San Francisco's Presidio faces challenges over development

So there was little surprise when public outrage erupted after the trust that operates the sprawling former military post announced this year that it planned to build an upscale hotel and massive art museum at the heart of the Presidio.

The loud public bickering has underscored a predicament for the Presidio, which was transferred to the national park system in 1994 with a mandate that it be financially self-sufficient by 2012.

Getting there has required an uncommon commercialization plan that discomfits those who prefer their national parks without the branding. It means that history buffs who stroll among the Presidio's grand buildings also pass coffee shops, yoga studios and other storefronts.

Although most people have adjusted to the commercial hum in the background, the question now is how far is too far, and whether self-sufficiency requires bowing to influential philanthropists and private development companies.

At issue is a plan to transform the Main Post -- a blend of 19th-century buildings and twin parade grounds that sit on a rise -- so it sweeps down to the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The former officers' club and barracks were once the busy hub of the Army's 150-year presence here. A grassy parade ground long since gave way to an asphalt parking lot, nearly empty on most days.

Few argue with plans that would bring the grass back and "re-animate" the post. But critics say four of the five alternative proposals are little more than show. The Presidio Trust, they say, is trying to railroad through a 100,000-square-foot contemporary art museum and a 95,000-square-foot hotel. A host of smaller projects are included in the plan.

The debate has been public and acrimonious. The fire marshal was called when more than 700 people crowded into an overflowing public meeting in July, where Mayor Gavin Newsom was roundly booed for supporting the project. For six hours, the trust's board members listened to a parade of citizens excoriating the favored proposal as "an insult to the Main Post" and telling them "you will suffocate history."

Another speaker, a retired attorney, echoed what many others said that night, suggesting that because a wealthy and influential couple were behind the proposed museum, "the fix was in."