John M. Lee: Real Estate Year in Review

The real estate market in 2008 finally slowed from previous years, resulting in lower prices and less sales just about everywhere. Even San Francisco started to feel the economic downturn.

Median and average prices in the Sunset, as compared to last year, were lower each quarter and the number of sales also decreased slightly from 2007. The Sunset Home Sales Comparison Table shows the results in 2008 as compared with prior years. The data was gathered from the San Francisco Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service and consists of single-family home sales in the Sunset, Parkside and Golden Gate Heights areas.

In 2008, there were 409 sales versus 427 for 2007 and 498 for 2006, a decrease of 4.2 percent from 2007 and a large drop of 17.9 percent from 2006. This is the lowest number of sales in the Sunset for the past 11 years since I started keeping track of these statistics.

The number of sales decreased because of lower consumer confidence, with bad economic news hitting on a daily basis, and owners not selling because they perceive the market as being very bad and they did not want to make a large financial decision at this time.

The amount of marketing time to sell a home increased to 40 days in 2008, versus 37 days in 2007 and 34 days in 2006, an increase of three days, or 8.1 percent, from 2007 and six days, or 16.7 percent, from 2006. This reflects the fact that homes were selling at a normal pace with some marketing time instead of the panic buying we saw during the peak real estate years.

The annual median price comparison shows a 3.7 percent decrease year over year versus a 2.7 percent increase from 2006 to 2007.

The average sales price decreased 5.6 percent during the year, suggesting that home prices held their own in the Sunset area as compared with the rest of the Bay Area, where some areas experienced 40 percent price declines.

So, how this can we interpret this information? Despite all the bad news – the battering of the stock market, the rise in the unemployment rate, subprime mortgage problems, major bank failures and plummeting consumer confidence ratings – our home prices in the Sunset area held up extremely well because the Sunset is still a desirable area to raise a family, it is convenient to transportation and it has all the amenities that homeowners like to have in a neighborhood.

Thus, even during tough economic times, people are staying in their homes, keeping the real estate demand and supply in balance, leading to stable prices.

What is in store for 2009? I think it will be more of the same with real estate taking slightly longer to sell, and prices being flat or slightly down.

On the national level, the Federal Reserve Banks have been decreasing short-term rates and printing money for the large bailout. We at the real estate industry have been lobbying for part of the bailout money to be used to subsidize new home purchases in the form of lower interest rates to stimulate real estate sales. We believe we will be successful sometime in the first quarter of 2009. Inflation is currently under control and the high number of foreclosures should peak and decrease in 2009. We are hoping for a stock market rebound.

The good news for us in real estate is that mortgage rates have been steady all year and are anticipated to decrease slightly this year.

Locally, the demand in San Francisco and the Sunset District will continue to be desirable and strong, and supply is still ever so limited.

As you can see, with the least amount of homes selling in the Sunset annually for the past decade, demand still outweighs supply and though we do not see the torrid pace of the peak years, our real estate market is still active and should be fine.

Thus, my prediction for 2009 is that we will have a balanced real estate market, where the negotiating power will be fairly split between buyers and sellers, a continuing shortage of good inventory and level prices.

So, if you are contemplating buying for the long-term, or trading up, this will be an ideal year to do so.

John M. Lee is the president elect of the San Francisco Association of Realtors for 2009. If you have any questions, call him at (415) 447-6231.

Supervisor Carmen Chu: Pool Opens, Clean-up Day

On Saturday, Dec. 20, I had the privilege of joining two of my predecessors – Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and state Sen. Leland Yee – in the grand opening ceremonies for the new Sava Pool.

More than 100 community members, including current and former swimmers, joined the SF Recreation and Park Department for the unveiling of our treasured community recreation facility. Standing alongside Assemblywoman Ma and Sen. Yee as we cut the ribbon for the new pool was truly a remarkable experience, because it really took the efforts of three generations-worth of supervisors to see this project through.

When Sava Pool opened at 19th Avenue and Wawona Street in the 1950s, Sunset District families flocked to it, making it the most popular pool in the City. About five decades later, time and use had taken its toll, and Sava Pool closed in June 2007 for a 30-month rebuild.

Construction of the pool, which cost about $17 million, ended on time and on budget. The new Sava Pool is new in every sense of the word. There are brand new locker rooms, showers and restrooms, as well as a new multipurpose room for community events and gatherings. The old pool had six 33-yard lanes, but the new pool has eight 25-yard lanes to meet regulation size and allows for the expansion of programs at the pool.

Through a partnership with the SF Public Utilities Commission, the pool water will be partially heated by solar panels on the roof.

General admission to the pool is the same as all public pools in the City – $1 for children under 17 years and $4 for adults.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the countless numbers of community members who have worked tirelessly throughout the years to serve as important advocates of the rebuild project. Without you, the new Sava Pool would not be here today or for generations to come.

New Stern Grove/Pine Lake Park Clean-Up
Due to a large interest in keeping Pine Lake Park clean and safe for our community and pets, we have partnered with the Recreation and Park Department to begin a new monthly Stern Grove/Pine Lake Park Volunteer clean-up effort.

Our first day is Saturday, Jan. 10, from 9 to 11 a.m. Supplies will be provided for all volunteers who would like to help pick up litter, clear the dog-run area and remove graffiti. Meet at Pine Lake Park, inside Stern Grove, accessible through the parking lot at Vale Drive.

For more information, please contact our office at (415) 554-7460 or chustaff@sfgov.org. Spread the word!

Carmen Chu is a San Francisco supervisor representing District 4.

Capt. Paul Chignell: Police Beat

Most police work is responding to calls for service, whether 911 emergency or non-emergency calls when folks call 553-0123. Each and every week officers at Taraval Station respond to hundreds of calls for service, from barking dogs and medical assistance to violent crimes in progress and everything in between.

But police work is much more than responding to calls for service, traffic enforcement and the like. At the SF Police Department, and particularly at the Taraval Station, we endeavor to both solve longstanding problems and find creative ways to assist folks in need.

What do I mean by longstanding problems? Well, continuing to respond to calls at a specific address is our obligation but coming back every day to the same issue is a waste of resources and does not serve the neighborhood or the protagonists at all. Whether it is repeat domestic strife, a drug house, graffiti problem, nuisance abatement or any of a myriad of issues, we try to find a way through service providers, other city agencies or an enforcement plan to solve the problem once and for all.

Often it can be a referral, a strict law enforcement process or an abatement action by the city attorney. Sometimes it’s constant police visibility. But it is an important part of our job to solve the problem if we can.

What do I mean by creative assistance? Two instances come to mind – our scofflaw program and our ambassador outreach.

In the scofflaw example we know that unregistered vehicles are a blight on city streets. Folks are constantly calling about abandoned or semi-abandoned vehicles but we all know that the law allows vehicle owners to keep the vehicles parked for 72 hours before they have to move them one block. So many owners move the vehicles like musical chairs but they almost always come back. The law allows the police or parking control officers from the SF Department of Parking and Traffic to tow these vehicles immediately if the registration is expired by six months or more. This is chiefly the Department of Parking and Traffic’s responsibility but its scofflaw unit is understaffed and it may take weeks for them to respond and tow the vehicle. Well, we have issued a directive to the officers at Taraval Station to respond to residents who see these unregistered vehicles and we will tow them, thus removing these clunkers from public streets. It is one way to cut through the bureaucracy and assist with the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

The ambassador outreach program is unique in the City and is managed by Sgt. Robert Bohanan of the Taraval Station. Many victims of crime, even violent crime, make a police report and never hear from anyone again. Most crimes have no identifiable suspect, no leads to investigate at the outset and therefore no follow up is warranted.

We track all of these cases and do outreach to victims a day or two after the report is filed. Our emphasis is on folks living alone, the elderly, and information in the report that would lead us to believe the victim may need services. There are an array of public and private services that are available but many people do not know where to go to get them.

Whether it is counseling, crime prevention, nutrition or any type of assistance, we make those referrals for victims of crime. So, send us your longstanding crime problems and don’t hesitate to suggest some creative ideas that are related to police work that we may consider.

Happy New Year.

Capt. Paul Chignell is the commanding officer at the Taraval Police Station.

Mt. Sutro's Forgotten Trail Discovered

By Jonathan Farrell

Mount Sutro is a significant open space located at the center of San Francisco’s urban landscape. Adjacent to the landmark Sutro Tower, Mt. Sutro was named in honor of former San Francisco mayor and entrepreneur Adolf Sutro.

The Inner Sunset, Cole Valley and Forest Knolls neighborhoods benefit from the 63-acre open space, located above the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) campus.

With the formation of Mt. Sutro Stewards two-and-a-half years ago, much work has been done to maintain and restore the area. During the steward’s efforts, a surprising discovery was made. While surveying an area on the western slope they stumbled upon a previously unknown trail buried under layers of blackberry bushes 12 to 15 feet deep. The long-forgotten trail’s origination can be traced back to the late 1800s.

“Initially, we were unable to find any record of this trail’s existence,” said organizer Craig Dawson. “The discovery of substantially built drywalls supporting the trail indicated that its construction was a major undertaking.”

As a local merchant and community activist, Dawson’s leadership has been instrumental in the restoration effort. The University of California, San Francisco owns the land. In 2000, UCSF committed the funding and resources to create a long-term management plan for the 63-acre space. There is a portion of the open space adjacent to the UCSF property that is called the interior greenbelt. This is owned by the City and managed by the SF Recreation and Park Department’s Natural Areas Program.

When a management plan was adopted in 2001 UCSF committed $300,000 over five years for Mt. Sutro projects. In addition, a $100,000 grant from the San Francisco Rotary Club allowed for the first-major-habitat restoration site at the summit. Limited funding for continued improvements spurred the founding of Mount Sutro Stewards and its volunteer efforts.

On the first Saturday of each month, the stewards organize into two crews that focus on habitat work and trail construction. The aim of the habitat crew is to restore native plants by removing invasive blackberry and ivy.

Dawson explained that back in the 1870s settlers were encouraged to plant trees, especially the rapidly growing eucalyptus.

“At the time it was thought that the harvested eucalyptus would be profitable,” Dawson said.

But, eucalyptus wood proved to be inferior for building.

“It warps and cracks easily,” said Dawson. “By the time settlers recognized this eucalyptus had spread deeply into the landscape.”

Sutro oversaw the planting of eucalyptus, along with pine and cypress trees, beginning in the late 1870s. The Prussian engineer, who made his fortune supplying the miners at the Comstock Load, invested in San Francisco real estate, making the City his home. Sutro bought the San Miguel Ranchero land that had once been part of an early Spanish California land grant.

“It took us over a year and nearly 5,000 volunteer hours to restore the old forgotten trail,” said Dawson.

Further detailed archive investigation of old maps and records by steward member Dan Schneider revealed that Sutro’s daughter Emma officially closed the trail in 1901 because of concerns about homeless encampments, potential fires and vandalism.

“It was closed for the same reasons and concerns that residents today have about open space,” said Dawson.

The stewards current efforts focus on the restoration of the “other half” of the historic trail, which originates on Stanyan Street in Cole Valley. That segment of the long-lost trail runs through the Rec. and Park property into the UCSF open space, connecting it to the already restored trail system.

Getting the Recreation and Park Department and UCSF to consider working together has taken a lot of oversight and diplomacy, Dawson noted. He is grateful that the two organizations have been cooperative in their willingness to preserve the open space and to consider fully restoring public access to its wild beauty and native habitat.

As a native and someone who grew up literally on the edge of Sutro Forest, Dawson still runs and hikes there. He remains passionate about Mt. Sutro’s preservation and restoration despite the extensive amount of personal time required to ensure the process continues to move forward.

“UCSF is happy to support this grass-roots effort. It’s an example of a winning situation in which a public-private partnership has been very effective,” said Orlando Elizondo, community relations rep. for UCSF.

On Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m., Dawson will be the guest speaker at the Randall Museum Theatre presenting an illustrated lecture on the”Past, Present and Future of Mt. Sutro.” For more information about the efforts to restore Mt. Sutro, visit the Nature in the City Web site at http://www.natureinthecity.org/mtsutro.

After 10 Years of Planning, Sava Pool Opens

By Tom Pendergast

Years of waiting and more than a decade of planning culminated in the opening of Sava Pool on Dec. 20, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, swim races and water performances.

“I’m particularly proud of two things about this pool: one, it’s incredibly beautiful. The design is just amazing. I was kind of speechless. I think it’s the most beautiful pool in the city, private or public,” said Jared Blumenfeld, director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. “And, the second thing is that it got done on time and on budget. Which is really a credit to all the people at Rec. and Park.”

Roughly about the size of the old structure, the design of the new building is distinctly modern, with generous sky lighting from both ceiling windows and 60 percent more glass wrapping around both the eastern and western corners of the south wall. The pool is 25 feet shorter than the old pool, has eight lanes and measures 25 yards by 23 yards. The gutters are outside the edge of the pool instead of inside, with a heavily textured grill over them for drainage.

Mounted on the largest interior wall facing west, laid out in a checkerboard pattern against a grey cement backdrop, is a collection of horizontal aqua-blue images of swimmers in pools by photographer Catherine Wagner.

“This has really been a 10-year relay race where we have passed the baton along over the years,” said California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. “Then-supervisor Leland Yee took the leadership on this project … I can’t thank Mayor Gavin Newsom enough for providing the extra money to get us there. We attended many, many community meetings with all of you where we kept saying ‘where are we going to find the money? ‘”

In 2004 the City cut funding off from this and many other projects, only to restore funding again in 2006. Early estimates pegged the cost between $11 million and $16 million, but the final cost was $17.1 million.

Toks Ajike, the current project manager with the city’s Capital Improvement Division, cited increased construction costs as the reason for spending more than that estimate. The mayor’s Director of Neighborhood Services, Mike Farrah, credited the voters with passing a bond measure in 2000 that got the project started.

“You, the people of San Francisco, stepped up on that bond measure and paid for that capital improvement for the City and our neighborhood parks. It’s going to make a huge difference in a lot of children’s lives,” Farrah said. “This is the pool I learned to swim in. And this is the pool that my dad recovered in after he had a heart attack. And this is the pool my son will learn to swim in.”

California state Sen. Leland Yee said replacing the old pool started after he was first elected to the SF Board of Supervisors in 1996, when a small group of citizens approached him about replacing the pool, including Art Octavio.

“He says ‘I’ve got all these kids from Lowell to Lincoln to Washington to Mercy (high schools) and on and on and on and they rely on this particular pool and I just cannot let them down,” said Yee, about an early meeting with Octavio. “When you look into his eyes you see all these kids, not just now but in the past and in the future, that he cared about.”

Yee then presented Octavio with a resolution from the California Senate acknowledging his role.

“Art, I want to thank you for all of your hard work and your care and your concern for all the kids, for making all of us feel so, so important because we somehow have now done something for the kids for generations to come,” he said, before reading from the resolution itself. “‘This resolution on behalf of the California state Senate is presented to you, both Democrats and Republicans, to say how much we thank you and how much we love you for all the care and concern that you’ve given to our children. Thank you very, very much.'”

“Something like this psychologically adds a lift and kids want to come and swim in a new facility,” said Octavio, a former guard at the pool who was sitting in the front row a few feet away from Yee. “Everything’s beautiful. What they did, to me it’s just amazing. It’s a beautiful pool. It’s time that the City had a new pool, you know. I thought they did a great job with this one, a real good job.”

“Last year we were at Balboa and that was pretty horrible because it was about 20 minutes away and we’d start practice later. It cut into our practice time. We only got about an hour and a half when usually we would get two hours,” said Christina Loo, a senior at Lowell High School and a member of the girl’s swim team. “So, this year hopefully we’ll get our two hours back in, since it’s closer and we can walk here. The old one will always have a place in my heart because it’s where I started but I do like the new one better. This one’s brand new and shiny and everything.”

Weather Service declares Ocean Beach 'tsunami ready'

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials declared in December that San Francisco had completed the NOAA National Weather Service “TsunamiReady” program, better equipping the City to prepare and warn its citizens about tsunamis.

San Francisco is now the most populous city in the nation to achieve this recognition and joins more than 60 other tsunami-ready communities, including 14 in California.

National Weather Service Western Region Director Mark Tew, and Dave Reynolds, the meteorologist-in-charge of the weather service’s forecast office in Monterey, presented city officials with a “Tsunami Ready tool kit” at a press conference Dec. 9 at Ocean Beach near Sloat Boulevard. The kit included road signs to identify tsunami inundation zones, evacuation routes and safe areas.

“We’re proud to have partnered with the National Weather Service on our comprehensive tsunami readiness program, and that we’ve become the largest city in the nation to earn the “tsunami ready” designation, said SF Mayor Gavin Newsom.

“Tsunamis, although rare, are a real threat to the City since seismic activity is possible from the Cascadia Subduction Zone located just offshore,” Tew said.

To be recognized “TsunamiReady,” a community must establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center; have more than one way to receive tsunami and severe weather warnings and forecasts to alert the public; create a system that monitors local weather conditions; promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars; and develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

Becoming tsunami ready is an important part of our mission to enhance the city’s preparedness for any type of hazard, said Rob Dudgeon, deputy director of the SF Department of Emergency Management.

Disaster preparedness is everyone’s responsibility, experts say. Educating oneself on environmental hazards, maintaining a disaster supply kit and having an emergency plan in-place are all proactive ways to be better prepared for an emergency.

Traffic Fines to Double on 19th Avenue

Traffic fines on 19th Avenue and Park Presidio Boulevard doubled as of New Year’s Day. The new law will raise the fines for speeding, reckless driving, unlawful passing or overtaking, drunken driving and other serious moving violations.

The legislation was forwarded by state Sen. Leland Yee, with the cooperation of numerous city and state officials. Because the roadway is a state highway, any changes have to be enacted by the legislature and signed by the governor.

To remind motorists of the change, Yee held a press conference Dec. 23 near the intersection of 19th Avenue and Judah Street. Attending were Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, District 4 Supervisor Carmen Chu and District 7 Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, Taraval Police Station Capt. Paul Chignell and representatives from Caltrans, the Senior Action Network and the SF Department of Parking and Traffic.

“We now have the teeth to make 19th Avenue safer,” Ma said.

As part of the new law, signs are being posted between Holloway Avenue and Lake Street warning drivers of the new law.

According to Chignell, traffic enforcement will be increased to cite motorist infractions. The Taraval Station, which has one traffic officer from the motorcycle division dedicated, is getting a second motorcycle officer to assist. All other officers, as well as the California Highway Patrol, will cite infractions as witnessed.

“I can assure the public that there will be more enforcement on 19th Avenue,” Chignell said.

Approximately 80,000 vehicles a day use California Highway 1, which is comprised, in part, of 19th Avenue and Park Presidio Boulevard. From 2003 to 2007, there were 589 traffic collisions along the 5.2 mile route. Of that total, 64 involved a pedestrian, with 20 of the walkers being killed.

Currently, 10 intersections along the busy north-south route are getting new pedestrian count-down signals. Another 16 are slated for installation.

Beach fires limited on bad air days

To preserve air quality during “Spare the Air” days, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) has banned beach fires on Spare the Air Days. The action was taken in response to beachgoers’ concerns that beach fires were leaving unsafe debris on the beach, as well as concerns about smoke blowing into neighborhood homes.

Instead of banning fires, Golden Gate National Parks joined several organizations in a creative partnership to install artistic fire rings on portions of the beach away from neighborhood homes. Those organizations, Surfrider Foundation, Burners Without Borders, Ocean Beach Foundation and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, are working with GGNRA to allow fires to continue.

Burners Without Borders has donated some artistic fire rings so that fires can be physically contained and the Surfrider, Ocean Beach Foundation and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy are organizing beach cleanups. Beach fires are only allowed on Ocean Beach in authorized fire pits, between stairwells 15 Ð 20.

For more information, call (415) 561-5505 or go to the Web site at http://www.nps.gov.