The Midcoast Community Council is holding a special meeting Wednesday, Feb 16 at 7:30pm.

The MCC will take up their letter to the Board of Supervisors on the Big Wave development agreement, their position paper on the county’s resubmittal of its Local Coastal Program for the Midcoast.

The council will also hold a discussion of major issues and ad hoc committees to determine what should be covered by committees and the composition of those committees: GGNRA, Big Wave, Airport Overlay (upcoming), Parks and Rec, Planning and Zoning, Highway 1, Harbor/Beach Access, and Bylaws Update.

February 16, 2011 7:30 p.m. Seton Medical Center Coastside, Marine Boulevard & Etheldore, Moss Beach. Take Highway 1 to Marine Boulevard and follow hospital signs uphill. Please p0ark in upper parking lot per hospital policy.

Vocalist Tessa Souter “uses dynamics and inflections to convey a deeper sense of meaning that the songs imply, and she does it with great attention to details that most singers overlook. This contemplative aspect, along with her unique style, precise articulation and her well-trained, stunning voice, make Souter a vocalist to reckon with and one whose development should be followed with great interest.” Victor L. Schermer, AllAboutJazz”

Akira Tana – drums; Dan Robbins – bass; Chris Tamburr - vibes/piano; John Stowell - guitar.  Her repertoire for this performance will include selections from CDs Obsession and Listen Love, plus an upcoming Motema CD to be announced. 
 
February 13, 2011 – 4:30, $30, Douglas Beach House on Miramar Beach, 307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650 726-4143, www.bachddsoc.org

Sabrina Brennan sent us this letter she plans to deliver to the Midcoast Community Council.

Re: Serving on Multiple Boards with Overlapping Responsibilities

Dear Chair Erickson and Members of the Council,

At the February 1, 2011 Midcoast Park Lands (MPL) meeting the directors and members of the public discussed concerns about the MPL, Vice President serving on multiple boards with overlapping responsibilities. Both of the Midcoast Community Council (MCC) designated representatives on the MPL board, and members of the public raised concerns about the overlapping leadership role that one person — MPL Vice President — has on multiple unincorporated Midcoast groups.  It should be noted that the wife of the Vice President also serves on the MPL board and is an elected board member of Granada Sanitary District (GSD).

I would like to bring to your attention the fact that the unincorporated Midcoast currently has ten or more groups with overlapping responsibilities, relating to parks and recreation. They are:

• Surfrider, San Mateo Chapter, Ed Larenas, Chair, board meetings are open to the public.
• Friends of the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve (FMR), Ellen Gartside, Chair, board meetings are not open to the public.
• Midcoast Parks and Recreation Committee (MPRC) Len Erickson, “Volunteer Coordinator” appointed by Dave Holland, County staff. Meetings held at GSD are open to the public
• Midcoast Park Lands (MPL) Jim Blanchard, President, Len Erickson, Vice President and Dave Holland, County staff representative. Meetings held at GSD are open to the public.  MPL retreats are not held at GSD because they are not open to the public.
• Friends of Quarry Park (FoQP), Jim Blanchard and Len Erickson. Meetings held at Quarry Park and GSD are open to the public.
• Burnham Strip Committee (BSC), Len Erickson, Co-Chair and Leni Schultz, Co-Chair. Meetings are held at GSD and are open to the public.
• Coastside Preservation and Recreation, Inc. (CP&R), Todd Bazzill, President and Bill Hill, Treasurer. Status of group and board meetings are unknown.
• Highway 1 Citizens Committee (H1CC) Len Erickson, “manager” appointed by Dave Holland, County staff to select committee members and Neil Merrilees “group leader” also appointed by county staff. Read HMB Review article for more info on appointments.  The first H1CC meeting is closed to the public and is scheduled for February 2011. *This closed meeting is in violation of GSD’s policy for use of the meeting room.
• Citizens Beach Access (CBA), Neil Merrilees, Leader. Meetings are not open to the public.
• Dredge the Harbor, Brian Overfelt, Group Organizer. Meetings are open to the public.

* All meetings held in the GSD meeting room must to be open to the public, per GSD policy. MPRC, MPL, FoQP, BSC and H1CC meetings are held at GSD and therefore required to be open to the public.

Ten or more groups dealing with recreation does seem just a tad problematic, but the really problematic part, in my opinion, is that the Midcoast Community Council (MCC) chair and past chair currently serve in leadership roles on the above named groups. The current MCC Chair is Chair, Co-Chair, Vice President, County staff appointed “Coordinator”, County staff appointed “Manager” and a leader of six unincorporated Midcoast groups.

Membership on the Highway 1 Citizens Committee (H1CC) and the Citizens Beach Access group is not open to the public and not open to public review. Membership on H1CC and CBA should be primarily selected by majority action of the MCC at a public meeting.

I appreciate the volunteer community work of the MCC Chair and of the past MCC Chair, nevertheless, I believe simultaneously serving in leadership roles on multiple boards with overlapping responsibilities causes groups to become incestuously controlled by the narrowly conceived agendas, opinions, and biases, coming largely from a lack of diverse leadership.

Community decisions should be made by community participation.

In short, I am concerned that the lack of diverse leadership stifles healthy dialogue, limits community outreach, and deters public input from effectively influencing the organizational structure of the MCC, MPRC, MPL, H1CC, FoQP, BSC and CBA.

The Doctrine of Incompatible Offices forbids someone from holding two public offices that have even a potential overlap in public duties. The Doctrine has been a part of English common law for hundreds of years and began appearing in California judicial opinions over 70 years ago. This was made an explicit part of California law in 2005 (SB 274).

Technically the “doctrine of incompatible office” does not apply to a body that only has advisory powers, however in 2009 the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors forbid the election of current members of existing Coastside boards to the MCC.

No one can serve two masters. Someone’s loyalty to one office may mean a compromise of their responsibilities to another. More importantly, the public’s confidence in the integrity of the process may be compromised.

While the “doctrine of incompatible office” does not technically apply to advisory groups, the “doctrine” should still be followed, and therefore I ask that both Len Erickson, MCC Chair and Neil Merrilees, past MCC Chair step down from leading all but one board, citizens group, or council.

Sabrina Brennan

A couple of speeding motorcyclists in El Granada were found to be carrying loaded weapons, some valuables were stolen from a guest room during a party, and loud music leads to an arrest in La Honda:

A resident of La Honda became a victim of “disturbing the peace” when the suspect neighbor continuously played his music from his home loud enough for the victim to hear from inside his own residence. The suspect was contacted by Deputies and advised of the noise complaint, which he chose to ignore and turned his music louder. The victim felt he had no other choice than to sign a citizen arrest form for the suspect’s arrest. Deputies returned to the suspect’s residence, arrested him and took him to the county jail.

San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley will be holding Coastside office hours in coming weeks in order to provide opportunities for constituents to personally discuss their concerns with him.

Pacifica: Friday, Feb. 4, from 10 a.m. until noon at the Ocean Market, 200 Eureka Square.  There is a community room on the second floor of the grocery store where Supervisor Horsley will be meeting constituents.

Moss Beach: Friday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. to noon, Supervisor Horsley will be at the Sheriff’s Office substation, 500 California Street.  The supervisor encourages you to drop by, but if you would like to make an appointment, please contact his staff at (650) 363-4569.

This was a light week for the County Sheriff on the Midcoast. The Sheriff’s reports says there were “Lots of calls, not many reports generated.” A man was struck by a car and his dog killed in Montara, and some things were stolen from an unlocked car.

Montara Blvd, Montara: Deputies were dispatched to a report of a subject struck by a vehicle. They contacted the subject who was standing over a dog that had been struck as well. The subject was only concerned for his dog which had expired from the injuries it had suffered. He was unable to recall the day, date or time of day. He was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation.

The Midcoast Community Council will hold a retreat Saturday at 10am with Supervisor Don Horsley. The meeting will be at the Granada Sanitary District Officem 504 Ave. Alhambra, 3rd Floor, in El Granada.

The agenda, after public comment, will include an MCC discussion with Supervisor Horsley covering the Local Coastal Program Update, Devil’s Slide Tunnel opening and concerns about the South Portal crossing, and improving relations between the MCC and county.

The Council will also discuss its own process, priorities, and strategy, scheduled to begin at 11:30am. The meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 2pm.

After 24 years as president, C.E.O. and executive director of Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Audrey C. Rust announced today that she will retire on July 1, 2011. The POST Board of Directors named Walter T. Moore, currently executive vice president, to succeed her.

Rust has led POST since 1987. Under her leadership, the Palo Alto-based nonprofit land trust has worked in partnership with public agencies and private property owners to save 53,000 acres of local open space out of the total 64,000 acres POST has preserved since its founding in 1977.

Before coming to POST, Rust worked with the Sierra Club, Yale University and Stanford University. She has served on the boards of numerous local, state and national organizations, primarily in the conservation and housing arena. She has received many honors including the Times Mirror-Chevron National Conservationist of the Year Award, the California League of Conservation Voters Environmental Leadership Award, and the Cynthia Pratt Laughlin Medal, the Garden Club of America’s top environmental honor. Rust is a graduate of the University of Connecticut at Storrs and lives in Menlo Park.

Some of POST’s most significant accomplishments during Rust’s tenure include:

• Preserving 4,262 acres at Rancho Corral de Tierra, near Montara, the majority of which is slated to become national parkland as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA);
• Expanding POST’s work in south Santa Clara County, including protection and transfer of Rancho Cañada del Oro and Rancho San Vicente to public parks agencies;
• Leveraging private and public funding to protect landmark Mindego Hill along Skyline Ridge near La Honda;
• Negotiating the purchase and transfer of Bair Island in Redwood City for inclusion in the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge;
• Securing the permanent protection of the historic Phleger Estate in Woodside as part of the GGNRA;
• Raising more than $325 million for POST’s land-saving work, including $200 million to protect 20,000 acres along the San Mateo Coast through POST’s 2001-2005 Saving the Endangered Coast campaign.