Mercury News
April 8, 2004
 
Coastal plan approved
Agency allows Open Space District to expand in San Mateo County

By Paul Rogers

Ending six years of debate over a vast expanse of farmland, open space and redwood forests from Pacifica to the Santa Cruz County line, one of the Bay Area's largest open space districts on Wednesday won approval to expand its boundaries from Silicon Valley to the San Mateo County coast.

By a 6-1 vote, the San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved increasing the size of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District from its current 230,000 acres to 370,000 acres, a jump of 61 percent.

The vote affects some of the most scenic real estate in the Bay Area: Pigeon Point Lighthouse, La Honda's redwoods and pumpkin fields around Pescadero.

Supporters said the expansion, the district's largest since it was created by Santa Clara County voters in 1972, will mean new open space preserves for wildlife, hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders, along with safeguards against sprawl for farms.

"The land can't protect itself. It requires significant actions to preserve agriculture and prevent overdevelopment,'' said Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, a spokeswoman for the Coastal Open Space Alliance, group composed of the Sierra Club, Committee For Green Foothills and other environmental organizations.

Possible ballot issue
Opponents, however, indicated they will attempt to place the issue before San Mateo County coastal voters in November. Under state law, they have 60 days to collect the signatures of 4,000 registered voters -- 25 percent of the roughly 16,000 voters in the annexed area. If they gather 8,000 signatures, they would kill the expansion outright.

"We're disappointed,'' said Terry Gossett, director of Californians for Property Rights, in Moss Beach. "I'm going to talk to my friends and neighbors. If it is up to me, we should have a vote.''

Since 1972, the district, based in Los Altos, has purchased land along Skyline Ridge from Crystal Springs Reservoir to South San Jose's Mount Umunhum to preserve its wild state. It has set aside roughly 48,000 acres in about 25 preserves. The district is funded by property taxes -- 1.7 cents on each $100 of assessed value, meaning the owner of a home assessed at $500,000 pays about $85 a year.

Under Wednesday's vote, taxes of coastal residents will not be raised. Instead, the district plans to spend about $2 million a year from its $20 million annual budget to preserve coastal land.

Kudos, concerns
District leaders called the vote a watershed event in preserving the rural character of the Bay Area.

"I'm exhilarated,'' said district board member Mary Davey. "In working to save the coast, we are saving part of our national heritage.''

Gossett and other critics, including some farmers, said they are concerned that creating new parkland would bring traffic and trespassers to the coast. They also worried about the loss of property taxes, although the district estimates those at only $90,000 in 15 years because much of the land is zoned agricultural and assessed at a low value.

Gossett also said he fears one day the district will try to raise property taxes on the coast to buy new lands. State law requires a two-thirds approval vote, but Gossett said that if the entire district including Silicon Valley residents voted, their votes could overwhelm the voters on the coast.

The San Mateo County Farm Bureau endorsed the annexation in January when the district removed a major concern of critics by sponsoring a bill to eliminate its power of eminent domain on the coast. Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it. The Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce and the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group also endorsed the expansion.

Craig Britton, general manager of the district, said his goal is to preserve 11,800 acres in the next 15 years. Of that, some will be in purchases of development rights from farmers who will continue to own and farm their land. Most, he said, will come from grants and below-market sales from other public agencies or non-profit groups such as the Peninsula Open Space Trust.

Some conditions
On Wednesday, the LAFCO board, made up of San Mateo County elected officials, required the district to hire an ombudsman to hear public complaints, to hold meetings on the coast and to fence its coastal lands when trails come near private property.

"We hear you,'' LAFCO board member Howard Jones said to the critics. "And I hope some healing occurs.''

Page last updated September 13, 2010 .