Nothing but time on our hands here in SF. This is going to be awesome!
Fillmore ski-jump event gets city OK Upset neighbors had delayed permit that allows ramp and 200 tons of trucked-in snow
Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, September 23, 2005
The steep grade of Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights, which tortured cyclists from around the world earlier this month during the San Francisco Grand Prix bike race, is now set to serve as a launching pad for ski-jumpers.
A company that sells ski and snowboard wax received city approval Thursday for a promotional event that entails closing streets around the intersection of Fillmore and Vallejo streets for two days next week, trucking in 200 tons of snow, and building a ski-jump ramp for the likes of former Olympian Jonny Moseley and 20 other professional skiers and snowboarders.
Icer, the company staging the event, originally planned and received permission to carry out what it's calling Icer Air 2005 on Aug. 27, but agreed to a delay after the mayor's office intervened on behalf of upset neighbors.
<img src="http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/09/23/mn_skijump_ch_52.jpg" alt=" - " />
"We're gratified that we're going forward," said Moseley, a consultant for Icer. "I think we came to a reasonable agreement with the neighbors about their concerns. A lot of the concerns were legitimate, but some were way out there."
On Thursday, more than 70 people -- homeowners, lawyers, skiers, and Hindu monks and nuns -- packed a small conference room to support the youthful spirit of the event, or to lambaste it as a violation of city safety codes.
After almost two hours of impassioned public comments, the Interdepartmental Staff Committee on Traffic and Transportation decided that Icer had satisfied all safety requirements and voted 8-0 to grant the permit, which will close Fillmore Street between Broadway and Green Street and Vallejo Street between Webster and Steiner streets Wednesday and Thursday.
Neighbors' main worries are that Icer's $2 million insurance policy is inadequate for an event that will feature skiers and snowboarders hurtling down Fillmore Hill and flying about 20 feet off a ski jump. A promotion aimed at boosting Icer's business profile, Icer Air event is expected to draw thousands of spectators to one of the city's most upscale, quiet neighborhoods.
"Of course, we're disappointed because we feel like we had good points," said Warner Hirsch, a Hindu monk at the Vedanta Society, a monastery at Fillmore and Vallejo streets. "But a decision was made."
Earlier this week, the city's Entertainment Commission denied Icer's sound permit, so the event will not have amplified music.
As for the street closures, neighbors will decide in the next day or two whether to file an appeal or take the issue to court, said attorney Ginger Crisp, who's representing Pacific Heights homeowners.
"I think there's some very serious issues that weren't given consideration," she said. "I'd like to know what their legal justification is for waiving mandated city safety codes."
The city's traffic code says that crosswalks can't be blocked, manholes can't be covered, fire hydrants must be accessible and emergency fire lanes must be kept open -- all of which the committee waived for Icer Air 2005.
The city traffic and transportation committee, which issues permits for temporary street closures, is comprised of representatives from police, fire, public works and parking and traffic departments and the city taxi commission.
Committee members said they often waive the safety codes for San Francisco's plethora of special events, and they're satisfied with Icer's safety provisions.
At the request of the city, Icer is paying for about 50 police officers and about a dozen firefighters and paramedics, plus an ambulance and a fire engine to be on site throughout the event.
Icer also has agreed to let a city engineer and a private engineer inspect the ski jump.
And to cut down crowd size, Icer moved the event from a Saturday to a Thursday, although that move has disturbed parents and staff at Schools of the Sacred Heart, three private schools on Broadway near Fillmore with a combined enrollment of 1,350.
"This event would seriously impede the education of our children and raises serious safety concerns," said schools director Pamela Hayes. "If something should happen, you'll have to ask yourselves, was it worth the risk?"
Other neighbors said that snow runoff, crowds and liability issues have not been adequately addressed.
"I'm very disillusioned by the process," said Pacific Heights homeowner Connie McCole. "The lack of debate was very disappointing."
John Hom, an engineer hired by Pacific Heights homeowners, said the snow runoff will seep through cracks in the sewer system into the sandy soil beneath Fillmore Street, causing sinkholes.
But many people at the committee meeting Thursday were thrilled at the prospect of snow on Fillmore Hill.
"We love unique events like this," said Pacific Heights homeowner Kristen Barsotti, who helped create a Web site called
www.savethejump.org. "It adds a layer to the cultural fabric of this city."
