SF Mayoral Candidate Proposes Closing MacKenzie's Sharp Park

The San Francisco Chronicle's City Insider blog reports that Mayoral candidate and Supervisor John Avalos went ahead with a proposal to close the Alister MacKenzie-designed course, with a conversion of the property to be managed by the National Park Service.

''A partnership with the National Park Service will make Sharp Park more accessible, while allowing the city to reinvest resources into our neighborhood golf courses, parks and recreation centers,'' said Avalos, a mayoral candidate.

His proposal has the backing of such groups as the Sierra Club, Wild Equity Institute and National Parks Conservation Association. They hope to see the property transitioned back its more natural wetlands state.

The Recreation and Park Department wants to keep the golf course open, but has moved to reconfigure the design to keep golfers out of the most environmentally sensitive areas and has taken other measures to protect the vulnerable critters.

''We have worked to accommodate a diverse range of recreational activities at Sharp Park, including golf, hiking and dog walking, while continuing to pursue a plan with park stakeholders to restore precious habitat for the San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog,'' said Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the Recreation and Park Department, which has jurisdiction over the park.

Among those opposed to the proposed transfer of the property to federal jurisdiction are U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, the San Mateo Board of Supervisors, the Pacifica City Council and Public Golf Alliance.

A lawsuit hopes to block any such transfer of the course, but the group faces an uphill battle. In an ideal world, resources would be pouring in from the cash rich organizations charged with running the game to help preserve a course with a fantastic legacy and which serves a diverse audience of golf world.

I profiled the situation at Sharp Park for Golf World in May, 2009.