From: Provisional Steering Committee (Ann, Ben, Brian, Charles, Dana, Irene, Mary, Pam, Ron, Suzanne, and Zeni)

Re:      January Launch of Unique Joint Neighbor-Merchant SF Patrol Special Police Safety Program in Glen Park

The Provisional Steering Committee of the Patrol Special Police Officer Safety Program is pleased to announce initiation of a pilot safety program for Glen Park!

Officer Cal Wiley from the Police Patrol Specials, will commence multiple random patrols throughout the Village on January 12, and indefinitely thereafter. Officer Wiley's business provides security services to the entire Diamond Hts/Glen Park/Ingleside area, including the Diamond Heights Shopping Center where he has been employed for about 30 years. We hope all Glen Parkers will feel free to say "hi" and warmly welcome Officer Cal to our friendly neighborhood as he goes about his duties.

We also hope that many others will join in and subscribe to this unique safety program. The program for the first time ever in San Francisco, unites neighbors with merchants in a joint effort to help restore peace of mind and a sense of safety in our Village. The program is sponsored in other City districts, but usually only by merchants or only by homeowners, making our Glen Park effort quite special. You may subscribe for_/ any/_ monthly rate you choose (suggested rate of $25 per month) by picking up a blue brochure distributed at Buddie's Market, Glen Park Cleaners, Glen Park Mail Depot, and Higher Grounds, or accessing an online subscription agreement here: 

Periodic small Information Socials are being scheduled at homes in the Village if you have questions. There you may meet Officer Cal Wiley and learn more about program details before subscribing.

I am pleased to report that as of December 3, eight Village merchants have joined with 38 neighbors to subscribe to a dedicated Glen Park SF Patrol Special Police Officer! Five of those have expressed interest in helping with a walking patrol, the Buddie's Brigade, or the provisional Steering Committee for the patrol program. Thanks belong to Rachael, Sally, Charles, Ron, Rebecca, Suzanne, Shannon, Bill, and Krista for helping distribute over 2000 surveys throughout the neighborhood! If you wish to join this safety program now or in the future and receive the additional benefit of individual services such as vacation checks, escort services and an emergency number direct to our Officer, please email:  inquiry@romantasy.com. It now seems that a pilot part-time Patrol Special program may soon be introduced. Feel free to introduce yourself and ask questions you may have of our Officer Cal Wiley, if you see him while he is out and about during hours patrolling in the Village, or meet his employee, Officer John Abramson now patrolling up at the Diamond Heights Shopping Center.

FROM The SF County Transportation Authority

MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS THROUGH CONGESTION PRICING

STUCK IN TRAFFIC?
Concerned about the environment?
NEED A MORE RELIABLE COMMUTE?
Join Us for an Interactive Workshop and/or Online Meeting
WHAT IS CONGESTION PRICING?
Congestion pricing is a program to manage our congested city streets and has delivered
faster, more reliable travel and environmental benefits to several cities around the world.
Under the program, motorists pay a user fee to drive in specific areas or routes during the
most congested times of day. Travelers choose to drive if the convenience is worth the fee,
use alternatives such as transit, or drive at different times of day. Revenues are dedicated
to transportation infrastructure improvements for all travelers, including drivers, transit
riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority will hold two interactive public
meetings in San Francisco and an online meeting to compare pricing program scenarios
and discuss evaluation results. All meetings will include a presentation and the
opportunity to ask questions and provide input on:
evaluation of congestion pricing scenarios
potential transportation improvements
potential discount and exemption policies

PLEASE JOIN US AT A PUBLIC WORKSHOP

Tuesday, December 2, 5:30 – 7:00pm
San Francisco Main Library
100 Larkin Street at Grove

Monday, December 8, 5:30 – 7:00pm
San Francisco Ferry Building
Port Commission Hearing Room, 2nd floor

ON THE WEB
Friday, December 5, 12:00 – 1:00pm

The Authority will present online during lunch!
Visit www.sfmobility.org now to register!

By Elizabeth Weise

Glen Park News

         Glen Park may be getting a new Thai restaurant.

         That’s the rumor among the merchants. They say the site of the former Young De Chinese/Japanese restaurant at 2922 Diamond, next to the nail salon and across the street from BART, is going to open as an Osha Thai restaurant.

         Osha Thai has five other sites in San Francisco. Some are white tablecloth, some more trendy/hipster, all quite stylish. (See oshathai.com for photos.)

 The Glen Park News was unable to confirm that Osha was definitively opening in the under-construction site. Calls to the manager have not yet been returned.

However the person answering the phone at their Valencia restaurant did say, twice, that the chain has a new site opening in Glen Park.

         It’s the word ‘chain’ that’s of concern to some neighbors, who fear that the opening of a restaurant with numerous outlets will pave the way for McDonalds and the like to open in Glen Park.

         That’s impossible, says Rick Crawford of San Francisco’s Planning Department. Under city rules, if a business has eleven or more “formula retail” outlets, which feature standardized spaces, merchandise, trade marking, décor and color schemes – think McDonalds, then it counts as formula retail.

         Such businesses must apply for and receive a conditional use permit to open, Crawford says.

         In some parts of the city, which have named business districts and which have applied for such status, all formula retail businesses are prohibited. Glen Park is not one of those areas, but neither do we have any formula retail.

Because Osha Thai only has five outlets, the chain does not fall under the formula retail requirements. In addition, says Crawford, the restaurants don’t appear to feature standardized décor, menus and color schemes.

         “Obviously we want local owned, local run business, and that’s what this seems to be,” he says.

The new owners appear to be building a full-service restaurant to replace another full-service restaurant. For that, they only needed a building permit, says Crawford.

         An internet search reveals several other Osha Thai restaurants throughout the United States, but none appear to be linked to the San Francisco chain.

         However, even if they were, it still wouldn’t constitute an entry for other formula retail into Glen Park’s downtown, says Crawford.

         “If they do go in, and it comes to our attention or to code enforcement, that this is the twelfth one, then we’d start an enforcement action and they’d have to get a conditional use authorization,” he says.

         So there is no possibility that Osha Thai opening across from BART would open the door for more conventional types of chains such as McDonalds, Crawford says.

         Ric Lopez, president of the Glen Park Merchants Association and co-owner of Sangha at 678 Chenery, says he has some concerns about whether Glen Park now has too many restaurants.

         He’s also putting out feelers to other neighborhood merchant groups to find out if there have been issues when a franchise restaurant comes into a neighborhood.

         He says the Glen Park Merchants Association is planning to meet soon to discuss the matter.

         Lopez says workers at the restaurant told him the goal is to open by January.

        

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         Look for more news and updates on the restaurant in the Dec. 10^th issue of the Glen Park News, or on glenparknews.org as news happens.

 

And a shout out for any reader who can help us figure out why Osha is such a popular name for Thai restaurants worldwide? We can’t find it on our map of Thailand.