Save Our Bay wasn’t the reason for Commission’s tunnel appeal

A couple of days ago, I ran Save Our Bay’s press release saying that the Coastal Commission was appealing San Mateo county’s approval of the Devil’s Slide Tunnel.  That press release implied that Oscar Braun’s lawsuit was the reason for the appeal.

According to the San Mateo Times, the Coastal Commission is appealing the tunnel to hold up final approval until Caltrans transfers the bypass right-of-way to state parks in accordance with Measure T and the LCP. This is being accomplished by Senate Bill 792, which is on its way to the governor. According to the executive director of the commission,  "Once the legislation gets to the governor’s desk—and we’re told the governor will sign it—that takes care of it". The Pacifica Tribune also has a very good account of the situation.

The San Mateo Times says that Braun’s appeal was described as "patently frivolous," by the commission’s executive director.

According to Save Our Bay’s press release:

Following the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors decision approving coastal mitigation permits for the Devil’s Slide Tunnel Project, local press and media predicated that work on the Caltrans project would be delayed by legal appeals. The focus of this speculation was mainly directed to Oscar Braun, Executive Director of the Half Moon Bay Coastside Foundation aka Save Our Bay, an outspoken advocate for compliance with state and federal environmental requirements. Ironically, the Coastal Commission’s staff today informed Save Our Bay that its appeal was being reviewed for compliance with technical administrative requirements while the Coastal Commission’s appeal has been officially accepted. [Appeal A-2-SMC-04-011 (Devil’s Slide Tunnel)].

In response to learning about the appeal of the Devil’s Slide Tunnel Project, Braun applauded the Coastal Commission for making the hard decision to look into important environmental issues despite the many controversies relating to the project.

The Coastal Commission didn’t return my call about SOB’s press release.