A survey of existing open space lands
recently completed by the Greenbelt Alliance indicates that over the next 30
years as many as 570,000 acres may be subdivided and developed throughout the
Bay Area including over 3,000 acres within the Coastside Subregion.74 Realizing
that much of the Coastside's remaining open space may accommodate limited
low-intensity urban development,75 and recognizing the regional significance of
the area in meeting the future recreational needs of the Bay Area's rapidly
expanding population, several Coastside land trusts have emerged with the
shared goal of acquiring and preserving open space land in the subregion.
Today, a subregional strategy for the acquisition and management of open space
and the development of recreational access to these lands is already emerging
as local land trusts and open space working groups begin to coordinate their
efforts with regional land trusts, open space districts and local, state and
federal resource agencies.
THE LOCAL LAND TRUSTS
Four private, nonprofit land trusts have
formed in recent years to acquire and develop public access to coastal open
space and park land and include the Pacifica Land Trust, Coastside Preservation
and Recreation, Inc., Midcoast Parkland, Inc., and the Half Moon Bay Open Space
Trust. To date, the Pacifica Land Trust has focused primarily on the
acquisition and restoration of the San Pedro Point Headlands where a
combination of funds has facilitated the acquisition of portions of the
property. Coastside Preservation and Recreation, Inc. of Moss Beach is active
in acquiring and managing open space along Pillar Point Ridge adjacent to the
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, a recreational facility owned and operated by the
San Mateo County Parks Department. Midcoast Parkland, Inc. recently acquired
Quarry Park in El Granada and is now looking to raise the funds needed to
assume fee simple ownership and regular maintenance of the property. The Half
Moon Bay Open Space Trust is focused on acquiring land in North Wavecrest
through donations made by owners of substandard lots in the area.
PUBLIC AGENCIES
Aside from the local land trusts described
above, there are myriad federal, state and local government agencies and
commissions with jurisdiction over coastal open space, parkland and trails
within the subregion. In Pacifica, the National Park Service owns and manages
several open space areas that are part of the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area (GGNRA). The California State Parks and Recreation Department, County of
San Mateo and Cities of Pacifica and Half Moon Bay all own and operate a
variety of beaches, parks and associated recreational facilities and trails
throughout the subregion. The County Parks and Recreation Commission and Trails
Advisory Committee provide recommendations for County park and trail
development within the subregion and have drafted a Trails Master Plan to guide
trail and recreational facility planning throughout the County.
The State Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) funds recreational facility development associated with its
transportation projects and is expected to provide funding for trail
development as part of the Devil's Slide Tunnel Project along Highway 1 between
Pacifica and the Midcoast. Two additional state agencies-the Coastal
Conservancy and the Coastal Commission-are charged with preserving and
promoting public access to coastal areas. The Conservancy assists local
communities pursuing the acquisition, development and maintenance of open space
and parkland with financial and technical support. The Coastal Commission,
together with the three local governments, regulate coastal development through
enforcement of state Coastal Act policies on public shoreline access and
protection of coastal resources.
In addition to the individual efforts of
the local land trusts described above to acquire, restore and manage open space
and improve recreational access within the subregion, several collaborative
approaches are currently being pursued on the Coastside.
CURRENT OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION EFFORTS
Pacifica
In 1984 the City of Pacifica approved the
formation of the Pacifica Open Space Task Force "to identify, prioritize,
and seek means for long-range preservation of significant open space in
Pacifica." In 1988 the Open Space Task Force presented a report to the
City Council describing 51 areas to be considered for preservation, including
15 tracts identified as appropriate for addition to the Golden Gate National
Recreation Area (GGNRA). With enthusiastic support from residents and the
Pacifica City Council, the GGNRA Advisory Council recently approved the
inclusion of the 15 additional open space tracts into the proposed expanded
boundaries of the GGNRA and is now pursuing the federal funds to begin
acquiring them. However, beyond identifying properties for future acquisition
and inclusion within expanded GGNRA boundaries, the potential availability of
public funds to carry out the acquisition program will ultimately determine the
future expansion of this open space system.76
Midcoast & Half Moon
Bay
For the past year open space advocates
along the Midcoast and in Half Moon Bay have been pursuing opportunities for
funding open space acquisition through the expansion of an existing special
assessment district currently serving communities on the Peninsula. The
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is a government agency established by
voters in 1972 for the purpose of acquiring and managing open space lands with
funds raised through a property assessment tax. Over the past 25 years the
District has acquired and managed over 42,000 acres of open space and park land
throughout the Midpeninsula and the South Bay. This November, coastal residents
will vote on an advisory measure to gauge the level of support for the
District's proposed expansion to the Coastside.
In addition, for the first time in over a
decade, substantial new funds for park and open space acquisition and the
development of recreational facilities may become available through general
fund appropriations by the State Legislature and/or a statewide bond act
measure. Local officials and residents have been meeting with resource agency
staff, state legislators and their aides, and land trusts organizations to
educate them on the threatened open space lands within the subregion
appropriate for state funding should additional funds become available.
COASTAL TRAIL AND SHORELINE ACCESS
Half Moon Bay
The California Coastal Trail is envisioned
as a contiguous trail system linking coastal recreation and shoreline access
points along the state's 1,100-mile coastline while providing walkers, hikers,
and bicyclists with an alternative to vehicular travel to and along the
coastline. Half Moon Bay has developed several miles of the Coastal Trail along
the City's shoreline and blufftop land and, through a collaborative effort with
San Mateo County and Caltrans, will complete a one-mile addition to the trail
system between Half Moon Bay and the Midcoast later this year. With a
combination of funds from the federal ISTEA Environmental Enhancement Program
as well as from state and local transportation funding sources, the $500,000
project will establish a vital link between the existing trail that currently
ends at Mirada Road in Half Moon Bay and the scheduled construction of another
1000 feet of trail funded by Caltrans at Surfer's Beach. When complete, the
project will connect to the existing trail at the south end of Pillar Point
Harbor and provide a continuous trail link between the Midcoast and Half Moon
Bay.
An additional $90,000 has also been
acquired by the City for the maintenance and repair of damage to the existing
Coastal Trail resulting from this past winter's massive storms and flooding.
Further south, additional links to the Coastal Trail are to be constructed in
conjunction with past and future residential and commercial hotel and golf
course development at Ocean Colony and South Wavecrest. Also, after several
years of discussions with San Mateo County officials, Half Moon Bay recently
completed the development of a new blufftop parking and shoreline access
facility at the end of Poplar Street in south Half Moon Bay.
With several California State Beach Park
facilities distributed throughout the City and linked together by the Coastal
Trail, Half Moon Bay enjoys a network of shoreline recreation and related
access support facilities including signage, parking and restrooms that are
unparalleled in the other jurisdictions in the subregion. In addition, the
State Parks Department is currently designing and installing a new visitor
center at their headquarters at Francis State Beach in Half Moon Bay. The
center will become a focal point for public information on natural resources,
trails, and open space preserves found throughout the subregion.
Midcoast
Devil's Slide
As local, state and federal officials and
agency staff continue to work with tunnel activists to identify the funds
needed to build the tunnel at Devil's Slide along Highway 1, Coastal Trail
enthusiasts are busy promoting an alternative transportation facility in and
around the tunnel project area. County policies addressing pedestrian and
bicycle access along Highway 1 require the section of highway replaced by the
inland tunnel to be converted into a recreational facility and also encourage
the development of a second alternate trail route in case of failure on the
existing highway alignment.77 Trail advocates are requesting Caltrans to
include trail plans as part of the tunnel project and are seeking funds for
trail development associated with the tunnel project. When completed, the new
Coastal Trail segment at Devil's Slide will provide a non-vehicular route along
Highway 1 linking existing and proposed park and trail facilities in the
subregion.
Pillar Point Harbor
Several projects and planning studies are
now under consideration or are currently taking place within the Harbor area.78
For example, the recent leasing of the RV facility adjacent to the Harbor to a
private operator will facilitate investment in capital improvements including
paving and striping of the lot, handicapped-accessible bathrooms, new showers
and a path to the existing Coastal Trail. Currently, a multi-agency effort is
meeting regularly to plan the design and installation of interpretive panels to
be placed in the Harbor and surrounding areas including the RV Lot, Pillar
Point Marsh, Fitzgerald Marine Preserve and along the Coastal Trail to Half
Moon Bay. The panels will address marsh and marine habitats and species,
commercial fishing, coastal recreation and shoreline erosion.
In the current fiscal year $180,000 has
been budgeted for new restroom facilities for use by commercial fishing
operators. In addition, the San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Department is
funding the development of a Fitzgerald Marine Reserve/Pillar Point Marsh
Master Plan that will address resource management and public access issues
related to the operation of the Reserve. Scheduled for completion this summer,
the Plan will provide policy guidance for capital investments, management and
operation of recreational access facilities in and around the Reserve.
Pacifica
In response to recommendations in the 1988
Pacifica Open Space Task Force Report, a trails subcommittee was established to
develop a Trails Master Plan for Pacifica. Although the Plan was never
completed, a draft version identifies existing and proposed additions to the
Coastal Trail along with suggested locations for viewpoints, staging areas and
handicap access.79 More recently, federal ISTEA grant funds have been obtained
for the development of a Coastal Trail segment between the southern end of
Rockaway Beach and the north end of Linda Mar State Beach. Also, a new sewage
treatment plant now under construction at the Rockaway Quarry includes funds
for the development of a trail facility through the project area. In addition,
as discussed above, current trail planning associated with the tunnel project
at Devil's Slide will include consideration of trail and open space links
between Pacifica and the Midcoast.
The map that follows shows existing and
potential major open space lands and existing and proposed segments of the
California Coastal Trail. Also shown are unaccepted offers to dedicate public
trail easements (OTDs) and existing beach accessways. Data on the major open
space properties and OTDs will be used in future open space and trail planning
within the subregion.
SHORELINE ACCESS POLICY FRAMEWORK
The California Coastal Act provides the
policy framework for public shoreline access, coastal recreation and the
protection of open space in the subregion. Coastal Act policies maximize public
access and recreational opportunities to and along the coast consistent with
sound resource conservation principles and require that any new development
between the sea and the nearest public road make some provision for public
shoreline access. Coastal Act policies are implemented in the subregion through
each jurisdiction's respective Local Coastal Program (LCP). The Shoreline
Access, Recreation, and Agricultural components of the local planning documents
provide a comprehensive policy framework for shoreline access, coastal
recreation and open space planning consistent with the protection of coastal
resources within the subregion.80
LCP shoreline access policies in Half Moon
Bay, the Mid-Coast and Pacifica address open space and shoreline access
planning and development, including the development of vertical and lateral
access to and along the shoreline and the blufftops. For example, LCP policies
encourage the development of access facilities including vista points, beach
access stairways, and related support facilities such as parking and signage.
However, much of the shoreline and blufftop land in the subregion designated
for public shoreline access lacks the suggested access improvements.81
Midcoast Policies
Historical records and maps from as far
back as 1908 show that much of the blufftop land between Montara and Moss Beach
was considered for the development of a public blufftop trail facility.82 More
recently, in the early and mid-1970s, regional and state coastal plan documents
recommended the development of similar trails and related shoreline access
facilities along these same areas of the Midcoast.83
The County LCP Shoreline Access Component
designates numerous vertical and lateral access areas to which the policies of
the component apply.84 For example, sections of the blufftop trails considered
for public use in 1908 appear by the same name on the current LCP Existing
Shoreline Access Map as publicly-owned shoreline destinations and trails with
blufftop viewpoints and access to rocky or sandy beaches.85 To carry out LCP
shoreline access policies, site specific recommendations call for the
development of blufftop trails, directional and interpretive signage, parking,
and vista points from Montara State Beach south to the Fitzgerlad Marine
Reserve and Pillar Point Harbor.86
Other LCP shoreline access and recreation
policies specifically address trail development in the Midcoast including the
establishment of a trails program for the Coastal Zone.87 Several LCP trails
are proposed for the Midcoast including the Pacific Ocean Corridor Trail of the
State Parks Department, and the Montara Gulch Trail connecting the Point
Montara Lighthouse to Montara State Beach and San Pedro County Park in
Pacifica.88 In 1991, the San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Commission
approved the addition of the Coastal Trail to the County Trails Advisory
Committee's mission to promote and coordinate the planning and development of
the Coastal Trail. The Committee's 1995 Draft Revisions to the County Trails
Plan designates a Coastal Trail alignment along the blufftop in the Midcoast
and throughout the subregion.89
In describing the role of the County in
developing coastal trails and recreation facilities, the LCP requires some
provision for public recreation for each development permit for a land division
within the Coastal Zone.90 Specifically, when the division affects land along
the routes of the Coastal Trail, the County is to require the dedication of a
trail easement or payment of in lieu fees in areas outside a trail corridor.91
Additional policies direct the County to develop and maintain LCP proposed
trails including the Coastal Trail and to collect in lieu fees to develop
recreation facilities and to provide matching funds to State and federal
recreation programs.92
The County LCP directs local and State
agencies to coordinate their efforts in implementing shoreline access
policies.To insure that high priority access trails and shoreline destinations
identified in the LCP are given preference in public expenditures, the County
is directed to inform other public agencies of local priorities and to review
the acquisition and development plans of these agencies for consistency with
them. While the State Department of Parks and Recreation is encouraged to
assume the major responsibility for the acquisition, development, and
maintenance of public shoreline access, the County Parks Department is
responsible for developing shoreline access and recreational facilities on
County-owned land.93
The State Coastal Conservancy is also
requested to fund the improvement of high priority access trails and shoreline
destinations of regional significance and many of these are located on land
owned by the County.94 In addition, the County is directed to inform and
encourage the Coastal Conservancy and the State Parks Department as well
private organizations to accept offers to dedicate public shoreline access and
to improve and operate these access facilities should the County be unable to
do so.95
The County LCP concentrates new public
recreation facilities including beaches, parks and trails in the Midcoast and
gives the area priority over the South Coast for the expenditure of County
funds.96 The County has established a Coastal Access Development Fund as
recommended in the LCP for the purpose of providing additional funding to
improve and acquire important access trails and shoreline destinations.97
Half Moon Bay
For all new development along Half Moon
Bay's blufftop, which has been formally designated as the alignment for the
Coastal Trail, LCP Coastal Access policies require the granting of a lateral
easement to allow for continuous public access along the shoreline and
blufftop. All beach seaward of the base of the bluff is also dedicated for
public use.98 Other area specific polices recommend the development of improved
signage, parking and vertical access facilities.
In implementing LCP policies on shoreline
access, the City's role is kept to requiring and retaining any offers to
dedicate access easements for acceptance by the state, San Mateo County, or a
private nonprofit entity. Because most shoreline accessways connect to
recreational beach areas owned by the County or State Department of Parks and
Recreation, these jurisdictions are considered within the LCP as the
appropriate public agencies to accept responsibility for access facility
maintenance.
Pacifica
The Access Component of the LCP identifies
and discusses in detail 21 vertical access points located throughout the City
to be developed for public shoreline access. Additional blufftop and shoreline
property in private ownership is expected to provide public access. The
Component also states that unobstructed lateral access along the beach will be
achieved in new development by dedication of public easements.99
In addition, a uniform beach access and
parking signage program is to be initiated, a protective open space zone along
the City's entire coastline established, and a Citywide bicycle/pedestrian
pathway system developed. New and creative funding sources are to be pursued
for the acquisition, development and maintenance of existing and new shoreline
access facilities.100
IMPLEMENTATION OF SHORELINE ACCESS
POLICIES
The implementation of shoreline access
policies in parts of the subregion has been hampered by a variety of factors: a
lack of public funding, limited private development that might be required to
provide public access and to fund improvements, and recent court rulings
restricting government's ability to exact public access benefits from private
development.101
Midcoast
The County Planning and Building Division
administers shoreline access policies by ensuring that individual development
proposals include some provision for public shoreline access. However, while
regulatory practices have, in some cases, resulted in increasing shoreline
access, in other cases, shoreline access opportunities have not been fully
realized. For example, a primary tool used to mitigate a project's impacts on
access is the use of an offer to dedicate (OTD) a public trail easement to or
along the shoreline. While OTDs have been required by the County or the Coastal
Commission to mitigate development impacts on shoreline access in the Midcoast,
several of these have not been accepted by the County or other agency.102 In
these cases, the required condition has thusfar failed to fully mitigate a
project's shoreline access impacts.
Half Moon Bay
In contrast to other areas in the
subregion, nearly three quarters or 4.5 miles of Half Moon Bay's 6.2-mile
shoreline and blufftop land is in public ownership which generally extends a
minimum of 400 feet inland from the high tide line.103 In addition, over four
miles of blufftop has been developed for use as the Coastal Trail and an
additional one-mile segment will be added to the trail network by the end of
the year.
While the City has actively pursued and
successfully implemented many of the shoreline access polices in its LCP, a
significant opportunity to enhance shoreline access is presented by the
existence of numerous improved and unimproved vertical public rights of way to
the shoreline.104 By improving signage on Highway 1 directing visitors to
shoreline destinations and upgrading the road surfaces on these vertical street
right-of-ways leading to the beach or parking facilities located nearby, access
to coastal recreation areas will be significantly enhanced. As in other areas
of the subregion, opportunities to improve shoreline access can also be found
in the existing OTDs the City has yet to accept.
Pacifica
While three quarters of Half Moon Bay's
shoreline is in public ownership, in Pacifica the exact opposite is true; three
quarters, or 4.5 miles of the City's 6.3 miles of shoreline is in private
ownership.105 Nonetheless, as with Half Moon Bay, much of the City's beach
frontage and blufftop land is publicly accessible despite significant revenue
shortfalls that have prevented the purchase of key beach areas called for in
LCP policies.106 In addition, resident opposition to several previous proposals
for private development on shoreline or blufftop land has served to minimize
the loss of public access to these areas.107 At the same time, Pacifica's
historic and current revenue shortfalls and lack of commercial and
visitor-serving development also limits potential sources of funding for
shoreline recreation and related access facilities through in lieu fees and
dedications that might be required for certain types of coastal development.
Although LCP policies recommend the
development of beach access and support facilities including parking, signage,
stairways and related amenities, adequate funding has not been available for
their comprehensive implementation. While Half Moon Bay taps into impact fees,
exactions, dedications and tax revenues obtained through private development to
provide at least partial funding for many of its shoreline access and trail
projects, Pacifica has traditionally struggled to obtain substantial funding
for shoreline access projects through similar strategies.
Access policies recommend the dedication
of an easement to mitigate impacts on public shoreline access stemming from
private development. However, of the several offers to dedicate public
easements located within the City, none have been accepted by the City.108 As
in the Midcoast and Half Moon Bay, conditions required by the City or the
Coastal Commission have failed to fully mitigate a project's impacts on public
shoreline access.
CONCLUSION
Given its proximity to a large
metropolitan population rapidly approaching seven million people, the subregion
represents a unique recreational resource of regional significance to the Bay
Area and the state. Over the next 30 years, as many as 3,000 acres of open
space may be subdivided and developed within the subregion. In response, a
coordinated effort is emerging bewteen local and regional land trusts, open
space districts and state and federal resource agencies in a collaborative
approach to acquire and protect some of these areas.
While Half Moon Bay has successfully
developed several miles of Coastal Trail, much of the remaining shoreline and
blufftop land in the subregion lacks coastal recreation and access facilities
recommended in shoreline access policies. By not accepting existing offers to
dedicate (OTD) public easements in areas deemed necessary and appropriate for
additional public access, future shoreline access opportunities throughout the
subregion will be lost. If such OTDs are not accepted, measures intended to
mitigate the impact of private development will have failed.
While LCP policies direct local and State
agencies to coordinate their efforts in implementing shoreline access policies,
there is no mechanism to facilitate exchange of information required to
successfully achieve the coordination. Although the State Department of Parks
and Recreation is encouraged to assume the major responsibility for the
acquisition, development, and maintenance of public shoreline access, a process
for implementing the access improvements outlined in the local coastal programs
is needed. In addition, coordination between agency departments within the
subregion needs to be enhanced to implement shoreline access improvements on
land and easements owned by the local jurisdictions.
Certified by the Coastal Commission in
1981, the San Mateo County was the first county LCP to be certified in
California. The Coastal Act requires the Coastal Commission to review
previously certified LCPs every five years to evaluate whether they are being
effectively implemented and in need of revision in light of new information and
changing circumstances. While the required reviews have been conducted for only
two of the 50 certified LCPs statewide, recent legislative attempts have been
made to strengthen the requirement for periodic reviews and provide needed
support to assist the Commission and local governments in conducting the review
and implementing necessary changes. If successful, these efforts could provide
jurisdictions in the subregion with an additional funding source to review and
evaluate the implementation of their LCP Shoreline Access Policies and to make
changes to enhance future shoreline access and recreation opportunities.
|
