Half Moon Bay Review
April 14, 2004
 
MROSD proposal approved

By Jeanine Gore

In the end, it was strangely quiet.

Six years of hard work and recent months jam-packed with drama and controversy came to a close April 7 as Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District gained approval to expand its boundaries over 144,000 acres of Coastside land.

The landmark 6-1 vote was made in a matter of minutes by San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission following a two-hour discussion about the annexation including measures in place to reduce potential friction between MROSD and its new neighbors.

Surprisingly, the afternoon unfolded without the storm of debate that surrounded previous meetings.

Among the audience it was nearly impossible to find anyone shocked by the outcome.

Even the most vocal opponents said they expected the approval.

But as they filed out of the boardroom people on both sides of the issue said the fight is far from over.

While the action did cap a longstanding battle between open space advocates who've been rallying for the increased land protections associated with the annexation and MROSD opponents who blister at the idea of additional government influence, emotions are still running high. .

Now that the decision has been made, each side finds itself mobilizing for a new kind of struggle.

Even before commissioners finished their closing statements, some audience members were already discussing ways to turn the annexation on its head.

Their goal: collecting enough signatures to bring the issue to the ballot for a final decision by Coastside vote.

Wrapping up the end of the two-hour LAFCo meeting, Commissioner Howard Jones said he hoped the two parties could resolve their differences, but the idea garnered mixed reviews.

"From my point of view, I hope some healing can occur on the Coastside," he said, acknowledging conflict between the two parties.

"Don't count on it," mumbled one audience member seated toward the back of the room.

"They're stealing our land," another quickly added from under his big straw hat.

"Now what we need ..." said one woman, trailing off "... is a lawsuit," her companion said, finishing the sentence.

Under the plan, MROSD, a public agency that currently manages over 50,000 acres of open space in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, will incorporate a vast expanse from Pacifica to Santa Cruz county lines into its territory.

The land includes some of the most scenic Redwood forests and fertile farmland in San Mateo County. MROSD intends to purchase and preserve about 11,800 acres of that land over the next 15 years.

To ensure the plan becomes reality, supporters are quietly working on their own campaign aimed at promoting the annexation and aggressively combating ideas that challenge it.

Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, a spokesperson for the Coastal Open Space Alliance, one of the strongest supporters of the annexation, called LAFCo's decision to approve the plan "historic," a boon for environmental and recreational interests.

"I think this was one of the most important coastal protection decisions that have been made in many, many years," she said.

And she intends to see it to fruition.

Exactly what sort of plans are in the works, Kersteen-Tucker declined to say, though they likely involve advertisements, brochures and other means of publicly promoting the Coastal Protection Program.

"We're going to come out swinging right away," she said, speaking for COSA, a partnership of environmental groups including the Sierra Club, Peninsula Open Space Trust and Committee for Green Foothills.

"After all the work we're not going to stand back and relax because, quite frankly, they could terminate the Coastal Protection Program with enough signatures."

Under state law, opponents have 60 days from the decision date to protest and to collect 4,000 valid signatures, or 25 percent of the registered voters in the annexed area.

Collection of 8,000 signatures would stop the annexation outright.

Opponents have indicated they plan to collect the necessary signatures to bring the issue to a vote.

"We want a vote of the people. It's very, very simple," said Terry Gossett, director of Californians for Property Rights in Moss Beach and one of the most vocal opponents of the annexation.

"What are they afraid of?" he asked. "What's wrong with a vote."

Open space advocates say that vote already happened in 1996, when Coastside voters approved the annexation in an advisory ballot measure.

The San Mateo County Farm Bureau, which was previously aligned against the action, endorsed the annexation in January when the district removed its power of eminent domain, a major concern of local farmers who feared losing their land.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the removal of eminent domain. .

District leaders hailed the decision to allow the annexation as a major step in protecting and preserving the rural Coastside for future generations.

Craig Britton, MROSD general manager, said the next step in the process is to wait and see whether the opposition collects the necessary signatures.

"We have to wait and see what happens," said Britton. "Now is not the time to relax for MROSD." In the meantime, the district will work to further educate the public about the annexation as well as complying with the list of special conditions applied by LAFCo.

The LAFCo board, made up of San Mateo County elected officials, ordered the district to appoint a citizen ombudsperson to hear public complaints and mediate disputes between the district and local residents.

Supervisor Rich Gordon, a member of LAFCo who voted for the annexation, said it was a major decision but he was satisfied the district had done its best to meet the demands of its critics.

And most importantly, MROSD will bring an important service to the coast.

"Frankly I feel the district will bring a capacity to manage open space land that doesn't currently exist," he said.

"And I do feel strongly that this process has made and will make the open space a much better governing agency."

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