The Chron has a nice story on the return of the San Francisco garter snake to its eponymous city.  It covers some of the same territory as the press release Coastsider ran earlier, but it’s a lot more fun to read.  The reporter also goes to Mori Point in Pacifica to see some restored habitat, where one endangered species (said snake) dines on another (the California red-legged frog).

Siobhan Smith is Half Moon Bay’s new City Clerk. Siobhan has been, until the end of today, Deputy City Clerk and Executive Assistant to the City Manager, I’m happy to report this promotion. Siobhan has been unfailingly helpful and responsive whenever I’ve called City Hall, or shown up looking for information.

City Managaer Debra Ryan has hired Siobhan into the new position. As City Clerk, Siobhan will be responsible for the record keeping for the city.  She will serve as the clerk of the City Council—keeping minutes, preparing information packets for city council members, and processing the results of City Council actions.  She will also be responsible for maintaining city records and conducting and organizing city elections.

This article is reprinted from the May 2005 issue of California Coastwatcher.

Two very large homes—more than three times the size of the average existing home—have been approved by the Coastal Commission for agricultural land on the southern San Mateo County coast. The Commission’s decision-making process regarding the two proposals was marked by aggressive concern for protection of agriculture, aggressive disregard for imposing any limits on the size of mansions and the adverse impact those monster homes have on rural agricultural land values, and a flagrant decision to allow a private driveway through ESHA that is patently illegal under the Coastal Act.

Michael and Ana Polacek want to build 6,787-sq. ft. of residential development on an 18-acre farm along Bean Hollow Road. The coastal staff report for the Polacek project is at www.coastal.ca.gov/sc/5-2005-Th13a.pdf and you can see Bean Hollow State Beach at www.cacoast.org/6281

Keith and Cindy Waddell proposed to build 7,650-sq. ft. of residential development on a 153-acre ranch along Highway #1 at Tunitas Creek. The Waddell staff report is at www.coastal.ca.gov/nca/Th13b-5-2005.pdf and a 1972 photo of the Waddell property is at www.cacoast.org/7218028

The positive step taken by the Coastal Commission to protect agricultural lands on the California coastline required the use of affirmative, permanent agricultural easements that were required to be established to insure the long-term viability of the agricultural operations on the properties. Thus, even if Polacek and Waddell do not wish to continue farming themselves, they are required now, by law, to lease their lands to other farmers to insure the agricultural lands outside the residential building area on each parcel remain actively farmed. Such requirements had never been included in a coastal development permit before.

The second important step taken by the Commission was to require that all residential development on each property be contained within a 10,000 sq. ft. "development envelope" insuring that the vast majority of each farm will remain solely for agricultural purposes. The limited residential building envelope for agricultural lands was also a precedent established by the Commission that will enhance future protection of agricultural lands throughout coastal California.

Click "Read more" to see the rest of the article.

THE Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) will soon decide whether to acquire the Peninsula Open Space Trust’s (POST) 676-acre Miramontes Ridge property as an addition to the Mills Creek Open Space Preserve. In addition to its natural features, Miramontes Ridge offers views of the city of Half Moon Bay.

The District has begun considering the purchase of POST’s Driscoll Ranch property.  The approximately 3,700-acre ranch is adjacent to the District’s La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve. It features such special species as the California Red-Legged Frog, San Francisco Garter Snake, And Steelhead Trout, as well as former and now-capped oil wells. 

The District will hold a public workshop on the potential ranch purchase in late summer 2005.  Following the workshop, the District’s Board will consider and vote on the property’s purchase at a public meeting held on the Coastside.

Click "Read more" to see the District’s press release.

If you’re still looking for your favorite channels on Comcast cable since the big switch yesterday, you should know that Yahoo’s TV listings for the Coastside have the correct lineup.  This site has been listed under "Useful sites" on Coastsider’s left-hand column since we launched. You can also download a copy of Comcast’s revised channel guide for analog and digital [JPG]  channels from Coastsider.

Pillar Point Harbor’s beaches are among the most polluted in the state, according to Heal the Bay’s 2005 California beach report card. This is Capistrano Beach’s the second year in a row on the organization’s "Beach Bummers" list.

Venice Beach at Frenchman’s Creek was the second-worst beach in the county, with consistent scores of D and F.  The County has been working on Frenchman’s creek and discovered a landowner storing a a large amount of manure next to the creek. This problem has since been cleared up. But after a relatively good summer in 2004, the high bacteria counts resumed in September and October.

There’s a good story by Amelia Hansen at the County Times, quoting Dean Peterson, the county’s director of environmental health services, as saying that because the issues with the storm drains at Capistrano beach have been cleared, he suspects that the high bacteria counts may be due to the large bird population in the Harbor.

Petersen says that Venice Beach is a higher priority for cleanup because a lot more people go into the water there. He’s also not sure it’s fair to compare tiny Capistrano Beach with some of the biggest beaches in Southern California.

Heal the Bay

Click on the report card for an interactive version at Heal the Bay’s website.

Pillar Ridge Mobile Home Community has a new website. There is local (coastal)information included in the site, and listings for our community services. Since we are just getting started, we can use more local listings, etc.

We hope that the site helps bring the community together, as well as help us advertise our homes.  Since the median home price for the coast is close to 1 million dollars, mobile homes are a viable and affordable alternative for people who wish to move out here.  Pillar Ridge is owned by Millennium Housing Corporation, non-profit mobilehome park program.

Devil’s Slide as closed Wednesday from 3:30pm to 4:55pm in both directions so that Sheriff’s deputies could rescue a woman who had become trapped in her car when it rolled to the bottom of a ravine.  The San Mateo Daily Journal reports that her injuries don’t appear to be fatal.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service and San Francisco Zoo are cooperating to bring five male/female pairs of San Francisco Garter snakes to the zoo where we can see the endangered reptiles up close.  The SF Garter Snake is often described as of the most beautiful snakes in the world, and it’s certainly one of the most newsworthy. The presence of the snake can be a real problem for any development because under California law, unlike the California Red-Legged Frog, there is no legal way to mitigate a "take" of SF Garter Snakes.

San Franscisco Garter Snake no longer exists in San Francisco. It can only be found in San Mateo County.

Click "Read more" to see the USFWS press release.

The Coast Guard is transferring the Pigeon Point Lighthouse to to the California Parks Department in a ceremony at the lighthouse today.  The long account in today’s Mercury News is well worth reading.

Despite its significance, this landmark is being preserved with private money. The state park system has no money to restore the lighthouse. The private California State Parks Foundation is raising $5 million over the next five year to renovate the lighthouse, which has been damaged by time and storms. Meanwhile, the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has bought much the surrounding land to keep it from being developed.