Charlie Hall, a former director of the Granada Sanitary District, has announced he is running as a write-in candidate for the district’s board.

Hall served on board from 1992 to 1999.

The city of Half Moon Bay yesterday transferred ownership of the 21-acre property near the junction of Highways 1 and 92 to Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). The city bought the land, with financing from POST, as a future park site.

The land is currently being used for the city’s corporation yard for municipal vehicles and Department of Public Works equipment. Part of the property continues to be covered by black mats to keep down weeds as much as possible where nursery operations were once located. At this time, future plans for the land have not been determined. "POST is working to identify what options for this property are possible moving forward," said POST President Audrey Rust.

The Chamber of Commerce and Visitors’ Bureau, in cooperation with the League of Women Voters (LWV), is putting on a Candidate’s Forum for Half Moon Bay City Council on Thursday, October 1, 2009. It will be held from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Ted Adcock Community Center.

City Council candidates that have been invited are: Allan Alifano, Sofia M. Freer, Dan Handler, Charles T. Hoelzel, Rick Kowalczyk, George Muteff, Namoi Patridge, and Deborah Ruddock.

The chamber has requested questions for the candidates in advance, with a deadline of Sept 20, but says that attendees can also submit questions the night of the Forum.

Midcoast Community Council and the League of Women Voters are sponsoring a candidate forum for candidates running in for Midcoast boards:

• Coastside Fire Protection District 7:30
• Coastside County Water District   8:30
• Granada Sanitary District   9:00

Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 7:30 pm
Seton Medical Center Coastside
Marine Boulevard & Etheldore, Moss Beach

The governor’s office has announced it will not close California’s state parks, but will cut $12.1 million from their maintenance and equipment budgets, and $2.1 million by cutting days and hours of operation at some parks.

The LA Times reports that this is not exactly a reason to cheer:

The California State Parks Foundation, which has figured prominently in the struggle to keep parks open, responded to the governor’s plan suspiciously and placed this statement on its website: "While the Governor has found a clever way to get political cover on this issue, it’s not clear that this plan won’t actually leave Californians with just as limited access to their state parks as if they had been fully closed.

"The ‘found money’ here is from having less lifeguards on state beaches, not maintaining restrooms, not staffing parks for health and safety standards, etc. And you’ll see at the end of the release, a $22-million cut in next year’s budget is still on the horizon."

Supervisor Rich Gordon’s next Coastside office hours will be Thursday, September 24 from 10am to Noon at the Sheriff’s Moss Beach Substation.  Supervisor Gordon will be unable to attend Thursday, but his staff member Matt Jacobs will cover for him.

UPDATE:  This item has changed a couple of times, but as of Wednesday afternoon, Supervisor Gordon is not planning to be there this month.

The cost of closing state parks may cost more than any savings, according to a leaked memo from the state parks department’s attorneys, reports the Mercury News. Governor Schwarzenaggar added $6.4 million to the legislature’s $8 million cut in the state budget, which would require the closure of many state parks.

Park concession holders could sue for breach of their contracts with the state. Concessionaires in state parks generated $89 million in sales last year.

The memo, which was written earlier this month for state parks director Ruth Coleman and distributed to high-level parks managers, was leaked and obtained by a Sacramento-based environmental group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which has posted it on its Web site. ...

Faced with a $24 billion deficit amid plummeting tax revenues, the Legislature cut $8 million from the state parks budget. Last month, Schwarzenegger cut an additional $6.2 million through a line-item veto, for a total of $14.2 million. ...

Other legal problems spelled out in the memo include the Endangered Species Act. The state might face fines by the federal government if poachers kill endangered salmon, condors or other animals on unpatrolled state park property, for example.

Further, the state also could be sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act. State parks settled a 1999 lawsuit by the California Council for the Blind and Californians for Disability Rights in which the agency agreed to make its entrances, paths, signs, restrooms and other facilities accessible to the disabled between June 2009 and 2016. If state parks missed the court-ordered deadlines, the plaintiffs would likely sue, and "it is unlikely state parks could use lack of funding as a defense to making parks accessible," the memo said.

The state may also be in violation of the California Coastal Act if it blocks public access to beaches. It even might be required by a court to write an time-consuming, costly environmental impact statement to close parks, the memo adds.

You can view the memo after the jump.

The Midcoast Parks & Recreation Committee (MPRC) has approved a Draft Report on the proposed route and improvements needed for the CA Coastal Trail segments connecting Pillar Point to Mirada Surf.  The report reflects walking tours, comment, research, and discussions by the Trails Team over the past six months.

The diverse elements of salt marsh habitat, Princeton industrial streets, fishing harbor docks, and eroding beach give these trail segments special character and challenges.

The next steps will include review with relevant agencies and presentation for public comment.  The report can be viewed on the MPRC website: http://www.mprc.sanmateo.org/CoastalTrail.html

NOTE: This is largely the Coastal Commission’s press release, and is not an objective account.

In a well-known suit by two Malibu property owners’ suit against the California Coastal Commission, a judge has ruled in favor of the commission on all counts [pdf of ruling]. The action by Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin today granted the commission’s request for summary judgment, ruling that the issues raised in the case did not warrant further review. The ruling exonerates the agency, as well as two Commission employees named in the suit. 

This is the case that inspired Richard Oshen’s as-yet-unreleased documentary entitled "Sins of Commission."

The case involved illegal roads, grading and tree removal on property owned by Dan Norris and Peggy Gilder. Because the property is located in the coastal zone, these activities required coastal development permit. A site visit in October, 2005, was authorized by a court order. After verifying illegal development on site, the Commission issued a "Notice of Violation" on the property and told the owners to apply for a permit. The owners refused, and sued the Commission. Last year, a superior court upheld the Commission’s action and threw out five of their 8 claims. Today’s action eliminated all remaining claims.