The Loma Prietan
July/August 2002
What's Happening on the Coastside?
In this issue we offer you a compendium of articles about environmental issues
on the San Mateo County Coast, written by members of the Loma Prieta Chapter.
If you would like to get involved in coastal issues, please attend the
Coastal Activists meeting in Half Moon Bay,
or contact Cordell Koland at 650/712-8510.
Wavecrest Development
by Cordell Koland
Imagine the stunning sunsets coastal visitors are treated to across an undeveloped section of coastal blufftop between Highway 1 and the Pacific Ocean at the southern end of Half Moon Bay. Right now, you don't have to imagine this pristine area because it is still there—you can see it for yourself. But if developers have their way, Wavecrest as magnificent open space will be but a memory.
The development plan is to construct 225 market-rate single-family homes, 54 affordable housing units, a middle school, a Boys and Girls Club, as well as 150,000 square feet of office space and 15,000 square feet of retail space—in short, a major coastal development.
Environmentalists are concerned that the proposal will destroy valuable wetlands as well as one of the most valuable raptor habitats in the Bay Area. Quality of life advocates fear that the center of Coastside population will be permanently relocated southward and will threaten the viability of the quaint downtown area. Other residents see increased traffic congestion on overburdened Highway 1, which is already well beyond capacity.
The Wavecrest project has been before the California Coastal Commission several times and each time it has continued to allow the developer to fill critical gaps in the information supplied to the Commission. The Sierra Club has made the rejection of Wavecrest a high-priority issue, but the battle is far from over. The local school board, which is politically joined at the hip with local development interests, remains adamant about building a replacement for the Coastside's only middle school at the site, despite the protests of many local parents and residents.
County LCP Update for the coast
by Cordell Koland
San Mateo County is in the process of revising the Local Coast Program for the unincorporated area of the Coastside, including the communities of Miramar, El Granada, Princeton, Moss Beach and Montara. This part of the coast has been growing more rapidly and does not have as restrictive development ordinances as Half Moon Bay. As defined by the Coastal Commission, "Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) are the basic planning tools used to carry out the partnership between the State and local government as stewards of California's spectacular and precious natural treasure—its 1,100 mile coastline. LCPs identify the location, type, density, and other ground rules for future development in the coastal zone portions of the 73 cities and counties along the California coast."
At issue currently is the rate of growth, the build-out numbers, use of substandard lots and lot coverage. The San Mateo County Supervisors have set in motion a planning process that has excluded the elected bodies on the Coastside, and have developed an extended series of public meetings that give equal voice to local residents as it does to non-Coastside pro-development interests who want accelerated growth. The make-up of the revised LCP will impact Coastside growth and density for years to come.
Devil's Slide Tunnel
by Chris Thollaug
Progress continues on a solution to the decades-long controversy regarding the unstable roadway on Highway 1 at Devil's Slide. On April 30th, 2002 the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) approved the Second Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Report identifying a tunnel as the preferred alternative for repair, officially replacing an inland highway bypass judged by the Sierra Club to be growth-inducing and disasterous to the environment.
This latest development follows the landslide victory of Measure T, a citizen's initative passed overwhelmingly by San Mateo County voters in 1996, following a road closure of 158 days in 1995. In 1997 the Coastal Commission certified incorporation of the tunnel solution into the San Mateo County LCP. Since 1997, an exhaustingly thorough environmental review process has been underway to minimize the environmental impacts of the project while ensuring compliance with Coastal Act requirements promoting public access.
In stark contrast to the decades of legal battles waged by the Sierra Club to stop the bypass, the period following passage of Measure T has seen close cooperation between Caltrans, other governmental agencies, and environmental groups. San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon presides over well-attended, regular meetings of all the constituencies, carrying on the advocacy of Supervisors Ted Lempert and Ruben Barrales.
Since passage of Measure T in 1996, construction cost estimates for the twin-bore, two-lane, 4,000-foot tunnel have more than doubled, from $113 million to $272 million. Caltrans attributes this to less favorable market conditions, new seismic standards, and increased environmental mitigation costs. In relative terms it still remains a cost-effective solution; factoring these same inflationary factors into cost estimates for the many major cuts, fills, and bridges of the 4.3 mile bypass would generate a stupendous cost. Nevertheless, funding remains the last obstacle before the three-year construction can commence. The project remains eligible for federal emergency relief funding, and is approved in the 1998 and 2000 State Transportation Improvement Programs (STIP) .
Club members should be enormously proud of the Club's successful 30-year battle to save the coast at Devil's Slide.
Pacifica's Trammel Crowe Project
by Bob Pilgrim
On July 8, 2002 the Pacifica City Council acting as the Redevelopment Agency will hold a public hearing for the purpose of (1) amending the Redevelopment Plan for the Pacific Village Center Redevelopment Project; and (2) adopting a finding of adequacy of the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) and certifying it. In the event the City Council amends the Redevelopment Plan and certifies the FEIR, they will approve the development of the Trammel Crowe Pacifica Village Center in a sensitive coastal resource area west of Highway 1 which is now a reclaimed quarry.
The proposed Trammel Crowe project Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) projects a complete buildout of the reclaimed quarry (about 60 acres). This would amount to in excess of 2,000,000 feet of urban, intense development, very much like what is found in Daly City, particularly around the Serramonte shopping center.
The DEIR reveals 68 Claifornia Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and State Coastal Act significant adverse impacts. Among them are: (1) potential catastrophic risk to endangered species (San Francisco garter snake and red-legged frog); (2) significant adverse and irreversible air quality impact; (3) significant adverse and growth-
inducing impact on traffic and circulation; (4) amending the Pacifica Local Coastal Program and Land Use Policies (LCPLUP) to facilitate urban intense development in the quarry sub area. The list goes on.
After reviewing numerous documents related to the Redevelopment Agency's activities in West Rockaway Beach and the quarry sub area over a period of sixteen years, I believe that the Redevelopment Agency's attempt to amend the Pacifica LCPLUP will create environmental carnage on a scale seldom, if ever, seen in a sensitive coastal resource area. The net effect of the Redevelopment Agency's activities could easily establish a precedent-setting dynamic which could result in nullifying the legislative intent of the State Coastal Act. Thus the perfidious acts of the Redevelopment Agency is anathema to those of us who worked for Proposition 20, which later became the State Coastal Act.
Many residents of Pacifica are sensitive to their environment. However, there seem to be others who could care less about coastal land use matters and their environment. The facts indicate that over the years the Redevelopment Agency (City Council) has built on the views of those less sensitive in their attempt to urbanize the coastal zone.
Finally, at this point our collective vigilance has paid off. We have identified a real threat, not only to the coastal zone in Pacifica, but potentially to the coastal zone of the entire state. Clearly, an effective remedy is needed to eliminate the immediate threat, and future threats of a similar nature. Local Loma Prieta members are encouraged to attend the public hearing on the evening of July 8, 2002.
Mirada Surf
by Julia Bott
Mirada Surf, a 49-acre parcel located at the south end of El Granada, has been identified for open space and public recreation on the General Plan and Local Coastal Plan maps for over 20 years.
However, just being identified by the county as a park is no protection. The land was privately held, and unless the property was purchased, the owners still had a right to develop their land. Coastal activists have opposed numerous development proposals for the site over the last two decades. They weren't just fighting the proposals; they were fighting for a park.
In January 2002, the County of San Mateo authorized half the required funds, approximately $3 million, towards the purchase of Mirada Surf. The San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation is raising the remaining $3 million through grants and donations.
Nestled between the northern boundary of Half Moon Bay and the southern edge of El Granada, this property is a natural greenbelt. The property lies on both sides of Highway 1. The mixed terrain supports numerous habitats, including coastal bluff, a creek with healthy native willows, seasonal wetlands, grasslands, and forested hillsides. The bluff, just south of Surfers' Beach, is the only undeveloped coastal bluff in the area.
Coastal Trail advocates are ecstatic about the proposed purchase. Once funding is secured, planning can begin to complete this segment of the trail, the missing link between Pillar Point Harbor and the city of Half Moon Bay.
The property also provides other opportunities for improved access and recreation. A section of a proposed regional trail, the Mid-Coast Foothill Trail, and the proposed 2.3-mile Scarper View Trail would be located on this property. The Scarper View Trail could provide access and linkage with Quarry Park, the Bay Area Ridge Trail, and future Golden Gate National Recreation Area lands.
Benefits of the Mirada Surf purchase include establishing a permanent greenbelt, preserving coastal and hillside views from Highway 1, protection of sensitive wetlands and arroyo willows, public ownership of proposed regional trail segments, and opportunities to improve safety and parking for coastal access.
To help, please contact the San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation at 215 Bay Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025; 650/321-5812.