Half Moon Bay is moving quickly to build its new park

Half Moon Bay kicked off the planning process for its new park at noon today with a tour of the property and a workshop. Almost immediately after arriving, more than fifty participants, including most of the City Council, Parks Commission and Planning Commission, were loaded onto school buses for a short ride to the site.

We were able to walk around the property for the first time since the plan was announced, guided by city staff and mayor Mike Ferreira.  Take a look at our photo album for pictures and details.  We got a good look at the creek, the buildings, the drainage system, and a sense of how the site sits on the land between the creek and Highway 92.

There are plenty of improvements on the site that make it more attractive for a park site, according the mayor. A number existing structures will make it easier to get permits for needed buildings, such as restrooms. An existing gravel road can be used as an extension of the city’s creekside trail. Other roads could make it cheaper to provide vehicle access, including a road that connects to Highway 92 that is currently fenced off from, but part of, the property. The drainage system is designed to capture runoff before it goes to the creek and pump it into the holding pond in the northeast corner, where it can be used for irrigation.

As we walked the site, a number of challenges also became clear.  The site is big, but not big enough to contain all the ideas for its use and parking to support them. The planned widening of Highway 92 will eat into the northern edge of the park, removing the Monterey pines that currently line the highway. You can see how close the park will be to many homes in the Cypress Cove development. There will need to be a 50 to 100 foot buffer zone north of the creekside trail.

The meeting that followed was enthusiastic and supportive. There are dozens of ideas for the site, including community gardens, picnic areas, meditation garden, horseshoe pits, soccer fields,  amphitheater, playgrounds, nature areas, and creekside seating.

The principal challenges focused, predictably, on traffic, parking, lights, security, and noise.  Cypress Cove residents were especially concerned that their quiet cul de sac on Stone Pine Road would become a thoroughfare.

While it’s clear that wide community input is being sought, everyone in the city government is clearly ready to make this happen fast. Several people, including the mayor, expressed concern that if this project gets tangled up in process it might never result in a park. Or that if the land is left unused for long, "it could turn into habitat." A request for proposal for landscape architects has been written and will be presented at the next City Council meeting.

The City Council will appoint a park committee at their next meeting on Tuesday, November 16. Their goal is to include at least two members from each precinct, representatives of other constuencies, as well as some midcoast residents. If you’re interested in serving on the committee, which will involve a pretty big time commitment over the next six months or so, call the Parks & Recreation Department at 726.8297.