Why fight for Beach Chalet?

On Thursday May 24, the San Francisco Planning Commission and Recreation and Parks Commission are scheduled to vote on plans to install artificial turf and powerful night lighting on the Beach Chalet soccer fields in western Golden Gate Park. Golden Gate Bird Alliance plans to be there and speak out in opposition. We asked Conservation Director Mike Lynes — who has spent hundreds of hours following this issue since 2009 — to explain why we are so concerned over the future of land that is “just a few soccer fields in a city park.”

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The Beach Chalet Athletic Fields renovation project is one of the most difficult projects that Golden Gate Bird Alliance has grappled with in recent years.  The renovation project would replace up to 11 acres of natural grass and trees in the western end of Golden Gate Park with artificial turf and ten 60-foot light towers that will broadcast 150,000 watts of light into the historically dark part of the park.

Aside from concerns about the toxic nature of artificial turf, Golden Gate Bird Alliance is involved because the project will reduce the quality of the area for wildlife and for people who appreciate nature. The western end of Golden Gate Park has always been designed and managed to be more natural, an urban woodland with open meadows. Every major planning document — including the City’s General Plan and the Golden Gate Park Master Plan — mandates that the historic natural character of the western end of the park be preserved. The loss of the area is another big gash in the “death by a thousand cuts” faced by local bird and wildlife populations in San Francisco.

Proponents of the project have characterized the controversy as a being about “birds vs kids.” But simplifying the conflict and demonizing your opponents doesn’t do anyone any good. In truth, Golden Gate Bird Alliance and other project opponents are only asking the City to develop an alternative that meets the needs of soccer players while also respecting the history, character and ecology of the park. So far, the City has refused to do so. Fields can be developed elsewhere, but there is no other place like the western end of the Golden Gate Park.

There is no doubt that local athletes need more fields and playing time, and that the Beach Chalet is sorely in need of renovation.  But the proposed project does more than rehabilitate the fields — it converts the area into a regional sport complex capable of hosting 1,000 spectators and “high-level” tournaments that will draw traffic and other disturbances into the area. In 8-10 years, the City will have to foot the bill to completely replace the turf, and the lights will never be removed. All of this is unnecessary, especially considering that the EIR identifies a feasible alternative just a mere eight blocks away.

There is still time for city commissioners to get this right. They should reject the current plan and insist that parks department staff do its job and exercise independent judgment rather than just taking direction from the private foundation that is funding a portion of the project. Unfortunately, if the commissions cannot provide the kind of leadership that has been lacking thus far, the controversy over the Beach Chalet project will only continue for the foreseeable future.

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Want to speak out on behalf of maintaining grass fields and natural habitat at Beach Chalet? Email the Recreation and Parks Commission at recpark.commission@sfgov.org or email Planning Commission President Rodney Fong at  planning@rodneyfong.com. 

Downy Woodpecker photo by Bob Lewis. The Downy Woodpecker is one of about 70 bird species that live around Beach Chalet.