Deceptive campaign threatens open space -- say NO to protest form
Posted April 27, 2003 / Updated June 14, 2004

• What's happening
• Misinformation campaign could kill open space protections
• Background
• Latest news    UPDATED!
• What's next    UPDATED!
• What you can do



What's happening
Despite final approval by the San Mateo County LAFCo Board on April 7 and a "thumbs up" from coastside voters, the expansion of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) to the Coast is now in jeopardy.

In the face of broad support for the program, open space opponents are running a deceptive campaign that could kill the entire plan to expand MROSD boundaries and protect coastal open space.

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Unfortunately, these forms are being circulated with considerable misinformation, which is tricking some people into signing. The stakes are very high: if signature-gatherers collect some 8,000 signatures from coastside voters, the entire program will be killed. If they collect between 4,000 and 8,000 signatures, the matter will be turned over to the voters.

We've been working hard to get the word out to coastal voters: do not sign the misleading protest forms! Signatures on these deceptive forms could forever kill the protections offered by the Open Space District expansion.

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Background
MROSD's proposal to expand to include the coastside comes after voters asked them to come to the Coast. Over the past few years, the District has held many, many public hearings; input from these hearings are reflected in its final proposal to expand MROSD boundaries. Expansion of the special district boundaries will allow MROSD to purchase lands within these boundaries, helping to protect coastal agriculture and provide for the preservation and management of public open space on our Coastside.

The Coastside Protection Program is the best way we have to protect coastal open space and agriculture for the long-term. Under this program, MROSD will purchase lands only from willing sellers. And the program has been carefully developed to ensure that schools and local services will not suffer. MROSD has signed special agreements with the San Mateo County Fire District and the La Honda-PescaderoUnified School District, and worked to ensure that there will be no negative fiscal impacts to special districts.

Committee for Green Foothills activists were integral in the formation of the District thirty years ago, and supported its subsequent expansion to include the southern part of San Mateo County.

Together with other members of the Coastal Open Space Alliance, we are working hard to support this decision to allow MROSD's expansion and coastal open space protections. This remains CGF's highest priority for San Mateo County.

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Latest news   UPDATED!
Two opponents of the MROSD boundary expansion asked the LAFCo board to reconsider their approval of the project, claiming that new evidence had arisen. On Wednesday, June 2, 2004 the LAFCo board voted unanimously to deny these requests, and their decision stands.

Monday, June 14, 2004 was the deadline for open space opponents to turn in signatures of coastsiders opposing the expansion of the Open Space District.

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What's next    UPDATED!
Protest signatures now need to be validated and counted by the San Mateo County Elections Department and LAFCo officials, with a final count due sometime in the next month. Given enough signatures on the protest form, the issue will be placed on the ballot yet again, probably sometime this year.

Because the opponents' fear-based campaign has been unscrupulous and deceptive from its inception, open space supporters have asked to monitor the process of validating and tallying signatures to ensure a fair public process.

Committee for Green Foothills, Coastal Open Space Alliance, and many, many supporters of the proposed boundary expansion continue to be active throughout the coastside community educating the public about the importance of this effort. We remain dedicated to seeing this project through so that the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District can purchase lands on the coastside and protect them for the public.

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What you can do

1. Don't sign the protest form!
Opponents of open space are circulating their protest forms on the Coast right now. They need only 8,000 coastside voters to overturn the decision to allow the MROSD expansion -- your signature could overturn years of hard work to protect open space. Don't sign the protest form!

Remember, coastside voters asked MROSD to expand its boundaries to the San Mateo County Coastside with the passage of Measure F in 1998.

If you've already signed the protest form and have since learned the facts, LAFCo does have a process for rescinding your signature. Download the Protest Withdrawal Form here; the form includes directions for submitting the form to LAFCo.

For more questions about withdrawing your signature from the protest, please contact CGF Legislative Advocate April Vargas by email or at (650) 728-5215.

2. Get involved.
We need help to educate coastal voters and dispel the mistruths being spread by the protest signature gatherers.

If you can help write letters, educate citizens, or volunteer on the Coast, please contact CGF Legislative Advocate April Vargas by email or at (650) 728-5215.

3. Learn more...
You can view a map of the current District boundary, and the proposed expansion, on the MROSD website.

Visit the new website of the alliance formed to support the MROSD expansion, Coastal Open Space Alliance. Their Frequently Asked Questions page is particularly helpful.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District website has some good information about the proposal, including maps and planning documents.

To learn some of the opponents' mistruths and read the real facts, read "Charges and Responses" in the March 31 Almanac.


Background reading:
November 13, 2003 Mercury News article showing strong support for Coastal protections.
June 4, 2003 article in the Mercury News.
July 2, 2003 editorial in the Half Moon Bay Review.

Stay on top of the latest with this and other local environmental issues -- sign up to receive Committee for Green Foothills action alerts by email.

4. Support Committee for Green Foothills.
Become a CGF member or make a donation.

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