The League for Coastside Protection has copied us on a letter to Supervisor Rich Gordon, supporting the Midcoast Community Council. Supervisor Gordon has asked whether the MCC has outlived its usefulness.

Dear Supervisor Gordon:

The League for Coastside Protection fully supports the Midcoast Community Council (MCC).
The current MCC was only recently chosen by coastside voters, so it would be virtually unprecedented to nullify a popular vote, regardless of the jurisdictional status of the MCC. One of the decisions that came out of its second meeting was to hold a retreat to acknowledge and address some of the inadequacies that many representative bodies face.  This should help assuage concern that the MCC is unaware of some constituents’ concerns.

Touching upon the issue of "sparse" attendance, MCC meetings are televised, which alleviates some attendance pressure. Also, it is our experience that a packed room usually requires intense neighborhood issues.  Additionally, there has been an admitted lack of focus at past meetings, which the new president Leonard Woren is addressing.

The Midcoast Community Council helps provide your office with the opinions and concerns of those of us who live in your district.  This is a valuable service that should be continued and applauded. We need this advisory layer to distinguish the Coast from other districts, which do not have the land use issues we face.  Since the California Coastal Commission will be looking at the revised Local Coastal Program for the Midcoast in March, local coastside representation is a valuable, local voice for continued input into that process. 
Having monthly office hours and intermittent communications with your coastal constituents, albeit appreciated and necessary, is still not the same as having a local advisory board. We think that any attempt to dismantle this democratically elected organization is ill conceived. Since the decision was made to hold an election and not appoint council members, such an action would send the message to coastal constituents that their vote does not matter and that their local organization can be wiped away in the face of any criticism.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your letter to the Review.  The League for Coastside Protection endorsed all three of the newly elected council members and we know they will work hard for the residents of the coastside and your constituents.
Dana M. Kimsey, LCP co-chair                            
.

The Half Moon Bay City Council denied an appeal of a concrete crushing plant next door to the Hilltop mobile home park at its meeting on January 15. You can watch the entire proceedings below.

If you’re pressed for time, I recommend watching the eloquent testimony of the appellant [ Quicktime | Flash ] and the response of the city council [ Quicktime | Flash  ].

Not having followed this case closely, I don’t have an opinion about whether this use should have been approved. But I was startled at how little interest the council showed in the amount of noise this use would create for mobile home park residents.  CCWD commissioner Jim Larimer showed up with an SPL meter to testify that the city’s limit of 65 dB was about what he encountered in his Passat, which he seemed to think was appropriate. There was also some discussion of the noise from Highways 92 and 1.

It got me thinking about whether there should be more discussion and understanding of the issue of noise pollution on the Coastside.

• Opening | Quicktime | Flash  |

 

• Report out of closed session | Quicktime | Flash  |

 

• City Council reports | Quicktime | Flash  |

 

• Oral communications | Quicktime | Flash  |

 

• Staff reports | Quicktime | Flash  |

 

• Consent calendar | Quicktime | Flash  |

 

• Appeal of Planning Commission approval of concrete crushing near mobile home park | Quicktime | Flash  | Docs |

 

• Waive permit fee for Saso Gale house at 684 Terrace Ave [moved from consent calendar] | Quicktime | Flash  | Docs |

 

• Appointment to Parks & Recreation and Planning Commissions [deferred] | Docs |

 

• Amend animal control agreement | Quicktime | Flash  | Docs |

 

• Agreement to lease Seacrest gym | Quicktime | Flash  | Docs |

In a letter to the editor of the Half Moon Bay Review, County Supervisor Rich Gordon suggests that the Midcoast Community Council has outlived its usefulness. Gordon’s letter was a reply to Review editor Clay Lambert’s highly critical column about the Council in last week’s review.

Given the numerous paths and methods that now exist for communication between Coastside residents and the County, it may be the case that the MCC has served its purpose and possibly outlived its usefulness in its current form. As this is an issue of critical importance to me I need to hear your thoughts regarding the possibility of disbanding MCC along with any of your ideas for new and innovative ways that we can keep in touch. Again I must re-iterate that the MCC exists today at your request, if it is no longer the form of representation you desire, changes will come from your mandate. I look forward to hearing from all of you and thank you for your support.

Click to read Gordon’s letter, and to comment on this issue.

County Supervisor Rich Gordon will discuss landslide mitigation on Jan 28 at 7pm at La Honda Elementary School. The county is proposing the La Honda community pay for about $3 million of the cost and 536 parcel owners will pay $5,600 per parcel and 13 parcel owners close to the slide will pay around $11,000. If the voters reject this in April, Gordon’s office says it is not clear what will happen.

The Cuesta La Honda Guild has posted a brief paper at the post office describing the situation and a map showing which parcels are part of the assessment district to pay for the landslide mitigation.

Supervisor Gordon’s office would like to address the following questions:

 

• Who should pay for the landslide mitigation?

 

• What will happen to La Honda if it is not fixed and the slide continues?

 

• Who should negotiate with the County?

Supervisor Rich Gordon’s office will be holding office hours at the Moss Beach Substation on Thursday, January 24 from 10am to noon.

The Half Moon Bay City Council is holding a workshop on the Yamagiwa case at Adcock Center on Tuesday night.  The meeting is scheduled to start at 7pm and have a "hard stop" at 9pm. The council plans to update the community on the appeal and negotiations with the plaintiff, as well as take input from the community.

State Senator Leland Yee has announced his intention not to run for the seat being vacated by retiring Representative Tom Lantos.  Yee’s office just issued the following statement:

"I am humbled by the outpouring of support from the people of San Francisco and San Mateo County who have encouraged me to run for Congress.  However, at this time, my family and I have decided it is best to continue the work started in the State Senate.  I am committed to addressing the critical issues currently before the State Legislature, including providing universal healthcare and protecting services for our working families.  In the years to come, I look forward to working with the next member of Congress in serving the residents of the Peninsula."

State Senator Leland Yee today announced he was introducing legislation to name the bore "Tom Lantos Tunnel at Devil’s Slide" in honor of the retiring Congressman.

Yee was joined by the mayors of Pacifica and Half Moon Bay at the site. He said (according to the press release) "No one single person is more responsible for this important project coming to fruition than Congressman Tom Lantos."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the announcement was made at the tunnel.

The first meeting of the Midcoast Community Council is Wednesday night.  Newly-elected council member Neil Merrilees produced a great video with Darin Boville describing what he sees as the Midcoast’s priorities for the coming year. But he wants you to bring your issues to share at the meeting as well.  This is great stuff and it’s good to see the MCC back in action after a long period of near-dormancy. The meeting will be 7:30pm at Seton Coastside in Moss Beach park in the upper lot, enter the main door, first room on the right.