Current Issues, Westwood Highlands Association

Welcome New Homeowners
THE WHA Board of Directors welcomes all new residents to the neighborhood. New homeowners should contact Vice-President Charley Leach 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.

Request of Current Homeowners
Please contact the Board if we are not addressing our mailings properly or misspelling your names. Also, if you wish, please advise your phone number and/or email address if you wish us to contact you that way.

Westwood Highlands Bi-Annual Dinner
All residents are invited to the Bi-Annual Westwood Highlands dinner. Please reserve Friday night, March 26. WHA will send you the name of the restaurant and other details soon.

Westwood Highlands Association Web site
The WHA has launched this Web site for our residents and the community at large. Don't forget to bookmark this site in your browser. A big thank you to Jennifer Dees, a resident of Westwood Highlands and president of Peregrine.net, who volunteered her services and designed the site with information provided by board members. The site includes our mission statement, our newsletters, meeting dates, a neighborhood map, historical information, photos, and links to the West of Twin Peaks Central Council and surrounding neighborhoods. Also included is board member contact information. Please feel free to suggest improvements and additions. Thanks again to Ken and Kathy Hoegger for providing most of the historical photos.

Stonestown Village Project Withdrawn
Thanks to pressure from the West of Twin Peaks Central Council, Merced Manor, Lakeshore Acres, and Ingleside Terraces for insisting that a complete EIR (Environment Impact Report) be provided, developers have withdrawn plans for their Stonestown Village Project. The project was to include three five-story buildings consisting of 202 apartments, a two-story building consisting of 85 assisted-living units, a block-long commercial strip, a 4000-plus square foot grocery store, and a multi-level parking garage; all slated for the back lot of Stonestown. Homeowner groups and residents strongly objected stating that a project of this size was totally inappropriate for the Stonestown shopping district and would devastate their neighborhoods. They insisted that the EIR should specifically address changes that would occur in traffic patterns, congestion at various times, and of course, parking.

Tragedy at Plymouth and Monterey Blvd.
As a result of the traffic fatality on Monterey and Plymouth recently, directors of Westwood Highlands and Westwood Park met with Muni and the Department of Parking and Traffic to discuss ways to make this very busy intersection safer. Many options were discussed. The ideas of reducing lanes on Monterey Blvd and/or adding stoplights at Yerba Buena were quickly and unanimously ruled out since those plans would worsen the situation by diverting traffic from Monterey into Westwood Highlands and Westwood Park.

An area-wide traffic study will be done in the future, but meanwhile, DPT has re-striped the crosswalks, created a right-turn and left-turn lane in both directions of Monterey Blvd., and has placed bright yellow "man walking" signs at the intersection. DPT will monitor any reaction to these changes to make sure that no traffic will be diverted off of Monterey Blvd and into the neighborhoods. These "man walking" signs will also be placed at the intersection of Yerba Buena and Casitas at the crest of the hill, where it is very difficult to cross the street from the bus stop. DPT is also considering Westwood Park's request to put speedbumps on Plymouth between Monterey and Ocean.

[See also the Chronicle's story, "Citizens urge steps for pedestrian safety," Dec. 3, 2003.]

City College Expansion Update
City College administrators appear to be bowing to pressure from housing activists who would rather see housing on Ocean Avenue near Phelan rather than a grand plaza and entryway as supported by the surrounding neighborhoods. Also city-approved bond funds now seem to be earmarked for a "Wellness Center" rather than a Performing Arts Center as originally promoted.

Tree-Lined Monterey Blvd. Unfinished
Westwood Highlands directors will continue to lobby Supervisor Hall and appropriate city departments to finish the Monterey Blvd median strip tree planting project. Trees are needed between Ridgewood and Yerba Buena. — Tony.Hall@sfgov.org

Planning Department's Housing Element
The San Francisco Planning Department has put together a proposal called the Housing Element which will amend the City's General Plan. This proposal calls for citywide rezoning, raised height limits, and other land-use controls that will significantly increase residential densities particularly along main streets and boulevards the Planning Dept. calls "transit corridors." This proposal also calls for legalizing in-law units and, in fact, encourages the construction of new units, as long as they're located roughly two and a half blocks in from these "transit corridors." (One such transit corridor is Ocean Avenue).

Another disturbing feature of this plan is the elimination of the sacred "one-to-one" parking requirement for new construction that has required that developers provide one off-street parking space for each apartment or house they build. The 19 neighborhoods of the West of Twin Peaks Central Council, which includes Westwood Highlands, have come out unanimously against this plan. So have almost all other neighborhood organizations and commercial district groups in the City. For instance, merchants on "transit corridor" Geary Street oppose this plan fearing that further transformation of garages into housing in that area will force residents to park on Geary Street crowding out customers.

At the end of January, the Planning Commission is scheduled to decide whether this Housing Element requires an EIR. The Planning Department doesn't think so. — teresa.ojeda@sfgov.org or johnny.jaramillo@sfgov.org

Tree Report
It happens to a tree too-birth, life, and death. The WHA Board noticed that many of the Blackwood Acacias, cared for by WHA for so many years, were dying. After taking into consideration arborists' opinions, it is sad but true that some of these trees must come down. Our directors have agreed that WHA will pay to remove these former association Blackwood Acacias. So far, about 10 such trees have been identified. WHA has received bids from two companies and the removal of these trees, roots and all, will begin shortly.

As for new trees, our WHA Tree-Planting Project is still on with 35 new trees planted to date. If you have a dead or dying Blackwood Acacia and/or you would like a new tree planted in front of your house, please contact Anya LeGault. Also, for those with new trees, if it hasn't rained for a week, the new trees still need at least 10 gallons of water instead of the regular 15. It is also important to keep the base of the tree mulched and free of grass and weeds.

Illegal In-Law Units
An illegal or secondary unit is generally described as a second living space in a single-family home, usually in the basement, having a kitchen and a separate entrance. One of the main reasons that folks continue to move here is that most of the neighborhoods in this part of the City, including Westwood Highlands, are zoned for single-family use only. Residents know that it is increasingly rare in San Francisco to be able to live in peace and quiet and to actually be able to park in front of one's own house.. The WHA directors will continue to enforce Article IV of the Easements, Restrictions, Conditions, Covenants, Charges, and Agreements first established for Westwood Highlands in 1924 that restricts the use of each lot in Westwood Highlands to one family. — DBI.Complaints@sfgov.org, (415) 558-6088 (anonymous calls are okay).

Dues
Although WHA dues of $25.00 per year are so low they are considered a joke in most other incorporated neighborhoods, they are both necessary and mandatory. No director receives any pay of any kind for his or her services. Every penny is used to maintain our neighborhood. Westwood Highlands Association exercises the right to place liens on property to recover dues plus interest owed. Incidentally, dues notices will be mailed out next month for 2004, but if you want the directors to be able to save the stamp, you can mail the $25.00 in now, payable to Westwood Highlands Association, 120 Brentwood Ave., San Francisco, CA 94127.

Treasurer's Report

Bank Balance, Dec. 31, 2002
$ 1,1071.58

Dues Received
8188.76

Interest
26.18

New Street Signs/Repairs
2150.00

Liability Insurance
1829.00

New Trees
1700.00

Newsletters/Printing, etc.
689.85

Tree Removal
325.00

Web Hosting
300.00

West of Twin Peaks Dues
90.00

Garage Sale Ads
57.00

Bank Balance, Dec. 31, 2003
$ 1,2145.67

Meeting Dates to Remember for 2004
All Residents are encouraged to attend. Time: 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays (unless otherwise noted), 120 Brentwood Ave.

March 18 (Thursday)
May 12
June 16 (Election of Directors)
July 21
September 15
November 17

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

WHA Board of Directors
Dave Bisho – President
Charley Leach – Vice President
Jane Vincent Corbett – Secretary
Anya LeGault – Treasurer
Geoff Mathieux – Parliamentarian