Proponents of an 800-space parking garage underneath the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park got their way July 24 when the San Francisco Planning Commission reversed its position and voted 6-1 to certify an environmental-impact report on the project.

Just one week earlier, on July 17, commissioners unanimously voted to reject the document (see Hall Monitor, 7/23/03). At the time they said they were unhappy with plans to destroy a pedestrian tunnel and remove a swath of trees – both of which have stood at the site for more than 100 years. The San Francisco Landmarks Advisory Board and the private organization San Francisco Architectural Heritage had advised planners that demolition of the tunnel would ruin the historic character of the concourse. The project's supporters and planning staffers say it would not.

Shortly after the July 17 vote, the political forces behind the garage started pressuring the commissioners, claiming they had in effect killed the project, city hall insiders told us. But that claim wasn't exactly true. Planning experts say the project's sponsor, the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority, could have changed the plan to protect the southwest tunnel and trees and then presented it again to the Planning Commission.

But saving the tunnel would add a few million bucks to the roughly $60 million price tag for the garage, and project supporters are seeking to keep down costs. Last year private interests raising funds for the structure nixed a more expensive and environmentally friendly design – after it was approved by the Concourse Authority (see "Hellman's Hole," 2/5/03).

Moreover, the garage's backers are anxious for the project to proceed. Indeed, one land-use attorney who asked not to be named told us the vote reversal was "highly unusual" and evidence of the powerful political forces behind the garage. The matter is now headed to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.