Letter: Save our greenbelt/open spaces from urbanized development

There is a need for the tax-paying homeowner/residents in the Midcoast & HMB to put a stop to active attacks on the Coastside’s greenbelt/open space areas, now.

For instance, the Harbor District is attempting to sell areas of Burnham Buffer Strip in El Granada Zoned Community Open Space Conservation & is rural Land. This is wrong - it is a public greenbelt/open space area that is there by law to separate El Granada from SR1. The State Lands Commission has determined that the Harbor District manage it not, play real estate games with it. 

The Mirada Surf East greenbelt/open space that is there to separate one developed area (El Granada) from another (Miramar) & El Granada from SR1 which is RM/CZ & also rural land is also under attack.
This is the County’s urbanized Park/Rec Plan that threatens this treasured Greenbelt/Open Space Entity.
http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/vgn/images/portal/cit_609/5/41/1051973884Midcoast%20Parks%20Action%20Plan_new%20pics.pdf
The placement of a "Community Center" & Active Sports Fields would be totally inappropriate to put inside the Mirada Surf East Greenbelt/Open Space and a County Scenic Corridor with Riparian/Wetland/ESHA areas & rural land and a critical component of the Historic Burnham Street Plan and also the Mid-Coast’s Open Space Element that the County has no mention of in their fraudulent, exploitive "LCP Update" where development including Water/Sewer Infrastructure is prohibited.

The Mirada Surf East greenbelt/open space area is inside the community of El Granada a one-of-a-kind Designed Community by Daniel Burnham which is a County Historic Resource that needs to be preserved NOT destroyed by the ambitions to facilitate the County’s plan to double the population in the Mid-Coast.
This type of Urbanized Park/Rec Development should be located in a more appropriate area such as on the land near the HMB Airport where people would be able to enter & exit such facilities off both SR1 and Airport Rd.
The following two meetings may be the only chance for the tax-paying homeowner/residents who live off Santiago & its cross streets in El Granada and others who are concerned not to allow this Greenbelt/Open Spaces be destroyed by Urbanized Park/Rec Development to provide Supervisor Richard Gordon & Dave Holland, Director of the County Parks Dept. your concerns about continuous traffic coming & going from this type of Urbanized Development - especially people living right off Santiago and its cross streets, parking problems, active sports fields which may require outdoor lighting facilities, group congregation in the area, dirt, noise and safety issues.

Note that Gordon/Holland’s proposed plans would include anyone from Half Moon Bay through Montara and outside visitors coming and going from the "community center" & active sports fields!
There will be a presentation at 7:00 pm tonight at the HMB Park/Rec meeting in the "Sun Room" at the Ted Adcock Center of these Urbanized Park/Rec Facility Plans which would be destructive of Mirada Surf’s Natural Environment and the Community of El Granada especially, off of Santiago & its cross streets which is directly adjacent to the highly scenic areas of Mirada Surf East. See agenda here:
http://www.half-moon-bay.ca.us/calendar_2008/February_2008/parksagenda_022608.pdf

See the Mid-Coast Council Agenda for tommorow night at the Seton Moss Beach Medical Center at 7:30 pm here:

http://mcc.sanmateo.org/agendas/MCC-agenda-2008-02-27.pdf

See the BOS Agenda Item below where County has snuck their Urbanized Park/Rec Plan into their NEW "Coastal Trail"/"Bikeways" agenda item - THIS ISN’T RIGHT! It is as if the people in El Granada DON’T MATTER! /Barb Mauz
 
COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
Department of Parks
 
DATE: January 22, 2008
BOARD MEETING DATE: January 29, 2008
SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING: None
VOTE REQUIRED: Majority
 
TO: Honorable Board of Supervisors
FROM: David G. Holland, Director, Department of Parks
SUBJECT: Application for a $108,834 Community-Based Transportation Planning Grant from Caltrans for Improving Safety and Mobility along Highway 1 on the Unincorporated San Mateo County Midcoast
 
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a resolution approving the submittal of an application by the County of San Mateo to the State of California Department of Transportation’s FY 2007-2008 Caltrans Community–Based Transportation Planning Grant Program for a grant in the amount of $108,834 and authorizing the Director of Parks, or designee, to 1) enter into a contract with the State of California Department of Transportation upon receipt of a Community-Based Transportation Planning Grant from that agency; 2) take all necessary steps to secure the grant funds from the State of California Department of Transportation to provide funds for the project; 3) conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents, including but not limited to contracts, subcontracts, applications, agreements, extensions, renewals, payment requests, and amendments of funding provided by the Federal Highway Administration and California Department of Transportation, which may be necessary for the completion of the project; and 4) accept, appropriate, expend, and administer the grant funds, if secured, in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the approved grant for the project.
 
VISION ALIGNMENT:
Commitment: Preserve and provide people access to our natural environment.
Goal 15: Residents have nearby access to green space, such as parks and recreational opportunities.
This grant, if awarded, will fund a project to develop a plan to improve connections across and along Highway 1 including access to green space WITH RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.
 
BACKGROUND:
The County of San Mateo produced the MIDCOAST ACTION PLAN FOR PARKS AND RECREATION (MIDCOAST PLAN) in 2007. The County has developed the proposed "Improving Safety and Mobility along Highway 1 on the Unincorporated Midcoast of San Mateo County Project" (Project) to begin implementing the goals identified in the Midcoast Plan.
This Project will develop a plan to improve the connections across and along Highway 1; will provide details on how Highway 1 can better serve the communities, both as a corridor for high volume vehicle traffic flow and for improving access for pedestrians, people with mobility challenges, and bicyclists; and will incorporate design details to enhance the appearance of the Highway to make the EL GRANADA and MIRAMAR areas AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION FOR VISITORS AND AREA RESIDENTS.
 
DISCUSSION:
The three primary goals of this Project are to: 1) increase pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle safety along Highway 1; 2) increase economic opportunity along the highway corridors by using principles of context-sensitive design, and 3) provide transportation options for those that cannot, or choose not to use cars for short, local trips and commuting to work, and thus reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips. The Project’s result will be a plan that develops more mobility options by increasing and improving connections within the area along Highway 1 from El Granada to Half Moon Bay. The five major steps of this Project involve: 1) Planning and coordination; 2) Data collection; 3) Publicity and outreach; 4) Charrette event, and: 5) Report and follow up.
 
The final product will be a 40-plus page report that includes an overview of the public process, text, graphics and photographs that clearly illustrate specific conceptual design solutions for the corridor. A draft version will be distributed for review and made available to charrette participants and the community at large. The plan for the community will be developed with extensive public input that addresses the core concerns of the stakeholders. The County will partner with the Local Government Commission, a nonprofit organization with extensive technical skills. Walkable Communities’ nationally recognized expert, Dan Burden, will also be a key design team member.
 
FISCAL IMPACT:
The County proposes to apply for $108,834 in grant funds and the County will be providing $27,210 in local matching funds, half of which will be in-kind for staff time and other administrative costs. County funding will be secured from existing, planned funding with no additional funding requested from the General Fund.