Now you can read the three-page letter from the Fish and Wildlife Service to the Coastal Commission [PDF]  for yourself. I’ve uploaded it to Coastsider.

The Coastal Commission removed Wavecrest from its September agenda on Monday afternoon. This was the result of a letter US Fish and Wildlife Service sent Friday to the Coastal Commission saying that building Wavecrest as planned will result in a "taking" of an endangered species, according to Chris Kern, District Manager of the CCC.

This is a result of the discovery by the FWS of California red-legged frog habitat at the site.

Wavecrest will have to get the permission of the Fish and Wildlife Service to develop the land.  "The process could result in potentially significant changes to the project," Kern told me.

This finding by FWS sets into motion some fairly complicated machinery. Either a federal agency, such as the US Army Corps of Engineers, has to assert authority over the site and work with the FWS to develop a "biological opinion" or a habitat conservation plan must be developed in consultation with the FWS and the CCC. It’s too early to say what comes next.

No one is willing to say how long this process could take, and may only delay the development. However, it puts into limbo Cabrillo Unified School District’s agreement with Wavecrest, which required approval of the development at the September Coastal Commission hearing. According to the agreement, either party can proceed on its own if Wavecrest doesn’t obtain final approval of the development from the Coastal Commission and the period for all challenges and appeals before the CCC have expired before October 31.

Unless CUSD and Wavecrest rewrite the agreement, the site of the middle school will be the most important issue in yet another CUSD board election.

Judge Carl Holm has delayed the decision on those dilatory MROSD petitions for yet another week, says the San Mateo Times. Two weeks ago, the judge ordered the county to organize the insufficient petitions. Those were delivered yestered and he’s now reviewing them. He has asked the plaintiffs for an analysis of the process, and the MROSD and LAFCO for a response to that analysis. He’s expected to deliver a decision at the end of next week.  It’s getting late. I reported two weeks ago: 

Although today was the formal deadline for adding measures to the November ballot, Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum said his office could still add the MROSD annexation to the ballot if the judge orders it. But it’s getting really late. The county must print and mail sample ballots next month.

I’ve added a link to Coastsider’s left-hand navigation bar which you can use to get a sample ballot and information about the candidates on the ballot from the League of Women Voters. Most of the candidates’ information is missing or wrong at this stage, but this should improve as we get closer to the election. Try it out.

The Daily Journal has another must-read article on the bitter battle for the Harbor District board, including some choice quotes from two of the candidates about their opposition:

“I don’t think a couple [of members] are honest,” said board member Sally Campbell. “Tax payers are spending their hard-earned money now to compensate for it.”

...

“Sometimes it seems like the meetings were plotted out before we even had the meetings,” said Beverly Fontana, a candidate for the seat and the former district secretary.

There’s a clear sense of enmity between the two factions on the board and those running in support of (or opposition to) either faction. While this is a county-wide board, its impact on the coastside is disproportionately huge and goes far beyond where the boats get parked.

The extended deadline expired today, and no additional candidates have filed for the CUSD school board. The candidates are Charles Gardner of Montara, Jonathan Lundell of Lobitos Creek, and John Moseley of El Granada. The Review reported today that Gardner has resigned his position on the Midcoast Community Council to run for the CUSD board.

There are four candidates for three seats on the La Honda Pescadero Unified School District, no contested seats on the Las Lomitas Elementary School District, no contested seats on the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council, and seven candidates for three seats on the San Mateo County Harbor District.

Click on the "read more" link for the complete roster of candidates for midcoast positions.

Oscar Braun’s drive to incorporate the Southcoast is featured in the Examiner. A couple of days ago, he put out a typically idiosyncratic press release attacking the Coastal Open Space Alliance for its opposition to the plan. The issue is real: self-rule for the 6,500 residents of a vast area that is now run by the county.

The County and incorporation opponents say the tax base can’t provide the necessary infrastructure. Braun plans to pay for it by charging $9.9 million in "mitigation fees" to the state, county and federal parks (and open space agencies?) in the new community. That’s about $1,500 per resident of the new community.

Click "read more" to see the Los Pueblecitos press release

The San Mateo County Harbor District race is shaping up to be very contentious. The district oversees the marina at Pillar Point in Princeton, as well as Oyster Point in South San Francisco. It currently owes the state $18 million for capital improvements.

There are seven candidates for three seats, and the prize is the balance of power on the board, according to the San Mateo County Times.

Jim Tucker, the district’s secretary, has the best quote in the story, "It’s a false sense of being in debt," he says of the $18 million. "By 2018, we will be debt-free."

Biologists didn’t see any California red-legged frogs on a visit to the Wavecrest Village site on July 29, but they weren’t looking for frogs. Although the Review reported they found "nary a frog", that’s not the end of the story. From the Review:

The four scientists searched the area for the threatened species. But after spending most of the afternoon poking through all areas that could serve as potential frog habitat, what they found was nary a red-legged frog.

US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Mary Hammer, who was there, described it as a "casual site visit".  A California red-legged frog survey would have involved an intensive review of the site, including daytime and nighttime observations. "It would have been surprising to find a frog there in the middle of the day," said California Coastal Commission staff biologist John Dixon, who was at the visit. One biologist has already reported a frog sighting to the California Department of Fish and Game.

What they found, according to Hammer, was frog habitat.  And frog habitat is enough to get Fish and Wildlife involved in the development process.  "Frog habitat could also indicate the San Francisco garter snake," according to Hammer. The SF garter snake is a federally-protected endangered species.

What’s unclear is what the next steps would be. The Fish and Wildlife Service is conferring internally, as well as with their colleagues in other agencies, about what to do next. Meanwhile, developer Wavecrest Village LLC has an issue that it must deal with before it can begin construction.

"It’s a concern and we’ll be waiting to see what the wildlife agencies think about it and how significant they think it is." said Coastal Commission biologist Dixon.

The frog habitat may not prevent construction.  There are other ways to deal with what the folks at FWS call a "take" than simply preserving the site as it exists. A habitat conservation plan may be necessary. I talked Pat Fitzgerald of Wavecrest Village, LLC, and he says he’s waiting to hear from the Coastal Commission and US Fish & Wildlife.

Also unclear at this point is the impact of the existence of frog habitat on the permitting process with the county or with the California Coastal Commission.

Judge Carl Holm’s ordered the attorneys in the MROSD petition trial to return to court Aug. 20. Although today was the formal deadline for adding measures to the November ballot,  Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum said his office could still add the MROSD annexation to the ballot if the judge orders it. But it’s getting really late. The county must print and mail sample ballots next month.

The judge said he needs more time to determine the validity of the protest petitions filed with the county. He described the county’s organization of the petitions as a "total disaster", and ordered the elections office to re-organize the protests.