News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 17, 2009

For more information, contact:

Whit Hall, 707-778-6975 -  <blockedhttp://webmail.terry-graham.com/imp/message.php?index=875> whith...@comcast.net
Terry Graham, 415-686-8442 -  <blockedhttp://webmail.terry-graham.com/imp/message.php?index=875> t...@terry-graham.com
www.presidioassociation.org//savethepresidio.org//savepresidio.blogsp...

National Park Service Criticizes Presidio Trust's Development Plans

The National Park Service (NPS) filed its final comments Tuesday on new construction
proposals for the Presidio of San Francisco, stating that the Presidio Trust's
controversial plans to build a large contemporary art museum, hotel/restaurant and movie
multiplex on the site's historic  Main Post appear to violate numerous laws and Interior
Department standards.

NPS notes the many ways in which the Trust's plans conflict with the Trust's stewardship
mandates under the Presidio Trust Act and other legislation. The plans include more construction
than is authorized in the Act, risk the Presidio's designation as a National Historic
Landmark District (NHLD), and conflict with the Presidio Trust Management Plan (PTMP).

The Park Service's 63-pages of comments, posted on the its website (www.nps.gov/goga),
detail  relevant legal issues, questionable actions  and unanswered questions regarding
the Trust's proposals, planning and approval process and documents.

In addition to possible violations of the Presidio Trust Act, NPS points to the Trust's
failure to fully comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National
Historical Preservation Act (NHPA), citing omissions, ambiguities, unsupported
assertions, and generalizations that were used instead of the required specifics throughout the Presidio Trust's documents.

The Park Service also notes that the Trust's plans do not conform to Secretary of the
Interior Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties, stating that the plans signal a
dramatic shift away from the Presidio Trust's Management Plan (PTMP) policies and
commitments that require the Trust to protect the character and integrity of the National
Historic Landmark District, establishing a precedent that invalidates the planning
practices embodied in the PTMP.

NPS poses numerous questions to the Trust related to the project's impacts
upon air quality, water and sewage, groundwater, drainage, wildlife, traffic, parking and
transportation.

In April 2009, the NPS released a report that said if the Presidio Trust's proposals are not changed, they would impose damage to the Presidio that cannot be mitigated.

"The National Park Service's comments to the Presidio Trust underscore serious legal
questions related to developing this historic national park," said Gary Widman, President
of the Presidio Historical Association.  "The Trust and its Board of Directors must act
according to the mandates directing their activities.

"The public expects better of the Trust. So far, the Presidio Trust’s responses have been
manipulative, inaccurate, confusing and lacking in good faith effort to either comply
with the law or to publicly resolve the obvious problems created by the Trust's
proposals," Widman said.
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Founded in the 1950s, the nonprofit Presidio Historical Association (PHA) has worked in cooperation with the National Park Service and Presidio Trust since 1994 to advocate for preserving the integrity of the Presidio of San Francisco’s National Historic Landmark District (NHLD), located within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).  PHA created a museum for the Army when it was based at the Presidio.  Earlier, PHA helped restore historic Fort Point at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Presidio of San Francisco is a national park located near San Francisco.