San Mateo Coast

San Mateo County’s rural coastside is a vital and irreplaceable natural resource. It supports a wide diversity of wildlife and is a source of respite and joy to visitors from all over the world. Unfortunately, many historic and natural qualities of the coast have been lost to development, and although parks and open space agencies have protected key areas, there is still much more to be done.

Unrelenting pressure for inappropriate development continues. Hard-won coastal protection policies have been included in the San Mateo County and Half Moon Bay Local Coastal Programs, but despite these policies, inappropriate and/or poorly located development continues to be proposed up and down the coast. Green Foothills watches out for these proposals and works to ensure that the coast remains protected, as voters mandated when they passed the California Coastal Initiative in 1972, and the San Mateo County Coastal Protection Initiative in 1986.

Proposed Dunes Beach Resort: A notable example of environmentally damaging development. The proposed 212-room luxury hotel and 177-space high-end RV park would be located on 46 acres along the shoreline at Dunes Beach in Half Moon Bay. If approved, the “Dunes Beach Resort” would block scenic ocean views from Highway One, pave over some of the last intact prime agricultural soils in Half Moon Bay, and worsen already choked traffic on this stretch of Highway One.

Concept plans were submitted to the city in 2016, but thanks to widespread public opposition, including nearly 5,000 signatures on our petition, this project has not moved forward. But, as with many other mega-projects, the developers appear to be biding their time, waiting for a more receptive City Council.

Our Green Foothills team remains ever-vigilant and is ready to oppose this project if it is resurrected. We also continue to closely monitor land use and zoning decisions of the city of Half Moon Bay, as well as San Mateo County, the California Coastal Commission, and the various local, state and federal agencies that have responsibility for protecting our irreplaceable coast.