In what looks to be another growing Mission neighborhood brouhaha, Ritual Coffee Roasters is planning to create a parklet in front of its cafe and some of its residential neighbors, particularly in the Liberty Hill Neighborhood Association, aren’t too thrilled.

While parklets are considered by many a way for communities to beautify and gather around common spaces, the “reclaimed” mini-parks do have some cons. In this instance, the Ritual parklet will take up two coveted parking spots on Valencia Street. There are also concerns about increased pedestrian traffic, noise, and trash.

A recent Examiner piece stated that, “Ritual Coffee Roasters owner Eileen Hassi, in a letter to neighbors, said that the added space in front of the store would in fact help with the crowds outside of the coffeehouse by moving bike racks into the street and by providing outdoor seating.”

Hassi goes on to say that she has been planning this project since 2005. Ironically, in this example of a quite successful business taking over a public space, “In September, Hassi criticized a permit that would have allowed the owner of Blue Bottle Coffee to operate in Dolores Park.” Hm.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner.

Photo credit: Bryan Goebel, http://sf.streetsblog.org

• Tag: controversy, mission, Neighborhoods, parklets, Ritual