Latest news with #LivableSF
San Francisco Chronicle
14-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Organizer of Supervisor Joel Engardio recall resigns days before deadline
One of the lead organizers behind the campaign to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio resigned Tuesday, only days before a signature-gathering deadline. Vin Budhai said he was stepping down from the recall effort due to 'ongoing creative and strategic differences regarding the direction and execution of the effort.' Budhai was one of the public faces behind the opposition to Proposition K last fall, which passed, creating the Sunset Dunes Park and permanently closing the Great Highway. 'My commitment to holding Supervisor Engardio accountable remains unchanged,' Budhai said in a statement. 'I continue to believe that a recall is warranted and necessary for the future of our community.' The recall effort kicked off in February against Engardio for his support of Prop K, which passed with more than 54% of the vote across San Francisco, but was opposed by the majority of residents in the Sunset and Richmond districts, which are closest to the new park. The 2-mile stretch of the Great Highway was closed to cars on March 14 and the new park — named Sunset Dunes following a namingcontest that included numerous anti-Engardio entries — opened on April 12, when thousands flocked to the oceanside stretch to celebrate the new park. Budhai's resignation comes only nine days before the May 22 deadline for the recall campaign to submit 10,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. Budhai previously declined to share how many signatures the campaign had collected. 'I wish the committee and all those involved in the campaign continued success as they carry this effort forward,' Budhai said in a statement. Other west side residents have been pushing voters to 'Stand with Joel.' Engardio has also received high-profile support from Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, who donated $25,000 to the supervisor's cause. Some opponents of the recall have cited the cost of a recall election which they say wastes taxpayer money, and the fact that Engardio is up for reelection in November 2026 as reasons for their opposition. 'Not every Sunset resident is going to agree with me on every issue, but I'm committed to working with residents on issues that make the Sunset a great place to live,' Engardio previously said in response to the recall effort. 'I respect that people are going to disagree on how to use our coast. It's humbling to see a majority of my district opposing the ballot measure, so that's why I'm working so hard to address the core issues people had about the ballot measure. Sunset Dunes Park has also seen obstacles in court, a lawsuit filed alleges the closure of the Great Highway as unlawful. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include LivableSF, a nonprofit started by Budhai; Sunset hardware store owner Albert Chow; former District 7 supervisor candidate Matt Borschetto, and Outer Sunset resident Lisa Arjes. The issue of the park could also be sent back to voters if the recall campaign qualifies for the ballot. In her April 5 column in the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon, Supervisor Connie Chan wrote that the recall would present an opportunity to send a ballot measure to voters to reopen the highway to cars. But Chan would need six supervisors to make the election citywide, as only District 4 residents would be able to vote on an Engardio recall. She'd further need three more supervisors' signatures for the potential measure to reopen the highway to be placed on the ballot. Board President Rafael Mandelman said at the time that he does not see the need to revisit the issue of the Upper Great Highway.
CBS News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Lawsuit filed against City of San Francisco to prevent Great Highway from becoming a park
SAN FRANCISCO — In just a few days, the Great Highway on the west side of San Francisco is scheduled to be closed to car traffic. It comes after voters decided to turn the area into a park with Prop K on the November ballot. Almost 55% of voters in San Francisco agreed the section of highway from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard should be re-purposed into a beachfront park. Now one group of neighbors filed a lawsuit Tuesday saying Proposition K was not legal and should be reversed. "I get worried about safety. When the upper highway, Great Highway is closed, traffic flows into the neighborhoods," says Matt Boschetto. His family has lived on the west side for 5 generations, and he is also a small business owner. That's why he decided to get into the fight over the planned park, literally on the Great Highway. "San Francisco is the most democratic city in the U.S. It used to be a city about people power. It used to be a city that had very, very inclusive processes, and this is the absolute opposite," Boschetto said. Matt is helping to lead "Livable SF," the group that held a rally Tuesday to announce a lawsuit suing the city saying passing Prop K was not legal. The idea to close the Great Highway was met with opposition since the start. Residents in the Sunset neighborhoods said by closing the highway there would be more traffic in the neighborhoods, making the streets less safe for families. They also argued it would be harder for people to get to the commercial corridors, which would then hurt small business. Those in favor of the park say there are work arounds to those concerns. "We have extended multiple invites to the leaders of the no on K folks to work together on neighborhood improvements including addressing their concerns on traffic. Their answer is filing lawsuits to try to undo the democratic will of San Franciscan's," says Lucas Lux, president of the Friends of Ocean Beach Park, a group that's supported Prop K. But as many have pointed out, the people most impacted on the west side of San Francisco voted overwhelmingly against closing the Great Highway - where as the people living on the other side of the city generally voted for it. "We all live in a city together. We all vote together, and we honor the democratic outcome," says Lux. Opponents, like Matt, say they fought it before voters approved it and they will continue to fight it now. "I think there's little we can do to stop the closure at this point, but I do think it is a very strong argument and if we do win in the court of law, the ballot measure will be null and void," says Boschetto. This has all gotten so contentious, the group against the park has even started a recall effort for the San Francisco supervisor who represents this district, Joel Enguardio. He released a statement today saying he believes the measure was legal and the lawsuit has no merit. CBS Bay Area also reached out to the San Francisco Mayor's office and the city attorney's office for comment.
