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  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 focussed 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... Environmental review While California's Fish and Game codes currently allow "emergency" work on private property, without obtaining the usual permits and ensuring environmental review, the definition of emergency is vague and broadly applied.  If a project is classified as an emergency, and hence doesn’t go through
normal environmental review, the protections for endangered species, and environmentally
friendly techniques for stream bank stabilization, can suffer. Committee for Green
Foothills (CGF) watches over such emergency applications and objects to inappropriate
"emergency" permits.As part of our ongoing monitoring of Coastal Development Permits, CGF routinely appeals permits for projects that are in conflict with open space or environmental protection. Public Open Space Committee for Green Foothills was instrumental in the creation of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. We worked with local citizens both to place the initiative on the ballot and to conduct the winning grassroots campaign by helping place and win a voter initiative on the ballot in 1972. We continue to be active in the district's expansion to the coast. The Committee’s thirty-year campaign to protect Montara Mountain and McNee Ranch State Park from the Caltrans-endorsed inland freeway bypass of Devil's Slide at Highway 1 culminated in the countywide "Yes on T" vote in 1996. The environmentally sound tunnel solution will preserve the coastal environment and turn the existing roadway into a spectacular bike and pedestrian path.  The
years since the passage of the Tunnel Initiative have been busy. CGF is an ongoing
participant on in the Devil’s Slide Tunnel Coordinating Tunnel Committee
— a task force convened to resolve outstanding issues, including updating
the environmental documents and assuring funding for the project. It is anticipated
that the EIR/EIS for the project will be certified and the Record of Decision
will be signed in 2001, at which point outstanding lawsuits will be withdrawn.Committee for Green Foothills supported legislation to expand the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) boundary in Pacifica. The most spectacular property in this region, Mori Point, was acquired late in 2000 by Trust for Public Land, and will ultimately be added to the GGNRA. Committee for Green Foothills objected publicly and vociferously to the development at Pigeon Point of a bed and breakfast on Whaler’s Cove, a key coastal parcel with great historical and ecological value. With the construction half-finished, the developer sold the four-acre property to Peninsula Open Space Trust, which hopes to restore public access to this stunning area. For more than 25 years, the Committee has been a watchdog on coastal lands where development would destroy prime coastline and agricultural land. After defeat of a "transfer of density credits" proposal that would have greatly increased the development potential of a 1,600-acre ranch owned by lawyer Vince Muzzi, CGF set the stage for POST to purchase the property. Its spectacular views, beaches, and key water resources are now protected for the public interest.  After
years of lobbying and many contentious hearings, the Committee was successful
in protecting the Skyline ridge from a proposed development that violated the
County's coastal plan. Proposed by a Russian Convent, this development sat directly
on the ridgeline just two miles south of Highway 92. Faced with intense public
opposition, the convent withdrew the application and sold the property to the
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD). The District will protect it
for public use as the Upper Mills Creek Open Space Preserve.We continue to support the management and control of feral pig populations on MROSD lands. These imported animals are tearing up the landscape in our upper coastal watersheds and Skyline area, and must be controlled for protection of our native habitats. Water Quality As part of our commitment to water quality, the Committee has been an active participant on technical and policy committees advising the Department of Environmental Health on proposed revisions to the County Well Ordinance. Thanks to our involvement, the process has provided for adequate flows, increased setbacks from septic tanks, environmental protection during testing, and led to better provisions for abandonment of wells, backflow prevention, and geothermal wells. Timber Buffer Zone Eight years after Committee for Green Foothills worked hard to ensure that San Mateo County enacted a 1,000-foot timber harvest buffer zone in the Skyline area, we now have the same protections applied to the Coastal Zone as well. The buffer zone prohibits commercial logging within 1,000 feet of residences on non-commercial timber landtimberland, unless residents approve. Environmentally Sound Development Committee for Green Foothills opposed the private Phillips Brooks School, which proposed development between Sand Hill and Woodside Roads that would destroy habitat with massive grading and remove 1,700 native blue oaks. The proposal is also inconsistent with Woodside’s General Plan. We continue to review plans at this 90-acre private school site. Bike and Pedestrian Access on Public Lands The Committee lobbied the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to retain public rights to the right-of-way on a segment of Alpine Road between Junipero Serra and Highway 280. This busy road is heavily used by hikers, equestrians, and cyclists. To protect the public interest and outdoor recreation, we successfully urged the Supervisors to deny the request for abandonment of this right of way. Committee for Green Foothills is working to urge Caltrans to include bicycle and pedestrian lanes on the uphill side of the proposed widening of Highway 92 from Highway 280 to Skyline, and to properly mitigate the loss of habitat that would be caused by this project. Protecting Coastal Creeks Committee for Green Foothills continues to be committed to the protection of coastal creeks. Our work in this area is diverse...  Throughout
San Mateo County, we advocate for responsible horse waste management so
that erosion and waste runoff do not continue to pollute our creeks and endanger
stream wildlife.Committee for Green Foothills has been working to establish a verifiable water-testing program for San Mateo County by calling for an independent monitoring program to establish baseline water and sediment information for our coastal streams. The Committee is working to ensure that pollutants from agricultural and other land uses are not jeopardizing stream and water quality by promoting a variety of good land management practices. On Pescadero and Butano Creeks, our work focuses on flooding, finding alternatives to removing log jams which provide habitat for frogs and fish, doing a science-based watershed-wide assessment, getting on-stream dams removed, and objecting to water rights applications that may not leave enough water for aquatic species. The Committee supported restoration of Gazos Creek to repair damage done in 1998 by San Mateo County Public Works; we continue to work toward the restoration and full protection of this vital watershed. We are working to have USGS reinstall a stream gage to monitor water rights on San Gregorio Creek, and to see that adequate water is retained in the creek for fish. CGF advocate Lennie Roberts serves on the Pilarcitos Creek Advisory Committee to the Resource Conservation District, which was formed to oversee the expenditure of approximately one million dollars collected in Browning-Ferris International (BFI) fines each year. Our goal is to see the fine monies spent on restoration projects that benefit salmonid fish species. In particular, we want to see barriers to fish passage removed from Apanolio Creek. Committee for Green Foothills and other groups stopped BFI from putting a huge garbage landfill at the head of Apanolio. We are now urging the restoration of historic fish spawning grounds to prevent the return of this ugly and inappropriate project. Marine Sanctuary Boundary Adjustment  The
Committee supports the proposed boundary adjustment between Monterey Bay
and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries so that the sanctuaries
are aligned with the natural ecological boundaries of these two marine regions.
The adjustment would move the boundary between the two regions from Muir Beach
in Marin to Año Nuevo, putting the San Mateo County coastline into Gulf
of the Farallones Sanctuary.Thanks to CGF's education and lobbying, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors now supports this realignment; the Marin and San Francisco County Boards of Supervisors also support the boundary change, along with fishing groups, the San Mateo County Harbor District, and the GGNRA. |
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Related Links: San Mateo County Accomplishements (map)... Santa Clara County projects... |
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