Wilson Hands Treasure Island to Willie Brown

SACRAMENTO —  Flat, man-made Treasure Island, sitting serenely in the middle of San Francisco Bay, surrounded on three sides by postcard views and made easily accessible by the Bay Bridge, is a Northern California wonder.

Built in the true San Francisco spirit--to celebrate completion of the huge, two-stage bridge in 1939--the 404-acre sand-fill island remained a party scene and sometime airport for civilian seaplanes until World War II intervened.

“TI” and its naturally formed adjacent neighbor, Yerba Buena Island, became a Navy station for the next half a century.

But the Navy left this year and the new landlord is the city and county of San Francisco. And now it appears the island’s future lies in the hands of one man: San Francisco Mayor and former Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

Using the political acumen learned over three decades in Sacramento, Brown and his allies nursed an authorizing bill through the Legislature. And one of Brown’s old rivals, Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, signed it into law.

A longtime nemesis, Sen. Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco), cried “power grab,” but Brown won the day.

Wilson signed the measure (AB 699) by Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) placing authority over Treasure Island’s future development with a panel handpicked by Brown.

Brown’s plans for the island are unspecified, but he has given his preliminary approval for entertainment uses, a women’s jail, preserving a present federal Jobs Corps site and facilities for training firefighters.

Given Brown’s tastes for the good life, the entertainment component is expected to stand out. Local news reports have mentioned proposals to create a vacation spot that might include a golf course, hotels, restaurants and theme park attractions.

Filmmakers already use Treasure Island’s former Navy hangars for sound stages. Much of the television series “Nash Bridges” is shot there.

Whatever the island’s future, Brown loyalists occupy the key positions, both for planning and maintaining control, as well as on the Board of Supervisors, which will exercise final oversight.

Five mayoral appointees to the temporary Treasure Island Development Authority have already been named and are reviewing recommendations for the island’s future.

In addition, members of Brown’s office have set up shop on the island, headed by Director Larry Florin and including Brown’s former girlfriend, Wendy Linka.

Linka, who took up residence on Yerba Buena Island in a building next to a mansion once used by admirals, is the project’s marketing director. She lives on the site “because I needed a caretaker,” said Florin.

Brown and Linka were not available for comment.

The mayor’s authority over the island’s development derives from the Migden bill that Wilson signed, which combines the various powers needed to approve redevelopment plans into a single authority.

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Echoing arguments used by Brown’s allies, Wilson said in signing the bill Sunday that “by granting authority solely to the Treasure Island Development Authority, it . . . eliminates any overlapping jurisdictional disputes between competing agencies.”

Kopp, the project’s most outspoken opponent, said that San Francisco’s current redevelopment agency would have sufficed and would not have concentrated so much power in the mayor’s hands.

By creating the bureaucracy, Kopp said, Brown will be able to circumvent tougher city- and county-mandated standards on competitive bidding and conflicts of interest. Amendments by Kopp to insert such protections into the legislation were watered down in the state Senate by Sen. John Burton (D-San Francisco), Brown’s longtime ally and friend.

However, state agencies with a stake in changes that may take place at Treasure Island said their interests were protected in the Migden bill, including, for example, rights of way maintained by Caltrans.

Will Travis, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, another state agency, said the authority established for Treasure Island did not appear to be unique as redevelopment agencies go.

“It didn’t raise an issue when it came up on our radar screen,” Travis said.

Migden, who carried the bill after it was drafted in the mayor’s office, said Brown crossed no forbidden lines and did what any astute political leader would.

“He shouldn’t be faulted for winning support through agility and cleverness,” she said.

In other bill action, Wilson:

* Signed a package of bills aimed at turning young people away from crime, including a program allowing authorities to intervene with incorrigible youths who have not yet broken the law, (SB 1050) by Sen. Dede Alpert (D-Coronado). Another (SB 526) by Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) appropriates $250,000 for the California Youth Authority for buying two tattoo removal machines for use on at-risk young people as they seek employment.

* Vetoed a bill (AB 1099) by Assemblywoman Migden that would have allowed HIV and AIDS patients to return to work if able to do so and continue receiving Medi-Cal paid treatment. Wilson cited “ambiguities” and conflict with federal law.

* Vetoed a bill (AB 179) by Assemblywoman Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey) that would have required state agencies to provide computerized public records. Wilson said it would add “costs and rigidity” to specify the form that documents are presented on demand to the public.