Let them eat books
Pro-development forces battle community interests over Glen Park branch library, condominium

By Matthew Hirsch

Broad support for a new Glen Park branch library devolved into a bitter neighborhood feud once the library's backers learned it might end up on the second story of a private condominium complex.

Making matters worse was the fact that the Glen Park Marketplace – which was approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in February and is slated to include the library, a grocery store, and 15 residential apartments – is represented by David Prowler, a high-powered lobbyist who served as planning commissioner and economic development director for Mayor Willie Brown.

Such a prominent political connection fueled speculation by project opponents that they were shut out of the planning process and that closed-door deals were cut to kill off alternative locations.

The $3.4 million proposal to site the library branch in Glen Park Marketplace has so far survived a contentious planning process followed by a lengthy appeal and now goes to the Board of Supervisors Aug. 26.

Opponents charge that the plans of the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) were corrupt from the beginning because the city sold a parcel of land to the developers shortly before looking for a new branch library location. They say other elements of the planning process, including traffic studies, environmental reviews, and the property appraisal, were similarly skewed to favor the developers.

"This is just more of the same," neighborhood resident Jay Estey said, referring to the freewheeling dot-com deals that transformed San Francisco's urban landscape under planning director Gerald Green. Watching developers glad-hand public officials during planning meetings for the Glen Park Marketplace was "like watching rush week at the fraternity," Estey said.

Prowler countered that the project offers very little incentive for any profit-motivated developer. Rather, he characterized the Glen Park Marketplace owner as a civic-minded resident. And as proof that his ties to the city afforded him no special treatment, Prowler said the SFPL is getting its location for below market rate ($14,000 less than the appraisal).

City real estate officials admit the timing of the land sale to the developer looked bad once the SFPL chose to buy into the project on that site. By their own estimate, the property, at about $365 a square foot, is expensive, according to real estate manager Charlie Dunn. But planning officials deny any deliberate wrongdoing.

None of the questions raised about the project deterred Sups. Aaron Peskin and Jake McGoldrick from recommending it to the full board Aug. 13. Throughout the public hearing, Peskin, McGoldrick, and project sponsors deflected charges of improper zoning, potential environmental impacts, traffic safety hazards, and alleged distortion of the branch library bond measure that voters passed three years ago.

Longtime Glen Park resident Miriam Moss said that, going by the measure, voters expected a stand-alone library building, not a condo in a private development. She said the Glen Park library will be inferior to other San Francisco branch libraries since it won't have control over the building it occupies, and hardly better than its current rental facility on Chenery Street.

"It is not the best or the only choice for a new library in Glen Park," she told the Board of Supervisors' Finance and Audits Committee.

City Librarian Susan Hildreth replied that at 8,500 square feet the library would be larger than she had hoped for the same cost to taxpayers. Hildreth said she preferred a first-story facility, but alternative sites on the Glen Park BART property and a nearby commercial location were either too difficult to negotiate or unavailable.

As the plan was on the verge of approval, Estey urged the supes to hold the agreement until all the concerns raised at the meeting have been addressed. "All we are asking for is some compromise. Make it work for the community, not just the owner and some profiteers," Estey said.

If the plan is passed by the board, construction of the Glen Park Marketplace at the corner of Diamond and Wilder Streets is slated to begin by the end of the year. Prowler estimated the mixed-use development to cost about $12 million, while the SFPL projected $4.5 million for the condo space plus design modifications, and $500,000 for furnishing.

The Board of Supervisors meets Tues/26, 2 p.m., Legislative Chambers, second floor, City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, S.F. (415) 554-5184.

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