San Francisco Big Air - new update - late Sept targeted

Ski jump organizers hope new plan flies
Tahoe wax company tries to make amends in Pacific Heights

- Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, September 8, 2005


Plans to put a ski jump in Pacific Heights are up and flying once more.

After the city and event organizers postponed plans to put 200 tons of snow and a ski jump on Fillmore Street for Jonny Moseley's 30th birthday Aug. 27, organizers are now hoping to stage the event in late September.

Icer, the Tahoe-based snowboard wax company organizing the event, intends to resubmit its permit application to the city today, said Sian Parry, a spokesman for the company.

"Nothing is set in stone yet," Parry said. "Icer is working diligently to make this event positive and fun for everyone -- neighbors, the community and the city."

But some of the same Pacific Heights residents who mobilized to melt the plans for the event last month say they will be watching to see whether concerns they raised in August will be addressed this time around.

The event, dubbed Icer Air 2005, was to have featured Olympic gold medalist Moseley and 20 other professional skiers and snowboarders soaring off a ski jump on Fillmore Street between Broadway and Green streets, in the heart of one of the city's grandest neighborhoods.

It was expected to draw thousands of fans and be filmed for MTV. Neighbors and city officials, however, raised objections over safety, crowd control, insurance, liability, property damage, snow removal and other issues. After a barrage of publicity, Mayor Gavin Newsom and Icer agreed to postpone the event just 72 hours before it was to start.

Among those who were most vexed and vocal about the potential disruption was Laurie Beijen, a bride whose wedding at the historic Flood Mansion at Fillmore and Broadway was scheduled to coincide with the Icer Air 2005 awards ceremony.

A call to the Flood Mansion inquiring about whether other brides and grooms have booked the elegant estate in late September went unreturned Wednesday.

New plans for Icer Air 2005 will have "fairly significant" changes, assures Rob Black, aide to Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, whose district includes the scenic two-block stretch of Fillmore where the ski jump would be built.

"There have been a lot of questions about this event, and the hope is that at this stage they'll have some answers," Black said.

Alioto-Pier's legislative staffers met with Icer representatives and neighbors last week to discuss their concerns.

"We are pushing very hard to re-engage the neighborhood in a meaningful way," Black said. "We have to make sure this event is done well, if it happens at all."

Among the changes under consideration is moving the event from a weekend to a Thursday. Currently, Icer is aiming for Thursday, Sept. 29.

Icer plans to hold another community meeting at 6:30 p.m. next Thursday at Calvary Presbyterian Church on Fillmore Street.

The city committee that issues permits for street closures will consider Icer's permit application at its Sept. 22 meeting.

The Interdepartmental Staff Committee on Traffic and Transportation hasn't yet set a time and place for the session, said spokeswoman Cindy Shamban. The hearing may be moved from the committee's usual meeting space because of the number of people expected to attend.

Neighbors already are circulating e-mails encouraging attendance at the community meeting next Thursday and the Sept. 22 hearing.

Connie McCole, one of the Pacific Heights residents most concerned about the event, said it was too early to comment because no one knew what the new plans would be.

"It's kind of vague right now," she said. "Icer is holding the key."

E-mail Carolyn Jones at cjones@sfchronicle.com.