It's called the Front Yard Ambassadors Program (FYA), providing incentives, organizing and technical assistance, rather than levying fines. The program is expected to break at least 2,500 square feet of concrete in 6 to 10 blocks of San Francisco Supervisor Katy Tang's 4th District, absorbing 30,000 gallons of stormwater in its first year. The program got $85,000 in funding: $75,000 from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and $10,000 from District 4 funds.
On a Saturday, PDP Chair Sachin Ganpule and crew of fellow activist led 12 volunteers through planting 4 of the 10 houses who signed up in the Sunset District of the City. In addition to the environmental benefits, the street looks more beautiful and people got to better know each other. The event got good local media coverage in The Examiner and Surfrider is listed as partner on the FYA website!
Sunset residents with at least five homes on their blocks that are interested in participating can apply by March 31 on Tang’s supervisorial website for the second round of planting. The program has $85,000 in funding — $75,000 from the SFPUC and $10,000 from District 4 funds. Applicants pay a permit fee ranging from $182 to $245. The hope is that FYA is replicated in the other supervisorial districts.
While FYA is a way for residents to take action, it's part of a plan by the SFPUC to retrofit the City's 8 watersheds with “green infrastructure:” using permeable materials and creating gaps in existing curbs, gutters and parking spaces to capture, cleanse and absorb runoff. The Sunset Boulevard Greenway, one of the GI projects planned by the City, may include rain gardens (aka Ocean Friendly Gardens) that allow stormwater to soak into the landscape before it enters the sewer system. Almost 2/3rds of the Sunset District's area is impervious, according to a spokeswoman for the SFPUC’s sewer system improvement program. A lot of stormwater “sponges” can go a long way to solving the problem.
- Co-written by Sachin Ganpule