Town Hall Meeting

April 3, 2006 Hello friends of St. Brigid Church, As many of you know, we have been working with the SF Board of Supervisors to get permanent protection for St. Brigid as a city landmark since January of last year, when the city’s archdiocese announced they would demolish the church and use the proceeds of a proposed $8 million sale to pay the cost of child abuse claims. As you may also remember, after a public outcry, action by the board and by our state senator, Carole Migden, they abandoned that idea. Instead, just before ex-Archbishop Wm. Levada announced he would go to Rome, they sold the church to the Academy of Art College’s Elisa Stephens for $3.7 million. When she bought the building, Stephens said her main intention was “historic preservation.” But now she and her lawyers are opposing the public landmark ordinance which would provide long-term protection for the building and its interior. At several Board of Supervisors hearings, which many of you attended, she sought and got delays — but now is proposing a private agreement which would not have the force of law, as a landmark ordinance would, but which would commit her to keeping the building in tact as long as she owns it. There are pros and cons to each approach, Stephens would make a private agreement immediately. A landmark ordinance would likely provide more durable protections. So we need your opinion. The Committee will host a town-hall meeting on Tuesday, April 11 to discuss this issue. Please come. If you can’t be there personally, please check the links in this page for proposed agreements, read all about the issue, and email us your opinion. Thanks very much, Joe Dignan http://www.st-brigid.org/doc/20060407em.htm     Post-meeting note: Dear Friends: Thank you very much for responding to our call for help in making this critical decision for St. Brigid Church. The decision is unanimous. All our supporters voted to go forth with the City landmarking instead of a private agreement with the Art University. We will post some of the e-mails we received. Please check back later. A special thanks to Mr. Justin Roja of the Mayor's office for taking time to join us and listen to our concerns. St. Brigid's landmark ordinance needs your help. Please visit http://www.st-brigid.org/doc/20060515em.htm for more information. Thank You very much.   Sincerely, Committee To Save St. Brigid Church

Document Links: Art School proposal of a Private Agreement About the Academy of Art: The Academy of Art website "The Art of the Deal The Academy of Art College may be questionable as a school, but it's a hell of a business" (By Matt Smith, SF Weekly, article published Apr 4, 2001) "The Creative Landlord. The Academy of Art University runs a bustling dormitory business in downtown SF" (By Carol Lloyd, SF Chronicle, article published Sep 14, 2004) Wikipedia   Please email us your opinion: stbrigidchurch_sf@yahoo.com

Chronology of the Recent Events: 2/8/2005 ... Board of Supervisor's hearing. BOS passed the resolutions to initiate the designation of St. Brigid Church as a city landmark 3/22/2005 ... Board of Supervisor's resolution #227-05 [pdf] 5/4/2005 ... SF Planning Dept - Landmark Advisory Board Hearing, voted 9:0 in favor of landmarking St. Brigid Church 8/12/2005 ... Press release from the Archdiocese: Letter of intent to sell St. Brigid to the Academy of Art. [pdf] 8/15/2005 ... Press release from the Academy of Art [pdf] 8/13/2005 ... SFChronicle article stated the art school intent to spend $7 million on St. Brigid [article] 10/4/2005 ... Movers from the archdiocese dismantling statutes and stations of the cross. Department of Building Inspection alerted. 10/19/2005 ... Archdiocese & Art school closed escrow. One day before the next public hearing. [pdf] 10/20/2005 ... SF Planning Commission unanimously adopts a resolution supporting landmark designation. Art school sent representatives opposing. 10/21/2005 ... One day after the hearing, the archdiocese started destroying the interior of St. Brigid church by removing the art object, despite the city's red tag order; committee members attempted to stop the workers and we were threatened with arrested. [article] 10/21 - 10/24 ... Committee members and friends took turns keeping a 24-hour watch on St. Brigid. 10/24/2005 ... Before daylight, the diocese further removed the stations of the cross and various art object to the convent.We were locked outside the gate helplessly watching the entire proceeding. By the time the officer arrived, the doors were shut. That evening, the red tag order was posted back on the door, except that it was posted upside down. [article] 11/9/2005 ... BOS Land Use Committee Hearing. Art school met with Supervisor Alioto-Pier around noon, right before hearing. Our supporters waited from 1pm to 4pm, and when our item was finally on, Supervisor Alioto-Pier asked for a continuance stating that the Art school did not know of the hearing that day. 12/7/2005 ... BOS Land Use Committee Hearing. Elisa Stephens asked for a continuance and she stated that "she doesn't know what landmarking means". Elisa Stephens promised not to do anything until the Board decision is reached. So the BOS postponed the landmark designation “un til "late January, early February of 2006" [article] Late December and early January, art school took out two permits to do work inside St. Brigid church. 1/18/2006 ... Meeting with Alioto-Pier and Art school - cancelled because art school's lawyer was unavailable. 1/26/2006 ... Meeting with Alioto-Pier and Art school - cancelled, our members work schedule conflict. 2/9/2006 ... Our committee met with Alioto-Pier and Art school. Elisa Stephens opposes the exterior and interior landmark of St. Brigid church. Proposal of a private agreement. 3/4/2006 ... Committee received the draft private agreement proposal from the art school. 4/11/2006 ... Town Hall Meeting

http://www.st-brigid.org/doc/200603aoaproposal.htm
http://www.st-brigid.org/doc/20060407em.htm

Return to HOMEPAGE

(c) Copyright Committee To Save St. Brigid Church