Get involved in the update of the Midcoast LCP
Posted September 30, 2003 / Updated December 8, 2005

• Background
• What's happening   
• What is an LCP, anyway? Read our Primer
• Why this is important   
• What's next   UPDATED
• What you can do   UPDATED
   

San Mateo County is in the process of updating its Midcoast Local Coastal Program (LCP), an important regulatory document that dictates how the California Coastal Act is implemented locally. Now is your chance to get involved in the process and ensure that it continues to provide good protections for coastal open space.

Background
The LCP has become the critical document governing land use in the San Mateo County Coastal Zone (generally, five miles inland from the ocean). The Coastal Act and the LCP establish priorities for land uses in the Coastal Zone, giving coastal resources and sensitive habitats highest priority for protection, enhancement, and restoration. Protection of agricultural land and coastal-dependent industrial uses are second priority, followed by public recreation, visitor-serving uses and public access. New private residential, general industrial, and general commercial development have the lowest priority under the Coastal Act.

For more information about the Local Coastal Program, read our LCP Primer.

What's happening   
While there have been amendments to the County's LCP since it was adopted in 1980, the policies have never been comprehensively reviewed. Prompted by rapidly changing demographics, an escalation of appeals challenging County-issued project permits and the continuing decline of coastal resources, San Mateo County responded to citizens' requests and began a review and update of the Midcoast LCP in 2003.

After a number of public hearings, the San Mateo County Planning Commission has passed its recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, which has held six hearings on the update. They have now gone back to the drawing board and proposed their own set of updates for the Midcoast LCP.

The Supervisors' proposed updates would weaken environmental protections in this area and promote intensive growth. A hearing on this proposal was held on Tuesday, December 6, in Half Moon Bay to a standing-room-only crowd. Nearly fifty Coastsiders asked the supervisors to reconsider their plan. Only two who didn’t have an obvious financial interest in the plan spoke in favor of it. The decision was made to hold an additional hearing at 10:30am Tuesday, December 13, in the Board of Supervisors' Chamber in Redwood City.

The proposed amendments must be certified by the Coastal Commission to ensure that they are consistent with the Coastal Act.

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Why this is important
The LCP encourages sound land management and resource protection in the face of growing population pressures on the San Mateo County Coast. Strong LCP policies can help guide land use decisions that will ensure the livability and sustainability of our coastal communities.

After months of study of water, sewer and road capacity, population density, the jobs/housing imbalance and the need to serve both visitors and residents, the San Mateo County Planning Commission has forwarded to the Board of Supervisors their recommendations on the update of the Midcoast Local Coastal Program.

These proposed amendments will help clarify regulations regarding new development and will bring the LCP into better compliance with the Coastal Act. They will also make policies and procedures simpler and more consistent, benefiting project applicants, neighbors, and the County.

Committee for Green Foothills strongly supports the recommendations of the Planning Commission with only one exception: we oppose the Commission's recommended change for "Caretakers Quarters in the Waterfront District," which would allow increased residential use in these non-residential areas.

The Supervisors’ alternative plan would bring large and unsustainable growth to the Midcoast and damage our fragile coastal resources. Water and sewer capacity in this region is already taxed. Transportation is problematic and getting worse.

Their proposal would, among other things, allow the addition of 3000-3400 housing units to the some 3700 existing units, and set annual growth limits at 2% — double that of neighboring communities. Importantly, their plan also fails to deal with the troublesome problem of substandard lots, and proposes a 5-7 year delay in dealing with protections for the unused Devil’s Slide Bypass Right-of-Way property, a popular and heavily-used open space area.

You can read County documents, including the Planning Commission recommendations, on the LCP page of their website. You can read CGF's January 2005 letter, which includes a summary of the Planning Commission's recommendations and CGF's positions and CGF's November 29, 2005 letter, which urges the Supervisors to accept the Planning Commission's recommendations.

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What's next   UPDATED
The next hearing is Tuesday, December 13, 10:30am at the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors' Chamber, 400 County Center, Hall of Justice in Redwood City.

Instead of the Supervisors’ plan, CGF supports most of the recommendations of the County Planning Commission. Please tell the Supervisors to listen to the advice of the Planning Commission and the Midcoast Community Council — the groups that spent years hearing from citizens and making recommendations for a viable Local Coastal Program that would adequately protect coastal resources.

Pro-development forces have been lobbying the Supervisors heavily on these issues, and this is an important time to speak up.

Points to make before the Board or in your letter:
Ask the Supervisors to revise the LCP as recommended by the San Mateo County Planning Commission, specifically:

• Set a 1% growth rate to be consistent with that of Half Moon Bay and Pacifica
• Require the merger of substandard lots to make them compatible with the rest of the community, and to ensure that any development that occurs on them will not overtax the water, sewer, and transportation resources
• Move forward now with the surplus Devil’s Slide Bypass Right-of-Way property to ensure the future use of this land (once destined to be a freeway) as a recreational trail.

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What you can do   UPDATED

1. Speak up at the Supervisors' hearing.

We know that the real estate and construction lobbyists will be there in force: stand up for coastal protections!

Tuesday, December 13, 10:30am at the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors' Chamber, 400 County Center, Hall of Justice in Redwood City.

2. Write a letter to the Board of Supervisors.

Ask them to ensure that the LCP is based on the Coastal Act and protects the Midcoast.

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Board President Rich Gordon
Members Mark Church, Jerry Hill, Rose Jacobs Gibson and Adrienne Tissier
400 County Center
Redwood City, 94063
email rgordon@co.sanmateo.ca.us, mchurch@co.sanmateo.ca.us, jhill@co.sanmateo.ca.us, RoseJG@co.sanmateo.ca.us,
atissier@co.sanmateo.ca.us
Fax 650-599-1027

Please send copies of your correspondence to our office (info@GreenFoothills.org; fax 650-968-8431) to help us track the efficacy of our efforts. As always, mailed or faxed letters are best, but emails are also helpful.

This is an important time to speak up for preservation of the Midcoast. Please let the Supervisors hear from you — your voice does make a difference!

3. Learn more...

Read the December 8 article on Coastsider.com.
Read the December 7 article in the Half Moon Bay Review.
Read the November 24 article on Coastsider.com.
Read Committee for Green Foothills' January 2005 letter to the Board of Supervisors.
Read CGF's Fall 2003 newsletter article about the LCP Update process.
Read the Coastal Commission's Frequently Asked Questions about Local Coastal Programs.
Read the current San Mateo County LCP.
Read CGF's recommendations to the Planning Commission.
Read the Midcoast Community Council's recommendations to the Planning Commission.
Read CGF's November 29, 2005 letter to the Supervisors.

You can read the San Mateo County Local Coastal Program online here, or download the entire document as a PDF file (1.7MB).

Paper copies of the Mid-Coast LCP are available for purchase in the County Planning Diviion on the second floor of the County Government Center building, 455 County Center, Redwood City.

The County has other planning documents available online here.

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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