Westwood Highlands Neighborhood Garage Sale
September 9 & 10

President’s Message

First, apologies for the long time lag since the last newsletter. The WHA Board of Directors welcomes all new residents to Westwood Highlands. The huge turnover of properties here continues; many new neighbors, and now once again, there are many new families with children. Established over 80 years ago, Westwood Highlands, consisting of 283 custom-built detached single-family homes remains desirable because of its convenient location, unique architecture, front and side yards, rear utility poles, and parking.

Westwood Highlands was incorporated in 1924 and is covered (and protected) by Covenants, Controls, and Restrictions. Because of this, membership in Westwood Highlands Association is mandatory and comes with title to each property. Make no mistake though; having CC&Rs is a good thing, particularly in San Francisco these days when many builders seek unreasonable variances from zoning controls to do all kinds of things. Neighborhood compatibility or ‘design guidelines’ is a protection recognized by the planning department and commission.

Incidentally, we apologize if this newsletter and other recent communications have been addressed to former owners of your home and not to you. It is a struggle to keep up with this turnover.  New homeowners should contact Vice-President Charley Leach at vp@westwoodhighlands.org to obtain a welcome packet that includes a copy of the Covenants, Controls, and Restrictions; as well as a map, coupons to local businesses, and other useful information. 
— Dave Bisho

Neighborhood Meetings
All residents and homeowners are invited and encouraged to attend the regular bi-monthly meetings; the more involvement, the better the neighborhood. Please see upcoming meeting dates below and note that we have cancelled the September meeting date and replaced it with October 10, 120 Brentwood, 7:30 p.m. In the meantime, if you want to contact me directly, email Dave Bisho, bisho@pacbell.net or (415) 397-0767.

Thank You Directors
Thank you directors for again agreeing to sacrifice their time for the good of Westwood Highlands.

Westwood Highlands Website
Thanks again to Westwood Highlands homeowner Jennifer Dees for maintaining our website www.westwoodhighlands.org. The site includes dates to remember, newsletter archives, our neighborhood CC&Rs, useful links, historical photos, contacts, and news regarding current issues that involve our area.

Housing Element Update
As we’ve reported in the last several newsletters, WHA and 14 other neighborhood organizations sued  the City and County of San Francisco in an effort to stop the Planning Department’s Housing Element from going forward without an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Without going into detail, this HE would increase congestion and reduce parking in an already crowded city. The decision is on appeal now but I believe our effort has already succeeded since the delay has pushed implementation of the HE into the next cycle. Again, thanks to those WHA neighbors who have personally contributed to this effort. If we should prevail in court, all money should be returned.

Tree-Lined Monterey Blvd. still Unfinished
WHA directors will continue to lobby our supervisor and appropriate city departments to finish the Monterey Blvd median strip tree planting project. Trees are needed between Ridgewood and Yerba Buena.

Tree Report
New trees planted, old trees and stumps removed, a complete update in the next newsletter.

Illegal In-Law Units
An illegal or secondary unit is an additional dwelling in a single-family home, usually in the basement, having a kitchen and a separate entrance. The WHA directors will continue to enforce Article IV of the CC&Rs first established for Westwood Highlands in 1924 that restrict the use of each lot in Westwood Highlands to one family. – DBI.Complaints@sfgov.org, (415) 558-6088 (anonymous calls are OK).

Street Cleaning – A Note to Our New Residents
Years ago, WHA residents voted to turn down street cleaning services provided by the City so that neighbors would not have to move their cars once a week and worry about getting tickets. Because of this, WHA residents are requested to clean their own streets and gutters and keep garbage cans out of sight except on collection days. Thank you for keeping our neighborhood beautiful and enjoyable.

West of Twin Peaks Central Council Report
Westwood Highlands is a charter member and one of 16 neighborhoods that belong to the West of Twin Peaks Central Council. Established in 1936, this council is an umbrella organization that addresses issues that are common to its members. Current issues include:

85 St. Elmo Way – The Council unanimously opposed a proposal by the Chinese Consulate owners to construct a separate four-story building, linked to the main house by a causeway, that would include 7 bedrooms, kitchenettes and a laundry room. The Council cited violations of the Monterey Heights’ CC&Rs and city RH1D zoning codes. Result: Monterey Heights Board of Directors approved a compromise involving setbacks and emergency notification. The Planning Commission voted to approve this project.

Laguna Honda Hospital – The Council endorsed a voter initiative on the June 2006 ballot which would have created a special zoning district for the 62 acres at Laguna Honda so that the hospital could continue its decades-old mission to care for only for the most frail and elderly San Francisco’s residents. Result: Because of ‘perceived’ glitches in the initiative, it failed. To date, ‘frail, elderly, San Franciscans’ number only half of Laguna Honda’s population with the rest coming from SF General.

Medical Marijuana – Citing citywide crime and security issues, the Council voted to request that medical marijuana be provided only by city-operated medical facilities. Result: City officials refused stating no city facilities can be used since medical marijuana is against federal law. New legislation with amendments was recently approved. Currently there are over 35 medical marijuana facilities operating in the city.

Helpful Links
Westwood Highlands Association
West of Twin Peaks Central Council
San Francisco City Government/Services
San Francisco News/Weather/Traffic/SF Chronicle, etc

WHA Directors
David Bisho, President                  
Charley Leach, Vice President               
Jane Vincent Corbett, Secretary     
Anya LeGault, Treasurer                
Vince Scardina, Parliamentarian
Webmaster, Jennifer Dees

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