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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Friday, November 1, 2002
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.

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THANKS FOR KEEPING SAN FRANCISCO GREEN

Editor -- I'm writing in response to Rachel Gordon's Oct. 25 Board Watch column. The Neighborhood Parks Council is thrilled that Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval has sponsored legislation that forbids people from paving over their front lawns so they can park their vehicles there. This front-yard parking ordinance is extremely important in protecting our city's precious and limited green space and for boosting neighborhood aesthetics.

In addition, this ordinance will help efforts to maintain and increase the groundwater recharge capacity of San Francisco, which has been vastly reduced by development and excessive use in the last 50 to 100 years.

The effects of the dramatic decline of the Westside Basin aquifer can be seen in the rapidly decreasing water level of Lake Merced, which has dropped 50 percent of its volume in 60 years.

Unpaved yards and new open space or parks are the only conduits left through which rainwater can enter the ground and make its way down to the aquifer that supports Lake Merced. (Incidentally, the lake is officially an emergency water supply in a disaster.)

We need every square inch of the remaining unpaved yards to allow rainfall to recharge the aquifer that is a vital part of San Francisco's water supply system and the source to maintain both Lake Merced and Pine Lake. Three cheers for Supervisor Sandoval for helping to save our lakes by cracking down on the illegal loss of urban greenery.

ISABEL WADE,

Executive Director,
Neighborhood Parks Council
The Haight