Open Space District expands to the Coast!
by Kathy Switky

One of CGF's highest priorities over the last few years just became reality! In September, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) expanded its boundaries to include some 140,000 acres west of Skyline Boulevard on the San Mateo County Coast.

The MROSD expansion caps more than seven years of work by Committee for Green Foothills and many other activists to protect our fragile coastal resources and working farms. This is a major win for agricultural lands and coastal open space.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the many citizen activists who have spoken up at hearings, written letters, sent postcards and been involved in this process for many years. Thanks to the continued leadership of CGF Legislative Advocates April Vargas and Lennie Roberts, COSA spokesperson Zoe Kersteen-Tucker and many other volunteers throughout the community, we have set the stage for coastal open space protection for future generations.

District expansion means MROSD can purchase land
San Mateo County's Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which oversees all changes in boundaries for all special districts, filed a Certificate of Completion on the annexation in September to complete the deal. Now the District can begin to purchase lands from willing sellers and create public open space preserves on the Coast.

Protest attempt failed
Although the LAFCO board gave final approval to the boundary expansion in April, a small but vociferous group of opponents protested the decision and attempted to bring the expansion to the ballot once again by collecting voter signatures on protest forms. When the County Elections Division found that the number of valid signatures fell short of the number needed to force an election, opponents requested a restraining order on the process. In fact, the submitted signatures included numerous forms that were invalidated: duplicates, signatures from non-registered voters and forms submitted by those residing outside the area.

Once San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Carl Holm lifted the temporary restraining order on the expansion, the process moved forward, as supported by a majority of coastal residents. Open space opponents have indicated that they will continue to pursue a lawsuit opposing the now-completed expansion, but we expect that their efforts will continue to fall short.

Next steps for District will continue to involve the public
MROSD is now in the process of soliciting public input to determine how to realign the boundaries of the district's seven wards so that Coastside constituents are represented on its elected Board of Directors. The Open Space District also committed to update its Good Neighbor Policy and appoint an Ombudsperson to help maintain positive relations with constituents and neighbors.

CGF will remain abreast of this work to ensure that the process involves local citizens during the implementation of the District's Coastal Protection Program.

CGF integral in formation of district as well as expansion
This is the second major boundary expansion for the District, which was formed in northern Santa Clara County in 1972, thanks to the vision of a group of CGF members and other Peninsula residents. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District was created as an independent special district operating exclusively in Santa Clara County.

Four years later, MROSD's boundaries were expanded to include southern San Mateo County. Today MROSD manages nearly 50,000 acres in 26 public open space preserves. The addition of the San Mateo County Coast to the district will allow MROSD to purchase, permanently protect, and restore open space and agricultural lands on the Coast.

We look forward to the time, we hope very soon, when all of us will be able to enjoy new public preserves on the Coast.