Kevin Stokes has been pushing for some traffic calming on Fourth Street in Montara for the last few weeks. The speed humps that were added to Third Street have increased the amount and speed of traffic on Fourth, as residents of the back end of Montara speed to and from the highway. Recently, a dog who lives on Fourth was was badly injured when he was hit by a speeding car.

Kevin just received the following email from the San Mateo County Department of Public Works, which confirms some of the needed changes are already planned:

Thank you for your email. The Board of Supervisors approved the installation of stop signs at 4th & East, 6th and East and Main at 2nd. They also approved the installation of speed humps on 5th between Farallone and East that were requested by the property owners along 5th. We hope that these additional traffic controls will address the concerns expressed by many area residents, including you.

The stop signs are scheduled for installation some time in October or earlier. The speed humps should be constructed in October or November.

Thank you again for your input.

Lisa Ekers, Road Operations Manager
San Mateo County Department of Public Works

UPDATE: Kill Your Speed, the organization that is pushing for traffic calming and better behavior on Montara’s streets just released their new website, killyourspeed.montarabeach.com

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors is studying whether to approve a $470,600 proposal to increase planning staff and prepare a reorganization of its Planning and Building Division.  The division is responsible for planning in the unincorporated Coastside (i.e. everything not in Half Moon Bay.

Under the proposal, two additional staff members would be hired in order to reduce planners’ caseloads by half. Contractors and interns would also be used to clear the existing backlog.  Planners would be given more leeway to make administrative decisions on small projects. Also, a recommendation for a complete reorganization would be completed by December.

The current phase of construction of the Devil’s Slide tunnel, which includes shaping Montara Mountain and widening the highway near Gray Whale Cove, will last until next spring, reports the County Times.

This will be followed by building a bridge to the tunnel entrance on the Pacifica side of the mountain, and the blasting of the tunnel itself. The tunnel is scheduled to be completed in 2010.

The article recounts some of the problems the tunnel already encountered with endangered species. Work had to be halted until a nestful of peregrine falcons were ready to leave home. And there are red-legged frogs all over the building site.

A lawsuit by Terrace Avenue resident Richard Parness to block the settlement agreement between the city of Half Moon Bay and Ailanto Properties [HMB Review] has been rejected by a county superior court. You can download the decision from Coastsider.

The suit was filed under the California Environmental Quality Act, which allows 180 days for appeals.  The suit was filed after 180 days, but Parness claimed that he wasn’t given sufficient notice that the proposed settlement was the final plan.

The settlement says that Ailanto will be able to build 63 homes for its Pacific Ridge development, that Terrace Avenue will be used as the only access road for the development, and that a traffic light would be built at Terrace Avenue and Highway 1. Terrace Avenue is currently used by 48 homes.

The court said that this was published as a fact in the Half Moon Bay Review and that Parness said he had read it there.

The Coastal Development Permit and Environmental Impact Report processes for the project have not yet been completed.

Half Moon Bay’s biggest farmers are unhappy with restrictions the city’s proposed Local Coastal Program puts on development of their land, reports the Daily Journal.

Part of the massive Local Coastal Program amendment being discussed by the City Council would not allow any new buildings on urban reserve zoned property. For all practical purposes, that only applies to the five major farms remaining in the city. The hope of the city is to protect the extremely large properties from falling into the hands of developers and turning into massive housing developments.

Additionally, to also protect open space on the coast, the city is proposing any new water wells on the farm properties require a conservation easement. That means the property, regardless of owner, could not be built on.

While the agricultural land is already zoned for limited development, creating an easement would require the land to remain untouched even if the zoning is changed.

At the same time, an easement devalues the property value. Oftentimes, that is a farmer’s largest and only major investment. They use the assessed land value to borrow against and use the money to purchase business materials or more land, said land use consultant Kerry Burke, a former planner for Half Moon Bay.

The issues raised by farmers in the article have to do with their ability to build homes for their own children who will work the land, or to replace a barn that has burned down.

But if they’re concerned that development limitations will limit the amount of money they can borrow, they must plan to borrow more money than can be paid back with simple agriculture.

The documents released by the city of Half Moon Bay to the Cypress Cove homeowners’ association under court order are now available for download from Coastsider [PDF1 is 6.7mb and PDF2 is 7.9mb]. The documents include a redacted (partially blacked-out) version of the city’s due diligence report and staff memoranda.

I haven’t had a chance to review these myself, so if you find anything interesting, why not click on "comments" and post it as a comment on this story?

Meeting in closed session Tuesday night, the Half Moon Bay City Council decided it would not appeal a court’s order to release documents to the Cypress Cove homeowners’ association. The documents will be delivered at a hearing today.

Despite its concerns about the court’s order, the council decided it wasn’t worth the continued expense to fight the order, according to city council member Mike Ferreira. In a press release, City Attorney Adam Lindgren said that the council was prepared to release a redacted copy of its due diligence report when the lawsuit was filed. The remainder includes, says Ferreira, "some staff memos where City Hall staff thought they were confidentially conferring with the City Attorney.  They never expected the council to see them".

The documents will be available from Coastsider as soon as we receive a copy.

A court in Monterey has decided to accept an old subdivision map as valid, paving the way to 73 new houses in the town of Spreckels, an increase of 40% in the number of new houses in the only town in Montery County designated as a historic district [Google satellite photo]. The issue was complex, because the state Supreme Court has left open questions regarding subdivisions created between 1893 and 1929.

Unless the issue is resolved in their favor, environmentalists contend, developers will keep hunting for "antiquated’’ subdivision maps that permit them to build on land that elected officials would be reluctant to approve.

"Because of this ancient map, the Tanimuras will now be able to build on virgin farmland that in our view was never intended for housing,’’ said Elizabeth Panetta, a community activist for LandWatch.

A disappointed Jim Riley, Spreckels’ historian, said the 1907 map is so dated that the streets were designed for wagons, horses and carriages.
...
"This is an area of the law that needs a legislative solution,’’ said Andrew Schwartz, a San Francisco environmental attorney. "These antiquated subdivisions are all over the state. They’re a huge problem.’‘

In a report prepared for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Wittwer’s and Schwartz’s law firms estimated there are between 400,000 and a million antiquated subdivision lots.

Next week, the California Coastal Commission will consider a permit for four walking trails near the Pigeon Point Lighthouse.  We reported a couple of weeks ago that this plan had run into opposition from local farmers. Since then, the farmers, Peninsula Open Space Trust, and San Mateo County have come to an agreement—with the exception of one indvidual who has appealed the plan to the commission.

GGF is asking people to write to the commission this week in support of the plan. Click "read more" to see their call to action.

There is a story on Half Moon Bay’s settlement with Wavecrest in the County Times.  There’s nothing new there, but there is a nice summary history of the project.  It’s a good place to start if you’re unfamiliar with the controversies surrounding this development.

Even more important to the city than the houses, however, are the middle school, the community park, and the baseball fields (which have already been built). Wavecrest has agreed to release the school and the Boys & Girls Club from its development contract if necessary so they can be built somewhere else.

Half Moon Bay mayor Jim Grady said he was hopeful that the development would be allowed to move forward in the next 18 months. He said that he was especially pleased that the city and the developer had managed to put the litigation behind them without going to court.