"The removal process had been put on hold last month following a last-ditch court filing in February by preservationists, and that motion for an injunction to halt the removal was denied by a judge on April 9."
"Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ross sided with city officials and building inspectors who have said that the fountain is full of asbestos and is in poor enough physical shape that it poses a public safety hazard."
"Friends of the Plaza has been arguing that the city's findings regarding the cost to repair the fountain were overblown, and that the 1972 sculptural work by Canadian artist Armand Vaillancourt warranted preservation."
"Plans to remove the fountain first came to light a year ago, only after some renderings were revealed of a proposed $32.5 million renovation of Embarcadero Plaza."
The removal of the Vaillancourt Fountain at Embarcadero Plaza is set to start next week after a lengthy debate over its preservation. A crew will begin disassembling the fountain, which weighs 700 tons, due to safety hazards including asbestos. A judge denied a preservationist group's request to halt the removal, siding with city officials who deemed the fountain unsafe. A lawsuit to save the fountain is scheduled for trial in August, which could potentially lead to its reassembly if the ruling favors preservationists.
Read at sfist.com
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