Golden Gate Park Ferris wheel’s fate turns on S.F. supervisors’ vote
Whether the muchloved and muchhated SkyStar Observation Wheel in Golden Gate Park will keep turning for one year or for four years was to be determined by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at its Tuesday meeting.
By a 30 vote, the board’s Rules Committee on Monday referred the big wheel’s fate to the full 11member board, thereby undercutting earlier recommendations of the Recreation and Park Commission that the 150foot lighted amusement in the Music Concourse be extended for four years in the interest of economic recovery from the pandemic.
“If economic recovery in my district is dependent upon a wheel, then I am not doing my job,” said Supervisor Connie Chan, whose district includes most of the park. She introduced the resolution to extend the wheel by just one year to compensate for the year of operation lost to the pandemic.
The Rules Committee decision came at the end of the usual two or three hours of public testimony, mostly pitting park and wildlife advocates against advocates for kidfriendly amusements and business interests who see the wheel as an engine of economic growth and a boost for tourism.
The observation wheel is owned and operated by SkyView Partners in St. Louis and was trucked to San Francisco in early 2020 to serve as a major draw for the park’s 150th anniversary celebration, which was scheduled to open April 4, 2020, and last one year. But the pandemic stayathome order postponed the park celebration indefinitely and, as a result, the SkyStar ran for only 39 days in 2020. It finally opened again when the city was moved from the purple tier to the red tier earlier this month.
The resolution approved by both the Rec and Park and Historic Preservation commissions extends the agreement until March 1, 2025. The resolution by the Board of Supervisors is to extend the wheel’s operation permit until Feb. 7, 2022, and require that it by fully removed by March 15, 2022.
“A deal is a deal, and COVID has changed many landscapes, but the wheel went up during COVID knowing that COVID was here,” Peskin said in arguing for only a oneyear extension. “This is consistent with the original deal relative to recouping money and relative to the 150th anniversary celebration of Golden Gate Park, a party that has not happened.”
One caller to the hearing Monday said, “Golden Gate Park is a crown jewel. Why on Earth do we need a Ferris wheel to attract visitors?”
That is the whole point, according to its promoters.
“We need the entertainment options. We need the jobs. We need the income,” another caller said.
Some callers expressed irritation that the Board of Supervisors was weighing in on an issue that had already been decided by two committees.
“What good is it to have any commissions if the board can just override it if it doesn’t like the decision?” said one caller.
But Peskin was waiting for this one. He cited the city charter, bolstered by voter referendum, that made it clear that the Board of Supervisors has the final word on any major contract involving Golden Gate Park.