In San Mateo County, much of our work centers on protection of the rural coastal lands south of Half Moon Bay. We monitor precedent-setting development proposals from Skyline west to the continental edge — stream quality, timber harvest, and livestock management practices all fall within our watch.

Thanks to a long history of open space protection in San Mateo County, our region is a world-class treasure with its wind-swept rural coastal vistas and open field agriculture to the west, and burgeoning Silicon Valley to the east. Over the years, our work in San Mateo County has focused primarily on the preservation of rural coastal lands and the Skyline corridor. We work for the acquisition and permanent preservation of new open space, and for the preservation of existing open space and ecosystems. To that end, Committee for Green Foothills reviews nearly every permit that comes before the San Mateo County Planning Commission and the Zoning Hearing Officer for approval, ensuring their compliance with environmental regulations.

Our campaigns in this region are many and varied. All are aimed at keeping San Mateo County an environmentally sound and beautiful place.

Cargill/DMB/Saltworks
Big Wave
Roadside spraying of pesticides
Stanford Trail
Protecting Bay wetlands
Midcoast Local Coastal Plan (LCP) Update
Midcoast Priority Development Area (PDA) proposal
Arata Farm
Mahon lawsuit
Martin’s Beach
Grand Boulevard Initiative
Devil’s Slide Tunnel


Cargill/DMB/Saltworks

In 2009, landowner Cargill and developer DMB Associates submitted an application to Redwood City for a massive development project on the Cargill Salt Ponds that stretch from Woodside Road to Marsh Road east of 101. The project included 12,000 residential units for 30,000 people, 1 million square feet of office space, and additional retail space. The Cargill site consists of 1,400 acres of former wetlands which could be restored and included in the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, and which even in their current state as salt ponds are used as a resting place by flocks of migratory waterfowl. Not only CGF and other environmental and local grassroots groups, but many current and former elected officials, including the city councils of several neighboring cities, have objected to this project. In May 2012, DMB withdrew the original project application after three years of strong and vocal opposition by CGF and others. However, DMB’s withdrawal was accompanied by an announcement that a new, revised application would be coming soon. Stay tuned!

Big Wave

This project consists of 225,000 square feet of office park plus 91,000 square feet of housing for developmentally disabled adults, located on a low-lying coastal area next to Pillar Point Marsh and within the County’s Tsunami Inundation Area. The area proposed for housing is not only in a tsunami zone, it is right next to the runway for the Half Moon Bay Airport. The County approved the project in March 2011, ignoring the risk of losing federal funds for the airport, as well as their own zoning code which stated that housing should not be located in this area. CGF appealed this decision to the Coastal Commission, where it is still waiting a decision.

Roadside spraying of pesticides

After 6 years of advocating with the County and mobilizing the public by CGF and Coastside activists, the County Board of Supervisors finally voted to ban roadside spraying of pesticides in March of 2012. San Mateo will now join counties such as Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Del Norte, Humboldt, and Trinity in not using broadcast spraying on roadsides. The County will still spray at San Carlos and Half Moon Bay Airports in order to eliminate vegetation that attracts geese that pose a hazard for aircraft, and will also continue “spot spraying” for persistent problem areas. The “Just Say Mow” campaign by CGF and Coastside activists was successful in convincing every Supervisor who was present to vote in favor of the ban.

Stanford Trail

In December of 2011, the Board of Supervisors rejected, for the third and final time, Stanford’s proposal to expand the existing narrow trail along Alpine Road into a 12-foot-wide bike trail. This trail crosses several streets and private driveways as well as the I-280 on- and off-ramps, and in several places is subject to creek erosion. Stanford’s proposal to widen the trail would have required moving Alpine Road over in order to make room for the wider trail – which would have required major grading into a steep hillside as well as the destruction of many large trees. Now that the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has rejected the proposal, Stanford must still fulfill its obligations under its 2000 General Use Permit to create recreational opportunities. This means that this issue will now be coming up before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. CGF will advocate for Stanford to use its funds for trails that the public can enjoy.

Protecting Bay wetlands

In addition to the Cargill project, expanding development near Bay wetlands can potentially threaten the wildlife and habitat. The new Facebook campus in Menlo Park and the projected Google campus expansion in Mountain View are both directly adjacent to lands that are part of the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge. Environmental groups including CGF have met with both companies, resulting in Facebook committing to a series of pledges to protect the wildlife in the refuge, and Google altering its development plans to eliminate a proposed bridge across Stevens Creek that would have intruded into a wetlands buffer zone.

Midcoast Local Coastal Plan (LCP) Update

Beginning in 2004, San Mateo County has been working to update the Local Coastal Plan (LCP) for the Midcoast urban area. CGF has pushed for strong policies that limit new residential development in order to ensure that limited sewer, water, and highway capacities are not exceeded. After years of local hearings, the Coastal Commission is considering whether to certify the Update as consistent with the Coastal Act.

MidCoast Priority Development Area (PDA) proposal

In January 2012 the Board of Supervisors voted to ask that ABAG designate the Midcoast communities of Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada, Princeton, and Miramar as a "Rural Corridor" Priority Development Area (PDA). CGF and other environmental groups and coastside residents opposed the PDA designation for these small coastal villages, because of the area’s inadequate public transit, and limits on increased housing and jobs. ABAG staff has deferred consideration of the Midcoast and several other proposed rural place types in Sonoma County at PDA’s until June, 2012.

Arata Farm

The Arata pumpkin farm just south of Half Moon Bay has long been an iconic site for visitors to the coast. Its picturesque white barn and pumpkin field alongside Tunitas Creek have been enjoyed by the public for many years. Recently, a new tenant has replaced these traditional agricultural activities with entertainment facilities and uses, including a hay maze, coliseum, and sword fighting events. CGF has called for a reduced scale and season of entertainment uses in order for the agricultural uses to continue.

Mahon lawsuit

CGF, Montara Neighbors for Responsible Development, and eight neighbors of two proposed oversized houses in Montara were sued by builder Thomas Mahon for appealing the County’s approval of Design Permits to the Coastal Commission. The defendant groups and individuals filed an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) after unsuccessfully requesting Mr. Mahon to drop us from his lawsuit. Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner, in December, 2011, found that the defendants were legally entitled to appeal the Design Permits to the Coastal Commission, and could not be sued for doing so. On March 19, 2011, Judge Weiner issued an order awarding defendants $52,580 in attorney fees and costs.

Martin’s Beach

In 2008, new owners of Martin’s Beach, just south of Half Moon Bay, installed a new locked gate and posted signs saying “Do Not Enter” and “Beach Temporarily Closed”. Efforts by San Mateo County and the California Coastal Commission to get the owners to reopen the beach, which has been used by fishermen, picnickers, and surfers for decades, have not been successful. CGF is working with Surfrider Foundation to ensure that public access to Martin’s is restored.

Grand Boulevard Initiative

Established in 2006, the Grand Boulevard Initiative is a collaboration of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, 19 cities, regional and local agencies, and non-profit organizations who have united to create a new vision for El Camino Real, the historic “King’s Highway”. CGF is represented on the Task Force which is working to ensure that “El Camino will achieve its full potential for residents to work, live, shop, and play, creating links between communities that promote walking and transit and a meaningful quality of life.”

Devil’s Slide Tunnel

CGF’s forty-year long successful campaign to protect Montara Mountain and McNee Ranch State Park from Caltrans environmentally destructive freeway bypass plan will be celebrated at the opening of the Tunnel in late 2012. The environmentally sound tunnel solution will preserve the coastal environment and turn the existing roadway along the slide into a spectacular hiking and biking trail.

back to top