Fw: mystery bench

[Ashley Gray]

Hi everyone,

 

hope all are well and enjoying the nice weather. please see below and let me know if I can help in any way.

 

peace-

Ashey

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Carey, Christine" <christi...@partner.nps.gov>
To: "Gray, Ashley" <agray...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2013 2:35 PM
Subject: mystery bench

Hi Ashley

We noticed a new addition to Rancho yesterday.  It seems someone enjoys the view from above San Pedro Mountain Road so much that they added their own bench!

Although it is a lovely place to rest, we unfortunately cannot have people just adding furniture wherever they would like.  Our maintenance staff will need to remove it, but since it's a beautiful bench, it would be a shame not to get it back to its rightful owner.

Any chance you might know who it belongs to, or can contact your neighbors to find out?

As planning progresses and we finalize trails and overlook locations, there may be opportunities in the future to install benches throughout the park, but we are not quite there yet.

Please let me know when you can, thanks!

Christine Carey, PE, AICP
Community Planner - San Mateo County
National Park Service

Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Building 201, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA  94123
(415) 561-4745
cbc...@nps.gov

[richard ward]

Hello! I sent this message to our Homeowners at Clipper Ridge and got lots of responses. No one is claiming the bench. But most love it there! Everyone feels it is doing no harm! However, if it can't stay there - we would love to have it placed in the park at Clipper Ridge. We are working toward having more benches in our park! Jeanette

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[bill kehoe]

Hi,

Has anyone come forward about the ownership of the bench? I saw Jeanette's email and I definitely agree that it should not be discarded since there are far too few benches along our coastal trails to allow those who need (elderly, disabled ...) to rest a place to sit or others just a place to sit and contemplate. You would think with the "sequester' that GGNRA would be happy with the donation but alas the problem with "BIG government" is inflexible rules.

Obviously, it must have been someone from the Montara community so I am hoping those of you on this list can ask your neighbors and we can move the bench o a more welcoming spot. I am sure their are other agencies (state, county, schools or others) who would take it.

Can some one tell me the actual location and I will check with my contacts to see what can be done.


bill

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Thank you,

Bill Kehoe

MidCoast Community Council ( http://www.midcoastcommunitycouncil.org/ )

Facebook Page (  https://www.facebook.com/MidcoastCommunityCouncil )
650-728-7255

[Ashley Gray]

Hi everyone,

 

below is a response email from Christine on the inquiry (name removed for their privacy). I will keep everyone posted if I learn anything else.

 

hope you;re all well and enjoying the spectacular weather.

 

peace-

Ashley

 

 

Hi Ashley

Thanks for your email and sending out the request to the neighbors. I received an email last night from ______ (also copied here) indicating that ____ was responsible for the bench, and that it was intended as a thank you to a neighbor.

It is wonderful to see a community that cares for and respects one another, and wants to show that appreciation through generous gifts like this! The issue here is not about doing something nice for a neighbor, but about doing something on public land without discussing it with the land manager. It is about recognizing that there is a process and policies in place to manage this park for everyone who uses it now and for future generations to come.

GGNRA has very clear guidelines for adding features and structures to the landscape as well as established policies on commemoration, which does not allow for items like this bench to be installed in the park at this time. Our policy is based on NPS Director’s Order 21, and GGNRA has a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for these requests that we are required to follow. This is one of the most frequent requests we get, but in order to be fair, we need to be consistent throughout the park. There needs to be some structure to help guide decision-making.

We received a call from a neighbor in El Granada a few weeks back inquiring about our policy on installing benches. Our Parks Conservancy staff member who handles these requests explained that this is not permitted at this time but we would add the neighbor to our mailing list so that as planning for the park progresses (including identification of potential locations for overlooks and benches), they could be involved in the community process. I have not heard anything from any other Rancho neighbor requesting to install a bench.

That being said, we certainly recognize and appreciate the passion that the neighbors have for the park, and would love to embrace that energy and put it to good use! We do think there are opportunities for visitor amenities to be installed in the future, and would like to get the community’s input on what those features should be and appropriate locations when the time comes. Due to cost of long-term upkeep and accessibility considerations, we generally have design standards that we follow for style and materials. We will work together on determining what will work best at Rancho.

This is a rare opportunity for us all to work together to create a new national park! I hope that we can come to a place of mutual understanding that this is a public place, and decisions on how to manage the park will need to be done through a community process that we can all support.

I would like to discuss this new bench a little further with our San Mateo management team. We know that there are other structures (benches, bridges etc) that were installed in the past by neighbors, but that was prior to our management of the land, so it is something we “inherited” with the land transfer. As these structures need repair or replacement, they too will be assessed for their suitability before being replaced.

I have tried to distribute my contact information to as many neighbors as possible, so I hope at this point people know that they can come to me with any questions about the park. We have been straight-forward about our plans for the park and have invited community feedback and participation along the way. As you have seen, there are several staff members that help manage this park and we are happy to discuss any of these issues as they arise. But please understand that any request to install or remove or change anything in the park should be discussed with park staff first so we can work through the process appropriately.

Please feel free to share this with your neighbors, and call or email me if you have any questions. I will be in touch once I have discussed the bench further with our management team.

Have a great weekend!

 

Christine Carey, PE, AICP
Community Planner - San Mateo County
National Park Service

Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Building 201, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 561-4745
cbc...@nps.gov

 

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[bechtell]

Hi Bill:

The bench was placed by a member of my dog group. She is currently negotiating with Christine about the future of the bench. I will keep you informed. 

Bill

Sent from my iPhone

[Joel]

Whoever made it, Bill. tell them it's awesome. I almost wondered if it was built from NPS blueprints or something, maybe to illustrate how clueless bureaucracy can be. I did find Christine's explanation to be helpful, and well beyond what is typical of bureaucratic thinking.

Joel

[PBTS HOA]

Hi Bill - I'm not sure of the actual location and no one has claimed the bench here in Clipper Ridge. If it is indeed at the top of a hill - it must have been quite an effort to get it there. Hope it can be saved too! Jeanette

-----------------

Princeton By The Sea Home Owners Association

Web:   http://princetonbytheseahoa.com

Email: ad...@princetonbytheseahoa.com

Mail: P.O.Box 73 El Granada, CA 94018

[Christine B. Carey]

Hi Bill

 

Yes, I have been in communication with the owner of the bench.  It has not been removed, and we are planning to discuss this and future planning for visitor amenities at Rancho with our San Mateo Management team on Thursday.

 

I will be sure to keep the community in the loop as I know more.

 

Thanks!

 

Christine Carey, PE, AICP

Community Planner - San Mateo County

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

Building 201, Fort Mason

San Francisco, CA  94123

tel: (415) 561-4745

www.parksconservancy.org

 

The nonprofit support partner for the Golden Gate National Parks

 

From: bill kehoe [mailto:mccbil...@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 9:39 AM
To: Farall...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Christine B. Carey
Subject: Re: Fw: mystery bench

 

Hi,