Help save HMB park!

Posted June 12, 2007 / Updated June 28, 2007

• What’s happening
• Why this is important
• What you can do

The Half Moon Bay City Council is considering selling Pilarcitos Park, acquired by the city in 2004 to help meet the recreational needs of the coastside. Please write to Mayor Naomi Patridge and the City Council and ask that they move forward with implementing the plan for Pilarcitos Park rather than selling the property.

What’s happening
On Tuesday, June 5, in a closed session, the City Council discussed the possible sale of the Pilarcitos Park site. Apparently the Council did not decide — yet — to sell the property. The Council needs to hear from park supporters that parks are essential community assets that should not be sold.

Two years ago Half Moon Bay purchased a 21-acre parcel of land adjacent to Highway 92 from Nurserymen’s Exchange for a community park. Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) provided an interest-free loan of $3.1 million for the purchase, and offered to work with the city to find funding sources. The purchase price was substantially less than the appraised value of $4.6 million.

After an extensive planning process, the City Council adopted a Master Plan that has both active (soccer, baseball and basketball) facilities and passive uses such as trails, a community garden, and restoration of the riparian area along Pilarcitos Creek.

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Why this is important
Like many other cities on the Peninsula, Half Moon Bay and the Mid-Coast have a great need for parks for active recreation and other community needs, such as picnicking and trails. There are no other available sites that can accommodate the variety of uses that would be possible at the proposed Pilarcitos Park.

POST has written to the City Council offering to extend their loan for a year, with the proviso that the city will commit to developing the park. Even with this offer, a majority of the council seems to favor selling the property — presumably for development.

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What you can do
1. Please write, fax, or email the City Council by Tuesday, June 19, and ask them to drop the idea of selling Pilarcitos Park, and instead to work with POST and other organizations and agencies to make Pilarcitos Park a reality.

Send your letters to:
Mayor Naomi Patridge and Members of the City Council
City of Half Moon Bay
501 Main Street
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

Send letters by email:
Naomi Patridge, Mayor
City Council Members:
Bonnie McClung
Marina Fraser
Jim Grady
John Muller

2. Express your views in an online poll at the Half Moon Bay Review that will end today Tuesday, June 12th. It asks whether the park should be developed as planned, developed to a lesser degree, or sold. We have learned that some of the pro development folks are spamming the poll, so it is important to get more people to speak out in favor of proceeding with development of the park. To vote, go to the Half Moon Bay Review. You will see the poll in the upper right hand corner of the main page.

To learn more, read CGF’s San Mateo Advocate Lennie Roberts’ letter to the council. You can also read more about the story in the San Mateo County Times.

Update: See Lennie Roberts’ “Matter of Opinion” in the Half Moon Bay Review.

Thanks for speaking up — your voice does make a difference!

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