.

Thank You From FOGG

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