Half Moon Bay Review
January 21, 2004
 
MROSD and Farm Bureau strike major agreement

By Jim Welte

In a move that likely removes a major hurdle facing the Midpeninsula Open Space District's annexation of the Coastside, the district reached an agreement with the San Mateo County Farm Bureau Tuesday that will prevent the district from using eminent domain on the Coastside.

The deal calls for the district to sponsor state legislation that will permanently remove its power of eminent domain on the Coastside. Eminent domain is the power of a government body to seize private property for public use, although the agency must pay fair market value for the land.

Bureau Executive Administrator Jack Olsen said the parties had been negotiating the deal for nearly three months, but that the bureau had wanted the district to give up on eminent domain "since Day One" when the annexation of the Coastside was first proposed five years ago.

The district had previously stated its intention not too use eminent domain on several occasions, including through a resolution passed by its board and the adoption of a "willing sellers" ordinance in both its Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and its application to the San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) for approval of the annexation.

The district's board must approve the agreement at its Wednesday meeting, and district General Manager Craig Britton said he would recommend that they do so.

"This agreement is a momentous step forward toward completing the initial phase of preserving the San Mateo coast," he said. "We wanted their support for the same reason they want ours - to preserve agricultural land on the coast. They'll be offering their expert advice to us when we begin to acquire parcels piece by piece."

In announcing the deal Farm Bureau President George Armanino called on LAFCo to approve the district's application for annexation of 140,000 acres of land on the Coastside, dubbed its Coastside Protection Program.

"Under the terms of this agreement, the district's Coastside Protection Program will benefit and help preserve agricultural operations," he said.

Committee for Green Foothills legislative advocate April Vargas, a vocal supporter of MROSD's plans, said she was very encouraged by the deal.

"This is a gigantic step forward in building a partnership between the district and the people of the Coastside, particularly agricultural interests," she said. "I think MROSD really wants to be a good partner and they want the trust and acceptance of the community that they will be a professional steward of the land."

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