So all in all everything went pretty well last night. Sam Herzberg the senior planner made the first presentation regarding disc golf in San Mateo County Parks. He said that while he expected some opposition the amount of land that the county has acquired it was at least worth looking into as well as putting into a updated master park plan. His attitude was fair and positive in regards to at least considering disc golf in the parks. I was next and was told to make it brief which I wasnt happy about but complied (it was about 95 degrees in the carriage house at Wunderlich). I said I wanted to make it clear that the Peninsula Disc Golf Club is here to try to improve the quality of life for San Mateo County Residents and not on our own agenda, we are not asking for free reign of the park and are hoping to develop a long relationship with the parks department. I also addressed some of the arguments of the opposition, one being noise, to that I said this is a game of golf, it is not a high intensity activity and the noise level would be on the same level of ball golf. Next they mentioned increase traffic could lead to home burglaries, I said this is actually insulting as it implies that only criminals play disc golf. Next was the concern of the current habitat, including the red tail hawk, I explained to them that disc golfers are very concerned about the enviroment and one of the joys of the game is to be out with all of these amazing creatures. And finally vandalism, I explained that the cleanliness of the park is on of our main concerns and the park will be cleaner with a disc golf course then without. I told the commission that I know Mr. Bill Giustis niece very well and reached out to her to get in contact with him, and that I wanted to sit down with him and hear his concerns and address them to make sure that everyone was happy and a disc golf course did not disturb his quality of life. I also told them that he flat out told me no he did not want to meet with me and he doesnt want people in his backyard. Next Mr. Giusti and Mr. Perry Petersen spoke about the enviromental and noise impacts. This was fairly comical, one of the issues they spoke about was PARKING, Commissioner Enriquez asked me what our plan was about parking and I told him that I go to JSP at least twice a week and have never seen more than 5 cars there. I estimated that it probably has enough parking for around 100 cars at least and Director Finley agreed, SCORE ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS! Next they spoke about disc coming over the fence line, Mr. Enriquez asked me again, how do I plan on addressing this. I explained to him that any flight paths will be away from the fence line, and that the properties in question are down a approximately 100 foot cliff so we will be staying clear of that. Of the commissioners Mr. Meda Okelo who comes from East Palo Alto and has done quite a bit for his community there asked Mr. Herzberg about what the master plan says in this regard, well the master plan has not been updated for 33 years so it doesnt say much of anything which works in our favor because now they are going to update the master plan and take a hard look to see if and how disc golf fits in as well as other recreational opportunities that might arise. Mr. Michael Cooney who is a funny old irishman said he thinks we should move forward with a disc golf course and at least try it to see if it works. Then finally the Chairman, Mr. Neil Merrilees spoke. Mr. Merrilees went to JSP on Wednesday to see the area in question. He was shocked to find himself alone on a beautiful sunny day (TWO POINTS FOR THE GOOD GUYS!) in this beautiful park with amazing views. He also said this area is not like the Daly City Dunes which they were talking about earlier, it is not a preserve and already has multiple playgrounds and picnic tables everywhere! He asked the opposition if they would be willing to walk the area in question with himself and me (and hopefully Leonard Muise) which of course they agreed too. So thats it for now, we spoke about disc golf for well over two hours, probably approaching three, the feedback was positive. I am truly impressed with Director Finley, and very happy with the proceedings thus far with the parks commission. We all knew this wasnt going to happen overnight and I would estimate that we probably have another two years before we get the okay but should start planning on fundraising as well as getting our non-profit status. Maybe San Francisco Disc Golf Club will have some baskets they want to get rid of soon?
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 16:42:25 +0000
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