MROSD expansion approved!

Great news: on Wednesday, April 7, 2004, the San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo), the agency charged with approving boundary changes for any special districts, voted overwhelmingly to approve expansion of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) to the San Mateo County Coast. This is a huge victory for environmental protection and sound management of our agricultural and natural resources on the Coast!

A HUGE thanks to the many CGF members and other citizens who spoke up at hearings, wrote letters, and sent postcards and emails in support of the protection of coastal agriculture and accessible open space on the coastside. Support for this project has been overwhelmingly positive, and it was particularly wonderful to see and hear from so many people who agree that expanding the District's boundaries is the best way we have to ensure long-term protection of our precious coastal resources.

What's next?
LAFCo's approval sets the stage for the extension of District boundaries to include some 140,000 acres west of Skyline. The addition of this region to the District will allow MROSD to purchase and manage lands in this area and create public open space preserves on the Coast.

While the expansion of MROSD's boundaries has been widely supported by thousands of citizens, community leaders, organizations and businesses, those who oppose it may take the step of protesting the LAFCo board's decision. To protest this vote, they will likely be collecting signatures on petitions that could drive this issue to the ballot - or, if they collect enough signatures, even overturn the Commission's vote. We will be working hard to defeat this campaign, and will keep you informed as things develop.

Thanks to LAFCo board and staff
The public process leading up to today's vote has been extraordinary. The Commission's 6-1 vote to allow the expansion concludes several years of study and public input, significant planning by District staff and board, and months of hearings. The San Mateo County LAFCo alone has heard nearly 200 citizens speak up at public meetings. The resulting approval documents reflect revisions made after careful consideration of this public input.

We'd like to thank the LAFCo Commissioners for their careful consideration of this proposal. The Commission demonstrated extraordinary patience with this matter, scheduled additional meetings to accommodate those who wanted to speak, and in consideration of that public input, amended the terms of the proposal.