§ 61.1. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY.

The people of the City and County of San Francisco find and declare:

(a) Whereas, the waterfront of San Francisco is an irreplaceable public resource of the highest value;

(b) Whereas, the most beneficial and appropriate use of the waterfront is for purposes related to and dependent on their proximity to San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, such as maritime uses, public access to, and restoration of, San Francisco Bay;

(c) Whereas, San Francisco holds the waterfront in trust for the People of California;

(d) Whereas, maritime uses, public access to, and restoration of San Francisco Bay serve San Francisco residents, and provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to San Francisco and its residents, including a diversity of employment opportunities and better access to a healthier San Francisco Bay;

(e) Whereas, the waterfront contains structures of historical and architectural importance;

(f) Whereas, it is poor planning to approve waterfront land uses on an ad hoc basis, rather than as part of a comprehensive waterfront land use plan;

(g) Whereas, it is in the interest of San Francisco to develop a strong and economically vital waterfront with adequate public access to and restoration of San Francisco Bay; and

(h) Whereas, changing conditions in the maritime industry such as deeper draft vessels and increased awareness of the negative environmental impacts of dredging and dredge-spoil dumping indicate that cargo handling at the Port of San Francisco could increase dramatically;

Therefore the people of San Francisco declare that it is the policy of the City and County of San Francisco that:

(a) The waterfront be reserved for maritime uses, public access, and projects which aid in the preservation and restoration of the environment;

(b) Where such land uses are infeasible or impossible, only acceptable non-maritime land uses as set forth in this ordinance shall be allowed;

(c) A waterfront land use plan shall be prepared (as set forth in Section 61.2 of this ordinance) to further define acceptable and unacceptable non-maritime land uses and to assign land uses for specific waterfront parcels.

(Added by Proposition H, 11/6/90)