The cleanup dispute over San Francisco’s lone gun range, at Lake Merced, is likely to result in a compromise Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors, but the conflict is far from finished.
San Francisco moved to evict the 400-member Pacific Rod and Gun Club in July after the two sides reached an impasse over what the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission estimated to be $10.5 million in soil cleanup costs at the site, which the club has occupied for nearly 80 years. The club said the cost was likely much lower, perhaps $5 million.
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Uncertainty and frustration reigned for hours on Thursday at the Planning Commission, where changes to the public process of appealing development projects were discussed at length — and with much confusion, even among commissioners.
The hearing was sparked by proposed legislation from Supervisor Scott Wiener that would clarify the rules surrounding public appeals through the California Environmental Quality Act. Projects undergo a series of approvals, or “entitlements,” that involve discretionary decisions by city agencies.
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There could soon be more room for upper-floor businesses in the Mission district’s already bustling Valencia Street, where an explosion of new restaurants and boutiques has no apparent end in sight.
Today, the San Francisco Planning Commission is expected to recommend that “personal care” businesses such as salons, tattoo parlors and martial arts studios be allowed to apply for third-floor locations in the neighborhood corridor.
Currently, those businesses may only occupy the ground floor or second floor.
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A possible recall effort against Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi appears to be losing steam — at least for now.
Anger over the Board of Supervisors’ decision in October to reinstate the embattled sheriff, following his suspension in the wake of a domestic violence case involving his wife, led to calls for a voter-driven ouster that had appeared imminent to some.
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San Francisco is claiming a legal victory over the National Rifle Association, but an attorney for the group says its fight against local gun control laws is just beginning.
A 2007 city law — strengthened by then-Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi in 2011 — compels gun owners to “safely store” firearms in their homes and generally requires them to use trigger locks. A 1994 ordinance outlawed possession of “particularly dangerous ammunition” such as fragmenting bullets and expanding bullets with “no sporting purpose.”
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Nudists made their displeasure known last week by stripping naked during a close Board of Supervisors vote to ban public nudity citywide. And with a few months to go before the new ordinance officially becomes law, the political corridors of San Francisco could be filled with naked rage through the holidays.
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San Francisco General Hospital is seeking a $1.2 million reimbursement from the Los Angeles Dodgers for extensive brain trauma care provided to Giants fan Bryan Stow, who was brutally beaten by two Dodgers fans following the March 2011 season-opening game between the two teams.
The hospital joins a bevy of other entities seeking millions of dollars from the team and its former owner, Frank McCourt, in U.S. bankruptcy court.
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Developers can now build San Francisco apartments with as little as 150 square feet of living space because of a building code change that supervisors approved Tuesday as a housing “experiment.”
These micro-apartments are planned for an Eighth Street building in the South of Market and are being billed as housing for students, seniors, service industry workers and The City’s growing tech industry workforce.
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Angry nudists briefly disrobed and shouted their disapproval at City Hall on Tuesday, shortly after the Board of Supervisors narrowly voted to approve a citywide ban on public nakedness.
The legislation, proposed last month by Supervisor Scott Wiener, was prompted by mounting complaints from his Castro neighborhood district, he said. The impromptu “nude-in” delayed the board’s proceedings by about 30 minutes, and Sheriff’s Department deputies had blue blankets ready to cover the demonstrators, some of whom were escorted out of the building.
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The Board of Supervisors will bare it all today regarding how they feel about a proposed citywide ban on public nudity.
The legislation, introduced by Supervisor Scott Wiener last month, will be decided by the board after recent naked protests at City Hall and federal court action by nudists arguing that the proposed law would violate their First Amendment rights.
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Wedding bells could be ringing for same-sex couples in San Francisco and across California as soon as the holidays, depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court responds to an appeals case for the state’s gay marriage ban later this month.
In February, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirmed a lower court ruling that 2008’s voter-approved Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Proponents of the same-sex marriage ban then took the case to the high court, which could rule as early as Nov. 30 on whether to take up the matter.
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The Warriors continue to drive to the basket at City Hall regarding a proposed new waterfront basketball arena in San Francisco. The NBA team’s plans were the topic du jour Monday, a day before the fiscal terms of the $1 billion facility are expected to be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
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A case of election fraud from the 2011 campaign season was finally settled Wednesday, with managers of an airport shuttle company pleading guilty to skirting campaign contribution limits on behalf of Mayor Ed Lee.
Lee, whose campaign received $11,500 from 23 employees of the Go Lorries shuttle company in September 2011, returned the donations once it was revealed that managers collected the maximum $500 contribution from workers on the promise that they would be reimbursed.
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Rancor over a proposal to allow “micro apartments” in San Francisco played out Thursday at The City’s Planning Commission, where a proposed 375-unit cap on such “experimental” living spaces was rejected.
Supervisor Scott Wiener has proposed lowering the minimum apartment living space allowed in The City’s building code from 220 square feet to 150 square feet. And in response to criticism of his proposal, he recently suggested limiting the number of such units at 375 until their true impact could be determined.
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During the tumult of Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s official misconduct hearings, he and his attorneys said that a public recall election — not the rarely used removal process employed by Mayor Ed Lee — was the proper way to oust an elected official.
But now that a recall effort appears to be forming, the newly reinstated sheriff has changed his tune.
Much as he framed his suspension in March, Mirkarimi released a
statement Wednesday calling the
fledgling recall effort purely political.
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