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Publication Date: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 Whither the Coast? Can a low-key government agency help preserve the still-unspoiled San Mateo County coast from sprawl and development?
Whither the Coast? Can a low-key government agency help preserve the still-unspoiled San Mateo County coast from sprawl and development?
(March 03, 2004) By Marion Softky
Almanac Staff Writer
How many of us realize what a miracle the San Mateo County coast is?
Within an hour's drive of seven million people, it's a different world from Megalopolis-by-the-Bay. Waves chew the beaches and bluffs at the edge of a continent; farmers still grow artichokes, Brussels sprouts, and flowers on open coastal terraces, while hills, canyons and redwood forests stretch, mostly unblemished, to Skyline Ridge.
"It's a miracle that the San Mateo coast hasn't suffered the fate of so many other national treasures around the world which have been paved over by sprawling development," says singer, songwriter and peace activist Joan Baez of Woodside.
So far, the coast we love to visit with families and friends has escaped becoming another Daly City, mostly by mountains that blocked access, lack of water, and -- for the last 30 years -- the rising movement to protect the environment.
New regulations by the county, the California Coastal Commission, and a variety of agencies guarding wildlife and water, make it harder to develop open land -- and in some cases, even farm it. Parks, open space preserves, and land conservancies now protect thousands of acres from Skyline Ridge to the beaches.
The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), a land conservancy based in Menlo Park, has already bought more than 10,000 acres on the Coastside to preserve it for open space and agriculture.
But for how long can the coast retain its habitats and beauty in the face of ever-increasing pressures from the world economic engine across the hills?
Ms. Baez answers her own question, "We need long-term protection of its spectacular views, open space and farm fields to afford our children and grandchildren a place to breathe clean air and restore themselves in nature."
Hearings will begin next Tuesday in Half Moon Bay on a far-reaching proposal to help keep the Coastside rural. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (called "Mid-Pen" on the Coastside) is applying to expand its boundaries to include the entire Coastside, from the southern boundary of Pacifica to the Santa Cruz County line, and from current district boundaries west of Skyline to the Pacific Ocean.
The district hopes to build on its experience in saving land on the Bayside and the hills to help preserve land on the coast. Founded in 1972, it has acquired and manages almost 50,000 acres from Los Gatos to San Carlos, and from the Bay to the mountains, for open space, resource protection, and low-intensity recreation.
If the expansion is approved, the district could buy and manage land in an additional 140,000 acres -- 220 square miles -- of the San Mateo County coast. Over the next 15 years, it plans to acquire fewer than 12,000 acres. It has promised never to use the power to condemn land in the expansion area, and is sponsoring legislation to embed that promise in state law.
"Our program is a modest one," says district General Manager Craig Britton. "I see kind of a slow growth west from our existing boundaries. It's easier to manage land near existing preserves."
"The Coastside Protection Program is the best way to protect the physical and economic integrity of the coast for future residents, farmers, businesses and visitors," says Board President Mary Davey of Los Altos. "We treasure the agricultural heritage of the coast."
Ruling on the application will be an obscure but powerful government agency called LAFCo (for Local Agency Formation Commission), which rules on boundary changes for local governments. The seven-member commission for San Mateo County plans hearings Tuesday, March 9, in Half Moon Bay and Wednesday, March 17, in Redwood City.
Support for the expansion appears to be surging, both on the Coastside and the Bayside of the Peninsula. Many were surprised when the board of the San Mateo County Farm Bureau, an advocacy group for farmers, voted unanimously to support the expansion.
"We think it's going to be a good partnership, and a win-win for both sides," said Executive Manager Jack Olsen, who has had an edgy relationship with Mid-Pen and its ally, POST, over the years. He was pleased with the district's willingness to give up eminent domain -- a sore point on the Coastside -- and its offer to work with the Farm Bureau on forging individual agriculture plans.
Just last week, the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to endorse the expansion, which could boost the chamber's new campaign to promote eco-tourism. "In some way or another, all members of the chamber will benefit from the Coastside Protection Program," says Chris Mickelsen, government affairs director, who operates the Harbor House conference center in Princeton. "The support is overwhelming."
On this side of the hills, the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group supports the expansion. So do 14 out of the 16 cities already within the district. Only Woodside and Menlo Park have not yet taken a position.
Nevertheless, persistent and passionate opponents, who have honed their arguments over six years of planning, will keep the hearings lively. Much of the opposition comes from the rural South Coast, where residents are deeply protective of property rights and frustrated by their distance from the governments that control many aspects of their lives.
The Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council has repeatedly opposed the annexation, and asked to be left out of the area to be annexed. PMAC member Carol Simon does not worry about the threat of development. The northern area around Half Moon Bay is more threatened, she says over coffee and home-made pie at Duarte's Tavern. "Pescadero is not threatened by runaway development. It's more threatened by extinction," she says.
Audrey Rust, president and CEO of POST, disagrees. The threat is not Daly City-type row houses, she says. "The threat is second and third and fourth home development. When we bought 1,700 acres of Bolsa Point (near pigeon point) from Vince Muzzi, he had the right to build 51 houses, some west of Highway 1."
Ms. Rust adds: "There's only one Pacific Coast in the U.S. It's an extremely important place for people and wildlife."
Coastside Protection Program
"This is a program where there are no new taxes," says Mr. Britton.
The district will finance its purchases and management on the coast through the existing property tax it collects within in its current boundaries; no taxes will be collected from the new area. With a budget of some $18 million a year, it can leverage money from many sources. "Grants and gifts account for 80 percent of the land we buy," Mr Britton says.
The district's Coastside Protection Program has evolved over six years of meetings, hearings and study. Some 40 workshops and meetings were held on the coast. An advisory election in 1998 showed strong support in the Mid-Coast region around Half Moon Bay, but opposition in the rural South Coast and Pescadero area.
If the district expands, it will also redraw the boundaries of its seven wards to include the new voters.
Under its Coastside Protection Program, the district could buy lands only from willing sellers; it could manage land for other agencies such as POST, and it could work with farmers in a variety of ways. It could buy land, or easements to hold land in agriculture, for example. It could lease land to farmers, or sell it back to them with agricultural easements.
"We see this as a great opportunity," Mr. Britton says. "It depends on what the landowner wants to do."
Ms. Rust of POST hopes to enlist Mid-Pen to manage some of its non-agricultural lands to preserve the resources, and for limited public recreation. "Our hope is to begin to develop plans for trails and public use," she says.
The district also hopes to be able to help local agencies with other problems. Its ranger staff will bring an increased presence for emergency services and fire protection, for example. And the district is working with a group studying the protection of watersheds, and developing off-stream water sources for farmers, Mr. Britton says.
The district is also talking with agencies concerned about loss of property tax revenue when lands become public and go off the tax rolls. "We did a fiscal analysis, and concluded there is no major effect on any agency," Mr. Britton says. The district is currently negotiating with the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District to develop ways to support educational programs, he adds.
So far the LAFCos in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties have supported the expansion proposal. The next step is the hearing before the San Mateo County LAFCo.
Threat or opportunity?
Views of Coastside residents about the proposed expansion are as diverse as the people that live in its cities, villages, forests and farms. They range from enthusiastic support, to libertarian, anti-government diatribes couched in millennial rhetoric.
"The expansion represents an important way of preserving coastal open space and agriculture on the coast," says Catherine Slater-Carter, who chairs the Mid-Coast Community Council, an elected group that advises the Board of Supervisors, and serves on the board of the Montara Water and Sanitary District.
Zoe Kersteen-Tucker of Moss Beach, spokeswoman for the recently formed Coastal Open Space Alliance, reports that COSA weekend volunteers at tables outside the Half Moon Bay Safeway have already enlisted more than 600 supporters. "I have seen a tremendous amount of grass roots endorsement, even from Pescadero," she says.
Most surprising has been the support of the Farm Bureau. "This is a huge step," says Half Moon Bay farmer John Muller, who helped hammer out the agreement between old antagonists. "The environmental movement realizes it can't go it alone. Farmers and landowners agree they can't go it alone. We need the environmental movement to help us stay in agriculture."
That feeling hasn't moved to Pescadero, where many residents still feel isolated and disenfranchised. Catherine Peery of the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council, argues the open space district may be good for Half Moon Bay, but the South Coast doesn't need it.
"We believe the local farmers are better at managing the land than the open space district," she says. "The encroachment of open space puts more pressure on the farmers. This little village will blow away some day if we don't revitalize the economy."
Ms. Simon feels disheartened. "We have all this land, but we don't have the votes," she says. "There is a lot of pressure on this community already. This is the last straw."
Some of the opposition appears to be fed by fear -- fear of change, fear for property rights.
The fear for property rights, at least, has been reduced by the district's commitment to seek state legislation that would prohibit the district from using the power of eminent domain in the expansion area. That legislation has already been introduced and approved by one committee.
Property rights advocate Kurt Heiner of La Honda says that giving up eminent domain, "absolutely would make a difference." Still he cites other concerns: preserving services such as school and fire; accountability; and better management of the district's existing lands. "But if we get rid of eminent domain, the opposition would be much less strenuous," he says.
Ms. Davey notes there is massive misunderstanding and confusion about what power the district would have. "Some of it is calculated misinformation," she says. "Some people still think we will violate property rights, even though we will work only with willing sellers. We will work with farmers and landowners to assure continuation of agriculture on the coast."
Still fighting the expansion is Coastside activist Oscar Braun, who has already sued to block it. One of his many projects is incorporation of 100,000 acres of the rural Coastside into a new town to be called "The Hamlets." Last week he asked LAFCo to delay the hearing because he claimed the district's application was incomplete.
Mr. Muller calls for building trust, something that has been too long lacking between different factions. "How do we break down the barriers of the trust factor?" he asks. "We really need to look together at ways to preserve agriculture. We want to be farmers."
Ms. Kersteen-Tucker believes things are changing on the coast. "New relationships are developing. Democratic representation will help us address some of the tension points."
She concludes, "I think Mid-Pen can be an ambassador to establish more trust."
For your information
The San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) will open its public hearing on the application of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to expand its boundaries to include the Coastside at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 9, at the Ted Adcock Community Senior Center, 535 Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay.
LAFCo will continue the hearing in Redwood City at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, at 400 County Center (corner of Hamilton Avenue and Bradford Street). It may make a decision at that meeting, or continue it until a later meeting.
If LAFCo approves the expansion, opponents can protest the decision by gathering signatures for a protest hearing. If 25 percent of registered voters or 25 percent of landowners owning 25 percent of the assessed value file a written protest, the issue will be decided by an election, according to LAFCo Executive Director Martha Poyatos. If 50 percent protest, the expansion is dead.
For further information, here are some telephone numbers and Web sites:
** LAFCo: 363-4224; www.sanmateolafco.org
** Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District: 691-1200; www.openspace.org
** Peninsula Open Space Trust: 854-7696; www.openspacetrust.org
** San Mateo County Farm Bureau: 726-4485; www.cfbf.com/counties/co-41.htm
** Coastal Open Space Alliance: 728-2823; www.CoastalOpenSpace.org
** Californians for Property Rights: 415-608-2331;
www.the-peoples-voice.org
** Oscar Braun: 726-3307; several linked Web sites, including www.cwposse.org,
www.5thcolumnvs.us, and others.
Atherton endorses expansion plan
Atherton recently endorsed the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's plan to incorporate part of the Coastside. The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution February 18 supporting the district's expansion to the San Mateo County coast, joining 13 other cities in the county that have adopted similar proposals.
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