The National Weather Service has issued a high surf advisory for Monday from 4am to midnight. Waves from 13 to 15 feet are expected.

A high energy wave train is expected to bring large waves to the north coast by dawn monday morning. These large northwest swell will persist along the coastal waters through monday and will  range from 13 to 15 feet with periods of 16 seconds. Swell of this size will produce large breaking waves and strong rip currents within the surf zone.

You can now download a copy of the the county planning staff’s report on the Big Wave development from Coastsider. We don’t yet have the attachments, but wanted to get this piece into the public’s hands as soon as possible.

On Wednesday, Jan 27, at 8am, the San Mateo County Planning Commission will hold a study session on the proposed development.  The attached document covers some areas of the project, such as: the project description, the business plan, subdivision of the property, why no story poles have been put up, what utilities and districts are involved, tsunami hazards, effect on population and housing, and the need for police support.

The staff document doesn’t address zoning, effects on local biology, traffic impacts, or other issues that have been raised in more than 200 comments filed with the county.

The Planning Commission has also apparently not been sent copies of the public comment on this project [Download or read individually on Coastsider].

We’ll have more on this document and the upcoming study session, but this will get you started.  Post your comments and questions here.

Half Moon Bay residents Sally Coverdell, 55, and her 24-year-old son Robert Coverdell have been returned home safely after becoming lost while skiing at Kirkwood Montain on Thursday, reports the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

The pair were last seen at the top of Chair 6 around noon on Thursday, prompting an search by Amador County and Alpine County search and rescue personnel, according to the statement.

The initial search was unsuccessful and Alpine County and Amador County personnel were joined by El Dorado County, the U.S. Forest Service and a search helicopter from the Fallon Naval Air Station Friday morning.

The mother and son walked out to Highway 88 about 10:30 a.m. on Friday and met a Forest Service snowmobile unit that was preparing to search the area, according to the statement.

“They had become disoriented in the blizzard conditions the night before, and ended up in the Silver Lake area,” according to the statement. “They were able to get into a cabin where they spent the night, hiking out this morning.”

Biologist Karen Swaim, speaking at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on December 16, makes the case that until Sharp Park Golf Course was built, the land could not have been San Francisco garter snake habitat.

The presentation is illustrated with historical aerial photographs that give a good indication of how the land changed over the decades, beginning in 1928.

"This is a photograph from 1928. There is no golf here. The land surrounding Laguna Salada to the East, to the South, to the North, everywhere except the ocean, was agricultural fields. It is not pristine upland coastal prairie that would’ve been high quality upland for the San Francisco garter snake. You can see that there is a major channel up here [points to Laguna Salada] that illustrates there was connection to the ocean."

"1946 is the very first year the San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog were documented… there are 46 [garter snakes] he gets over two years, and golf has already been here for 16 years."

"In 1978 Sean Berry did his studies and he observed 37 San Francisco garter snakes along this area… and again golf has been in place for 46 years"

"1989 - This [photo] is not long after the the El Nino storms and the big storms of the eighties that resulted in a lot of sea water intrusion into the lagoon. By now, the sea wall is mostly constructed… From 1986 to 1988 some studies were done and no San Francisco garter snakes were found in this area after all the salt water intrusion. That was to a large part because the red legged frog was wiped out by the salt water."

"We’re back to present day conditions… the frogs are prolific west of highway one, they are not in any trouble at all west of highway one. San Francisco garter snakes are concentrating again at Mori Point pond and horse stable pond."

"You need to protect the sea wall. You need to have a fresh water managed habitat currently for this species to recover it, and that is all there is to it."

This video is edited from the full supervisor’s session and transcribed by MW blog. The original (anonymous) blogger is clearly pro-golf, but the biologist seems to be merely pro-snake.

Highway 84, which was closed this morning by downed trees, is now open in both directions, according to the Highway Patrol.

Coastside Children’s Programs has hired a new Executive Director: Agnes Chan.

Prior to joining CCP, Agnes Chan worked as the Director of Education and Outreach at Palo Alto Community Child Care, where she was the key contact for the FIRST 5 North Community Partnership and managed its family support programs.  Additionally, Agnes oversaw the teacher resource room and other relationships regarding early childhood professional development.  As the Quality Enhancement Manager at 4Cs of San Mateo County, she administered several programs that benefit the lives of young children including SaMCARES (San Mateo Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards). 

The county plans to submit a grant application to address safety, and mobility issues affecting Highway 1 through the Montara and Moss Beach communities.

The county’s Department of Parks obtained Caltrans funding to produce the recently released “Highway 1 Safety and Mobility Improvement Study”.  This study contains a review of issues and a number of potential improvements to Highway 1 focused specifically in the El Granada and Miramar communities.  A copy of can be viewed at the MPRC website http://mprc.sanmateo.org by clicking on “Highway 1 Safety and Mobility Improvement Study” at the bottom left of the page. The findings of the study, receipt of public comment and next steps will be the topic of a community meeting on February 11 (7pm at El Granada Elementary School). 

The Midcoast Community Council (MCC) is discussing support for the grant application at its January 27th meeting.  We know “safe crossings” is an issue of great concern to the residents of Moss Beach and Montara.  The discussion threads last year after the unfortunate accident at the Virginia Ave. crossing are sufficient evidence of that concern.  The MCC invites residents of the Moss Beach and Montara communities to attend the council meeting on the 27th and share their concerns and suggestions.  The plan is to incorporate public input into a letter to the Board of Supervisors in support of the grant application and to draw attention to the specific concerns of the community for the northern section of Highway 1 on the unincorporated Midcoast (Airport to Devil’s Slide)

Dave Holland, Director of Parks and Recreation, will attend the February 10th MCC meeting to provide a preview of the report, answer questions, and address concerns relating to a study of the northern section of Highway 1.  The MCC will present him with a copy of the support letter at that time and discuss additional steps we might be able to take to help get this grant application underway.  Public attendance and support at the February 10th meeting would be incredibly valuable.

The MCC regular meetings are held the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays each month at Seton Coastside Hospital starting at 7:30 PM.  Please see our website http://mcc.sanmateo.org/home.php for meeting details and agendas.

Dave Hankin
MCC Member

Highway 84 is closed between Portola Road and Tripp road, due to several large trees down in the roadway.

Caltrans has been notified of the incident and is en route to clear the road. The estimated closure time is 5 to 7 hours.