Strybing charging fees, but to reconsider in year

On May 25 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8 - 3 to charge non-residents entrance fees at the Strybing Arboretum. Admission will continue to be free for San Francisco residents (with identification), but for out-of-towners, the fee will be $7 for adults, $5 for ages 12 - 17, and $2 for 2 - 11-year-olds.

Is our lovely public domain of an arboretum locked forever? There is a chance that the fees can be rescinded, particularly if they do not net the predicted $250,000. The Sierra Club calculates that the fee will cost more to collect than it will bring in.

Within the new ordinance there are two provisions for re-examination. The collection of fees is to be reported twice a year, and the ordinance will sunset after a year. The ordinance also provides that if a new tax should come into the city's General Fund, the fees will be rescinded in 90 days.

Pinky Kushner, San Francisco Group Executive Committee