Want some idea of the LCP-related issues facing the Coastside? Here's a sampling.

  1. Surfer parking - surfers need somewhere to park. The state, the county, and the harbor district own land, but no one seems to have anywhere for beach goers to park. So, for now, they cross the highway in a dangerous game of "Frogger".
  2. Water supply - is the system barely hanging in there, or are we looking at the next major tool of growth?
  3. Implementation of Measure D - Half Moon Bay voters overwhelmingly voted for a 1% annual growth limit, yet we wait for the City to implement it. All that seems to be happening is that growth is being "defined away" to make the most obvious growth not count. Several large developments are seeking exemption from Measure D.
  4. The New downtown? - have you noticed how the new fire station is right across the highway from Wavecrest? Get ready, there's more coming... but don't expect anyone to explain that the piecemealing of projects is going to undermine the planning and controls we have in the HMB LCP.
  5. Wavecrest - a project that will substantially shift the city's population center, forever change traffic patterns, and shift important services across the highway and to the south of where they are now, and the Coastal Commission staff has nothing good to say about the project’s impact on natural resources or compliance with the Half Moon Bay LCP.
  6. Middle School - tied to the no-end-in-sight Wavecrest project, the school board wants to put the middle school even further away from Midcoast residents, and seems content to wait for however long it takes to help facilitate the Wavecrest project.
  7. Boys and Girls Club - a very popular project, often used as the "do it for the kids" excuse to throw LCP compliance to the wind and approve Wavecrest. Because it, too, is tied to Wavecrest, the kids of the Coastside get to wait until the Club wises up, or the Coastal Commission is coerced into ignoring the LCP.
  8. Ten million dollar police station - are you ready for a $10M police station next door to the big, shiny new fire station?
  9. Library - where do you suppose the new library is going to go? Will it, too, help anchor the Wavecrest-centered development boom?
  10. Beechwood appeal - a local court told HMB that it doesn't have the right to determine land use policies. Maybe we can help the Coastal Commission put control back where it belongs. 
  11. Railroad Right of Way - open space between neighborhoods and the bluffs seems like a no-brainer to protect, but it seems that property rights have gotten confusing, and developers have big plans.
  12. Parks - in the unincorporated Midcoast, the County sees no reason to provide community parks for the taxpayers who ordinarily would get them from their city. In Half Moon Bay and on the Midcoast, land that might serve as parks is getting developed fast.
  13. Burnham Strip - open space dedicated to the public, but under development pressure anyway.
  14. GSD's CSD - with the County ignoring parks for the residents, Granada Sanitary District has begun looking into the possibility of forming up a Community Services District to address the need while there's still some undeveloped open spaces available for parks.
  15. Disking - the fire department seems to think that our open spaces are dangerous fire hazards, and has spent years discing (plowing up) vast areas, often destroying evidence of sensitive habitats. With some encouragement, they're now mowing in HMB instead. Perhaps with a little more encouragement, they might limit mowing to creating fire breaks. And, of course, the Midcoast is still getting plowed.
  16. Filling Creeks - our water resources are precious. Not only do threatened species count on the creeks, our water supplies also depend on the creeks. And yet, evidence continues to mount that creeks are getting filled, and wet areas are being drained. Developers know that creeks and wetlands limit development opportunities.
  17. Horses - horses are good things, and they belong on the Coastside. However, some horse owners would use them to get a free pass to ignore the LCPs.
  18. Mirada Surf - on land zoned for open space, zoning would allow for at most two homes. Developers would put 30 to 45 houses there instead. Mirada Surf has all the classic markings of a good ol' Developers vs. LCP fight - SLAPP suits, ignoring zoning, draining wetlands, cutting trees, bogus "negotiations" and "public process", developers represented by ex-county Land Use attorneys, threats to sue government bodies who enforce the laws...and more.
  19. 4200 acres for sale - the land that wraps around Montara to the north and east, and back around behind Moss Beach, coming out at the airport. $50M asking price. Montara and Moss Beach residents typically thought the land was already protected. Until May 8, 2001, it wasn't, and was under constant threat of development. POST purchased it and will protect it for future generations.


  20. Oh, there are so many more issues where our LCPs can help guide decision makers...
  21. Downtown Parking
  22. Redevelopment
  23. TDRs (Transfer of Development Rights)
  24. SMC County /planning /Board of Supervisors
  25. Clean ocean water and clean outflow
  26. Master plan for the Marine Reserve
  27. Master plan for Harbor District
  28. HMB legal costs
  29. Initiatives
  30. San Mateo County legal costs
  31. Sewer Intertie Expansion
  32. Pesticide/runoff contamination
  33. 1% Growth control in the County
  34. Non-vehicular travel - Parallel trail
  35. Affordable housing
  36. Developer lawsuits

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