Restore Sharp Park

Our Vision

Sharp Park in Pacifica, San Mateo County, was once home to a rare and beautiful lagoon and wetlands. Now it is at a crossroads: it can be restored to wetlands as a National Park or continue as a failing golf course, ignoring the growing challenges of climate change and sea level rise.

We envision restoring parkland at the site of the existing municipal golf course. A park will provide a healthy home for unique local wildlife such as the endangered California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. Protecting the natural wetlands will help the City of Pacifica adapt to sea level rise, while the alternative of armoring a seawall will cost taxpayers millions. Closing Sharp Park Golf Course will save the City of San Francisco millions in new infrastructure, improvements, maintenance, legal fees, and mitigation measures. A public park will bring jobs and tourist dollars to the area, as well as more accessible recreation.

For San Franciscans

Sharp Park Golf Course is a drain on San Francisco’s resources, but Sharp Park can be transformed to benefit the City. We must urge the City to transform Sharp Park into a National Park.

  • Allow the National Park Service to transform Sharp Park to better meet San Francisco resident’s recreation preferences. The National Park Service has stated three times in writing that it wants land, but not the golf course.  In a survey conducted by RPD, San Franciscan's stated that more hiking and biking trails are residents’ #1 recreational priority; golf ranked 16th out of 19 options.

Survey results indicate that San Franciscans want more walking and biking trails


For Pacificans

Pacificans can help their city prosper by supporting a new National Park at Sharp Park.

    • It will bring real dollars to Pacifica’s economy while improving Pacifica residents’ access to open spaces within their city. Despite decades of opportunities, Sharp Park Golf Course hasn’t generated revenue for Pacifica’s economy. In contrast, National Parks are a boon to local economies. In 2011, California’s National Parks generated $1.192 billion in revenues. That wasn’t a fluke. Taxpayers earn an average of $10 for every $1 invested in the National Parks Service. Pacifica can take advantage of the economic opportunity a National Park provides.  Sharp Park National Park has an additional economic edge. It will be the Southern Gateway to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). The GGNRA is the most visited National Park in the nation. A visitor center at Sharp Park National Park will allow Pacifica to be a gateway for these visitors in San Mateo County, and help Pacifica draw visitors from around the globe.

  • The National Park at Sharp Park will continue Pacifica’s efforts to sustainably adapt to sea level rise.  Restoring Sharp Park’s wetlands will protect Pacifica neighborhoods from flooding. Wetlands are nature’s best defense against floods – they act like a sponge, slowing down water during times of high flow to help prevent flooding. In contrast, attempting to defend the golf course from the ocean by building and armoring sea walls, Sharp Park Beach will disappear. The beach south of the Pacifica Pier will soon look like the beach north of the Pacifica Pier. It will be ocean crashing against concrete and rocks – the sandy beach lost long ago to the sea.  Sharp Park National Park will prevent this tragic loss.

Concrete sea walls have already destroyed many Pacifica beaches. Let's not repeat the error at Sharp Park.

For Golfers

By supporting the Restore Sharp Park campaign, golfers can have it all. Restore Sharp Park will create a National Park and improve affordable golf. Local communities will benefit, and unique local wildlife will thrive. But we need golfers’ support to make that happen.

          • The Bay Area golf market is in trouble.  Golf is overbuilt here. There are 6 million more golf rounds each year than golfers want to play. Golf’s popularity peaked in 2004. Now the game loses about 3 million US players each year. Golf market experts do not expect the game's popularity to recover.

Under these conditions, some Bay Area golf courses must close. The only question is which ones.

          • Sharp Park Golf Course is one of the Bay Area's  worst performing golf courses. Even though its prices are heavily subsidised, many golfers choose to avoid the course's poor conditions and play elsewhere.  Rounds played each year are far below levels needed to sustain a golf course, and the course receives failing grades in nearly every category that the National Golf Foundation uses to rate golf courses. Winter rains cause flooding at the Golf Course, and it is threatened by rising seas.

Closing Sharp Park Golf Course, rather than other, better courses, will allow San Francisco to reinvest in the City's five other municipal courses and improve access to affordable golf for everyone.  It will also ensure that the best, most exciting courses are left as the collapsing golf market reaches a new equilibrium.  

Closing Sharp Park Golf Course will also remove a blemish from Allister MacKenzie’s otherwise successful career.

          • Although known for integrating his courses into natural landscapes, MacKenzie ignored the value of Sharp Park’s natural systems. His design destroyed the natural flood protection provided by wetlands, lagoon, and barrier dunes. Unsurprisingly, the opening day for the Golf Course was delayed two times due to flooding.  After the course opened, ocean storms swept away the holes that were built on flattened sand dunes. Few MacKenzie-designed holes remain.

It is better that MacKenzie be remembered for his most successful courses rather than the ecological destruction and economic folly that is Sharp Park Golf Course.


Watch this annotated audio excerpt of the Historic Preservation Commission hearing.

Latest News

 

New SPUR Report Recommends Restoration Planning at Sharp Park

A new report issued by SPUR (the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association) makes several recommendations that support building a new national park at Sharp Park. It also provides helpful suggestions that have improved legislation…

On 11/18/11 You Can Stand Up for the Underfrog!””

On November 18, 2011, the Honorable Susan Illston will hear oral argument in the Wild Equity Institute’s lawsuit against the money-losing and endangered species-killing Sharp Park Golf Course. All supporters of our campaign to restore…

Avalos’ Legislation to Repurpose Sharp Park Receives Accolades from Diverse Interests, Including Golfers

Supervisor John Avalos recently introduced legislation to repurpose Sharp Park Golf Course into a new public park in partnership with the National Park Service. Repurposing Sharp Park is a sustainable and common sense solution to the economic, ecological, and recreational troubles facing this golf course. The Supervisor's legislation also grants Pacifica residents the same rates that San Francisco residents receive at San Francisco’s five other public golf courses, dramatically increasing access to affordable golf for existing Sharp Park Golf Course patrons.

SF Historic Preservation Commission: Sharp Park Golf Course Lacks Historic Integrity

In a stunning rebuke to golfers grasping to keep San Francisco subsidizing suburban golf in San Mateo County, on September 21, 2011 San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission stated that it does not concur that Sharp Park Golf Course is an historic resource.

Injunction Sought to Halt Illegal Sharp Park Golf Course, Protect Endangered Species

September 26, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 669-7357 Brent Plater, Wild Equity Institute, (415) 572-6989 Arthur Feinstein, Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter, (415) 680-0643 Court…

Thank Supervisor John Avalos for Announcing New Legislation to Restore Sharp Park!

Supervisor John Avalos advanced the campaign to restore Sharp Park by announcing his intent to introduce legislation to restore the land at the Board of Supervisors on May 17. The legislation will ensure that the two endangered species found…

Take Action: Help Pass Legislation to Restore Sharp Park!

On September 6, 2011, Supervisor John Avalos introduced legislation at San Francisco City Hall to restore Sharp Park in partnership with the National Park Service! Now the Board of Supervisors needs to hear from you: tell them to support this…

Legislation Introduced to Restore Sharp Park!

September 6, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Neal Desai, National Parks Conservation Association, (415) 989-9921 × 20 Brent Plater, Wild Equity Institute, (415) 572-6989 Meredith Thomas, Neighborhood Parks Council, (415) 621-3260 Jeff…

Feds Stand Up for Endangered Species at Sharp Park

In a meeting organized by Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who continues to pursue a public bailout of the money-losing and endangered species-killing Sharp Park Golf Course, federal agencies delivered a serious blow to the controversial all-golf…

Pacifica Quarry Sold, Development Threat Continues

The San Mateo County Times reports that the privately-owned Pacifica quarry, located just south of the Golden Gate National Parks’ Mori Point, has been sold to a real estate investment affiliate. Plans for the quarry are unclear, but the…

San Francisco Golf Program Covers-up Golf Course Losses

SAN FRANCISCO GOLF PROGRAM COVERS-UP SHARP PARK GOLF COURSE LOSSES New documents obtained through San Francisco’s Sunshine Ordinance show that the controversial Sharp Park Golf Course is predicted to lose money yet again this upcoming…

Students Take Action for the Underfrog

Recently students from San Francisco’s public high schools visited Mori Point and the controversial Sharp Park Golf Course. They learned about the impacts the course is having on the San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged…

Golfonomics 101

Golf courses across the nation are suffering from a quintessential economic problem: too much supply and not enough demand. How the game responds to this problem may define its trajectory in American sport for decades to come. As articles…

What’s Better than Dressing up like Snakes and Frogs? Actually Saving Them!

The San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog need our help! Every year they are victim to poor management operations at Sharp Park Golf Course. Wild Equity has a plan to help save these endangered species and stop San Francisco from subsidizing a failing golf course.

Supervisor John Avalos Announces Legislation to Restore Sharp Park!

In a major step towards restoring Sharp Park, yesterday San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos announced that he has asked San Francisco’s City Attorney to draft legislation that will close Sharp Park Golf Course and transfer management…

Over 100 Attend Endangered Communities, Endangered Species Rally!

Over 100 enthusiastic supporters joined the Wild Equity Institute, Save the Frogs!, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, H.O.M.E.Y., and Action for Animals at noon today in front of San Francisco’s City Hall for the Endangered…
,

Save the Frogs Day Walk at Sharp Park

Saturday, April 30, 2011, 12pm-2pm — In honor of Save the Frogs Day, join the Wild Equity Institute to search for two of the most imperiled vertebrate species on the San Francisco peninsula: the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco…

4/30, Noon: Save the Frogs Day Walk at Sharp Park

Saturday, April 30, 2011, 12pm-2pm — In honor of Save the Frogs Day, join the Wild Equity Institute to search for two of the most imperiled vertebrate species on the San Francisco peninsula: the California red-legged frog and the San…
,

4/29, Noon: Endangered Communities, Endangered Species Rally at SF City Hall

San Francisco continues to subsidize an endangered species-killing golf course in Pacifica even though the City’s community services are being cut. We deserve better! In honor of Save the Frogs Day, please join the Wild Equity Institute,…

Sharp Park Educational Forum

Sharp Park Educational Forum The authors of the Sharp Park restoration assessment report will be presenting their findings in a community forum at the Pacifica Library on Thursday, March 31, 2011, as a free educational service to Pacifica. Their…

Peer-Reviewed Report Findings Presentation in Pacifica

The authors of the peer-reviewed report on Sharp Park, Bob Battalio, Peter Baye, and Dawn Reis, will present their findings and field questions from the community in Pacifica. The event will be held at the Pacifica Public Library at 104 Hilton…
,

What do Elizabeth Taylor, Barry Bonds, and the Wild Equity Institute Have in Common?

The classic beauty, the troubled slugger, and the Wild Equity Institute’s campaign to restore Sharp Park were all on the front page of the San Francisco chronicle on Thursday, March 24, 2011. Click here to see a .pdf of the article…

The Future of Sharp Park: Panel Discussion at SPUR

San Francisco’s public Sharp Park Golf Course, located in Pacifica, is facing serious financial, environmental and recreational challenges. Potential solutions are constrained by the presence of two endangered species and a coastal location…

Sign the Petition to Restore Sharp Park

Our friends at Change.org heard that Sharp Park Golf Course may be restored and turned into a National Park, and started a new petition to the Recreation and Parks Department to demand that San Francisco stop killing endanagered species on the…

The Future of Sharp Park: Panel Discussion at SPUR 3/17

The peer-reviewed, scientific study of Sharp Park released last month has already impacted public policy: San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department has abandoned its plan to construct a sea wall at Sharp Park, and appears poised…

Wild Equity Sues Sharp Park Golf Course for Killing Endangered Species

The Wild Equity Institute has filed a lawsuit against the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department today for violating the Endangered Species Act at Sharp Park golf course, a financially troubled, city-owned course located within Golden…

More Imperiled Frogs Killed by Sharp Park Golf Course

On February 21, 2011, a local Pacifica resident informed the Wild Equity Institute that a presumed California red-legged frog egg mass was at risk of desiccation at Sharp Park. The egg mass appeared to have been laid shortly after the previous…

RPD Backs Off Sea Wall Plan: WEI Responds

Statements by Conservation Groups on San Francisco’s Change of Position on Sharp Park Golf Course Management Background Sharp Park golf course, owned and operated by the city of San Francisco and located in Pacifica within the Golden Gate…

Golf Course Compliance Plan Fails; Red-legged Frogs Jeopardized

February 22, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brent Plater, Wild Equity Institute, (415) 572-6989 Sharp Park Compliance Plan Fails; Imperiled Frogs Jeopardized by Golf Course San Francisco — Documents obtained from the San Francisco…

Peer-reviewed Scientific Study Calls for Restoring Sharp Park

February 10, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brent Plater, Wild Equity Institute, (415) 572-6989   Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 499-9185 First Peer-reviewed Scientific Study of Sharp Park: Removing…