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News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2009
For more information, contact:
Whit Hall, 707-778-6975 - whit...@comcast.net
Terry Graham, 415-686-8442 - t...@terry-graham.com
www.presidioassociation.org//savethepresidio.org//savepresidio.blogspot.com
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.
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