Judge's ruling allows Coastside annexation by open space district Judge's ruling allows Coastside annexation by open space district (September 08, 2004)

By Renee Batti
Almanac News Editor

Open space advocates and Coastside protectionists are celebrating a September 3 court decision allowing annexation of 220 square miles of San Mateo County coastal land to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

Judge Carl Holm last Friday issued a three-page ruling rejecting annexation opponents' claim that they had gathered enough protest petitions to require the matter to go to a vote.

He also lifted the temporary restraining order issued July 13 that halted the process launched in April, when the county's Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo), which governs jurisdictional boundaries in the county, approved the annexation.

LAFCo was expected to file its official "certificate of completion" documents Friday afternoon after the judge's order was issued, making the Coastside from the southern boundary of Pacifica to the Santa Cruz County boundary officially part of the open space district.

The April annexation approval came after years of public hearings, an advisory vote, and the arduous hammering-out of contentious issues by the open space district and Coastside property owners. Those discussions and attempts to allay property owners' fears led to the crafting of an agreement prohibiting the district from taking land by eminent domain.

The ruling ends months of wrangling between annexation supporters and a group of opponents who filed a lawsuit and won the temporary restraining order. The two parties met in San Mateo County Superior Court three days in July and three days in August to present their cases.

Opponents contended that the county elections office had thrown out too many of the protest petitions they had submitted to put the question on the ballot. They needed 4,071 signatures to qualify a measure for the ballot.

But the elections office ultimately validated fewer than 3,450, rejecting hundreds. Elections officials determined that about 375 protests had been altered after they were signed; 170 were from people living outside the annexation area; and about 340 were from people not registered to vote. They also found that a significant number of the protests were duplicates -- with some individuals submitting as many as five protests.

The annexation, endorsed by the San Mateo County Farm Bureau and the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce, clears the way for the open space district to buy land from willing sellers to protect the Coastside from over-development and urban sprawl.

"Farmers, conservationists and business leaders agree that the Coastside protection program is the best way to preserve this region's unique rural and agricultural heritage," said the district's general manager, Craig Britton, in a news release issued after the court ruling.

Mary Davey, president of the district's board, said: "This is a tremendous win for all coastsiders, all citizens of San Mateo County and its magnificent natural environment. We are grateful to all of the countless residents who have provided their input, suggestions and support over the years."

The district now will conduct workshops on the Coastside to gather public input on how to proceed with certain matters, including establishing new ward boundaries and redistricting -- a process needed for democratic representation of Coastside residents in the open space district, according to district spokesman Rudy Jurgensen.

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