A standing-room-only crowd welcomed the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to the Coastside Tuesday. The supervisors came to the Adcock Center in Half Moon Bay to hear testimony from Coastsiders about their proposed changes to the Local Coastal Program for the Midcoast. Nearly fifty Coastsiders asked the supervisors to reconsider their plan. Only two who didn’t have an obvious financial interest in the plan spoke in favor of it.

For those of you who haven’t been following this story, the Midcoast LCP is a critical planning document that is used by local governments and the California Coastal Commission.  The Commission gave the county $40,000 in 2000 to help pay for the process of revising its Midcoast LCP. After years of hard work and compromise, the locally-elected Midcoast Community Council (MCC) delivered a set of recommendations to the County. The MCC’s work was recommended by the county’s Planning Commission (with some refinements) for adoption by the Board of Supervisors. The Supervisors set up a subcommittee to review the recommendations and come up with its own recommended revisions to the Midcoast’s Local Coastal Program [PDF]. The Supervisors’ update departed dramatically from the Planning Commission’s in many ways.

Tuesday’s meeting was a hearing on the subcommittee’s proposed revisions.  Friday, the Coastal Commission staff had delivered a stinging assessment of the subcommittee’s work [PDF]. Tuesday, the Midcoast Community Council weighed it with its own assessment [PDF]. The Board of Supervisors will meet again next Tuesday in Redwood City no earlier than 10:30am.  Anyone who didn’t get a chance to speak today will be allowed to speak at the next meeting.  The Supervisors have not said whether they will make any decisions at that meeting.

There were roughly 47 speakers supporting the original version of the LCP update created by the MCC and the Planning Commission, 10 speakers supporting the subcommittee’s version, and 10 raising other, specialized issues.

No one at the meeting said the Supervisors’ proposal didn’t go far enough to encourage development on the Coastside.  Terry Gossett, George Muteff, and a few realtors were there telling the Supervisors how wise they were in their revision of the Local Coastal Program. As far as I can tell, Gossett was the only Midcoast resident without a financial stake in the update to speak in favor of the supervisors’ revisions.

One significant group, family members of developmentally disabled Coastsiders and one disabled student from Half Moon Bay High School, spoke movingly in favor of the Big Wave project, a live/work facility for developmentally disabled adults.  However, they didn’t make it clear why exceptions to the County’s zoning were needed to make this project a reality, nor have the supervisors.

It’s notable that a very large share of the speakers were Montara and Moss Beach residents.  We may look back on this meeting as the genesis of a new home-rule movement in these communities.

NOTE: Rancho Corral de Tierra consists of the open space surrounding Montara and Moss Beach.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a boundary expansion for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).  The legislation allows the GGNRA to extend its southern boundary to include portions of Peninsula Open Space Trust’s (POST) Rancho Corral de Tierra [Chronicle’s map of the area], 4,262 acres that lies seven miles south of San Francisco and 20 miles from the Silicon Valley.

      “POST is grateful for the efforts of Congressman Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) and the Bay Area Congressional delegation for leading the effort to expand the boundaries of the GGNRA in U.S. House of Representatives,” said POST President Audrey Rust. “The work of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) and the Congressional delegation has been outstanding and we look forward to continuing our partnership as we shift our focus to the appropriations process.”

      While the legislation permits the boundary extension, the recreation area will not be expanded to include portions of POST’s Rancho Corral de Tierra until the GGNRA receives federal appropriations to acquire portions of the property.

Click "read more" to see the rest of the press release.

UPDATED: We’ve added a link the Midcoast Community Council’s response to the Board of Supervisors Subcommittee recommendations.

One day before the Board of Supervisors was scheduled to hold a Coastside hearing on their proposed changes to the county’s Local Coastal Program, Coastal Commission staff have sent a strong message in the form of a 11 page letter to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. The letter seriously calls into question the Board subcommittee’s vision for the county’s Local Coastal Program update. Page 1 of the Coastal Commision staff letter reminded the Supervisor’s of the definition of an LCP.

As you are aware, the LCP is the County’s local implementation of the California Coastal Act. ... Section 30108.6 of the Coastal Act defines an LCP as "a local government’s land use plans, zoning ordinances, zoning district maps, and, within sensitive coastal resources areas, other implementing actions, which, when taken together, meet the requirements of, and implement the provisions and policies of [the Coastal Act] at the local level." Accordingly, any amendments to the LCP Land Use Plan must conform with and be adequate to carry out the coastal resource and public access protection policies contained in Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act.

The Commission staff will review any proposed LCP changes ultimately approved by the Board to determine if the changes are consistent with the provisions of the Calfornia Coastal Act. To help guide the Board in the right direction, the Coastal Comission staff had sent three earlier letters to the Supervisors. The wording of the latest letter suggests that the Supervisors apparently did not get the message contained in the three earlier letters [Download February 16, March 7, and March 28 letters from Coastsider]. The current LCP update was set into motion in 2000 when the Commission gave the county a $40,000 grant to support key elements of the process. 

In seventeen numbered points, the Commission staff raised serious issues with the supervisors’ plan:

• the buildout number is a theoretical maximum that doesn’t take into account many situations that would render a lot unbuildable;

• the Midcoast has inadequate water, sewer, and highway infrastructure;

• there are problems with exempting certain types of housing from annual growth limits;

• mandatory mergers of substandard lots are needed;

• it’s necessary to keep houses in proportion to lot size; 

• it’s undesirabe to use the Princeton waterfront for residential uses;

• rezoning the Burnham Strip in El Granada to permit residential use would conflict with Coastal Act;

• there is a need for more locals-serving business zoning to reduce car trips out of the Coastside;

• there are problems with rezoning the area around the airport;

• there must be mitigation for the traffic impact of any new development, including single houses;

• the county must keep some kinds of zoning in character with the rural areas of the Midcoast;

• rezoning the Devil’s Slide Bypass as open space is desirable and easy to do;

• it’s important to keep down the amount of impervious surfaces and winter grading to improve water quality;

• the county must keep the LCP consistent with the Coastal Act;

• the county proposal "would substantially weaken the LCP visual resource protection standards" ;

• priority water connections designated for coastal-dependent and visitor-serving uses should not be used for "affordable" residential uses.

It’s clear that the much work needs to be done before the Midcoast LCP update would be in a form that is legally consistent with the California Coastal Act, a necessary condition before it can approved by the Coastal Commission itself.  However, until that time, the county’s current LCP (which many believe to be inadequate to control the rapid housing construction boom and expanding traffic problems) will remain in force. Many believe this outcome would satisfy the well-financed and well-connected development community.

This raises the bigger question of whether the residents of the Midcoast can control our own communities unless we have local government.

Mike Ferreira has asked for a recount in the Half Moon Bay City Council election.  He has hired political attorney Peter Bagatelos of San Francisco to assist him the process.  Because there were only about 4,000 ballots, it’s unlikely that the recount will take long. Also, because the biggest questions surround the smaller number of absentee and provisional ballots counted after election night, the Ferreira team’s questions might be satisfied without recounting all 4,000 ballots. But if more questions emerge during the recount, it’s difficult to predict where it will lead. From the county’s release:

According to the Chief Elections Officer, “After the request has been filed, the California Elections Code provides the registrar with seven days to begin the recount. The first step will be for the parties to sit down and go through all the ground rules for the recount—how many observers, the hours, the breaks, the people, the questions, etc.”

“A number of questions relative to the recount will be decided by Mr. Ferreira, including what kind of recount will be requested. It could be a manual count, a machine count, or both. In some instances, a candidate will request that the precincts be recounted in a certain order,” explained Slocum.

The person requesting the recount is responsible for the cost of the recount. Recount costs vary depending on the type of recount requested and the size of the district and number of votes that are being recounted. The person requesting the recount posts a deposit at the beginning of each day for estimated costs for the vote counting to be performed. If the recount is completed, and the results of the election are reversed, the person requesting the recount is refunded the money they placed on deposit.

The person requesting a recount can decide at any time during the recount to halt the recount. They are charged for the time and labor involved in the recount up to that point.

Today was the deadline for filing a recount request. For more information on election law and recounts, see the county’s election website.

Click "read more" to read the county’s press release on Ferreira’s request.

Join The Sippy Cups in a benefit for the conflict resolution program at Farallone View Elementary.

"We Can Work It Out" trains third, fourth and fifth grade students to mediate conflicts in the school yard. Students will learn techniques on how to communicate and handle everyday conflicts. "We Can Work It Out" will help the classroom and the entire school become a more peaceful and productive environment.

The Sippy Cups are the Bay Area’s freshest family performance troupe,  playing cool tunes irresistible to kids and parents alike. The playlist is drawn from The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, Bowie and The Ramones as well as fabulous original songs. The San Francisco Chronicle calls the Sippy Cups "every parent’s favorite kid rock band and quite possibly the illegitimate offspring of The Cat in the Hat and Joey Ramone."

Special guest, Rock Steady Juggling uses juggling, comedy and audience participation to teach ground rules and 3 steps to working out conflicts.

Friday, December 9th at 7pm in the Farallone View Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room (LeConte and Third St in Montara).  $10-$20 sliding scale.

Mike Ferreira has been quiet about his plans, but the deadline for filing for a recount is Monday at 5pm [California Election Code]. Ferreira’s supporters have certainly been urging him to do so, after the post-election vote counts turned his 59-vote election-night victory into a startling 14-vote defeat. A recount request might be in the offing.

Burglary of an unlocked car and a stolen truck on Ware Road, Sheriff’s deputies and dogs assist HMB PD in capturing a hiding suspect at Poplar Beach, $2,000 worth of Queen Anne’s Lace flowers (how much is that?) in San Gregorio, slashed tires in La Honda, a drug arrest in a locker on Airport Blvd., and five DUI arrests (including one driving 25 miles an hour under the speed limit and another leading deputies to his house in slow pursuit).  Says the Sheriff’s office: "The Sheriff’s Office made five alcohol related arrests on the Coast this week, and will continue to strictly enforce alcohol laws, especially DUI, throughout December."

Click "read more" for details.

Coastside author Diana R. Chambers will sign copies of her romantic thriller, The Company She Keeps, at Barnes & Noble, Saturday, December 10. Saturday is Farallone View Day at Barnes & Noble, and the store will donate a portion of the day’s sales from 10am to 5pm to the school. Chambers will be at Barnes & Noble Serramonte, 119 Colma Blvd. from noon to 5 p.m.

Fourth-seeded Half Moon Bay High School defeated second-seeded Seaside 14-7 at the Central Coast Section Small School Division championship game at Foothill College on Saturday, reports the Chronicle.

It wasn’t easy. The Cougars had to make a late stand against second-seeded Seaside (10-3), which had a 1st-and-goal from the Half Moon Bay 2-yard line with 25 seconds remaining. With no timeouts, Seaside quarterback Jermaine Carter was stopped just short of the goal line with 17 seconds to go. Seaside quickly huddled up, with Carter intending to spike the ball. However, Carter had gone down on one knee before spiking the ball, and time expired, setting off a wild Cougars celebration.

UPDATE: The Mercury News reports that the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office dispatched up to 20 deputies when fight broke out after the game.  Seaside players had apparently complained about a ruling that permitted the clock to be run out before a play. No injuries were reported, although 50 to 100 people were reportedly fighting in the field.

Michael Smookler

Wiencke’s Hotel was built in Moss Beach in 1882.  J.F. Wiencke, whose photograph is on the cover of the book, founded Moss Beach in 1881. The hotel and restaurant burned in 1911.  Wiencke Way begins at Highway 1 and extends westward towards the ocean.

Michael Smookler, who self-published Montara: A Pictorial History last year, has just published second book of Coastside history.  Arcadia Publishing just released The San Mateo County Coast. Smookler will hold a book signing at the Barnes & Noble in San Bruno Saturday, December 10 from 1 to 3 pm.

The book covers a history of the coast from San Francisco to Año Nuevo, emphasizing how the geology of the coast has impacted the history of the coast.  The first chapter deals with earthquakes, faults, and landslides.  Later chapters cover roads, agriculture, fishing, hotels and restaurants, and defenses.  There are 200 photographs including inputs from the R. Guy Smith collection, Al Baccari collection (US Bank in Pacifica), the Deeney family (Martin Beach), and many others.

Smookler consulted with a geologist on the staff of NOAA for guidance.  "I also wanted to see and photograph the coast like early Spanish explorers," he told me in an email, "so I chartered a fishing boat captained by Moon Mullins for this purpose." Highlights include the bombing of Pillar Point Air Force Station in 1975, the 4,000 pounds of fish heads dumped on the Port of Oakland, and construction of the tunnel.