COUNTY OF SAN MATEO Inter-Departmental Correspondence
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AGENCY
DATE:			January 5, 2005
BOARD MEETING DATE:			January 25, 2005
SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:			Yes
VOTE REQUIRED:			Majority
TO:		Honorable Board of Supervisors
FROM:		Marcia Raines, Director of Environmental Services
SUBJECT:		EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Consideration of Midcoast Local Coastal Program (LCP) Update Project
RECOMMENDATION
Convene a study session to facilitate improved understanding of the Midcoast LCP amendments described in the main staff report.
VISION ALIGNMENT
Commitment: Redesign our urban environment to increase vitality and reduce congestion. Preserve and provide access to our natural environment.
Goals: (12) Land use decisions consider transportation, infrastructure demand and environmental impacts. (13) The boundary between open space and development is fixed to protect the quality of the natural environment.
The proposal contributes to these commitments and goals, by (1) lowering the Midcoast growth rate limit, (2) initiating comprehensive lot merger to preserve the community’s planned buildout, (3) ensuring that small houses are built on small parcels, (4) protecting neighborhood commercial opportunities, (5) promoting open space and recreation uses for an obsolete roadway alignment, and (6) strengthening water runoff limits to reduce environmental degradation.
BACKGROUND
The Midcoast LCP Update Project began in 2000 to update and revise land use policy affecting the unincorporated Midcoast with the aim of averting development permit appeals and improving Coastal Act consistency. The project involved numerous community scoping sessions and workshops, followed by 15 Planning Commission hearings to review and refine project proposals. The main project tasks included:
$	Recalculate residential buildout
$	Evaluate the infrastructure capacity needed to serve Midcoast buildout
$	Assess the adequacy of the existing annual limit on new residential development
$	Determine the number of nonconforming parcels (substandard lots)
$	Consider a comprehensive lot merger program for substandard lots
$	Assess the adequacy of existing nonconforming parcel development controls
$	Evaluate the existing limits on residential uses in non-residential zoning districts
$	Increase commercial and employment opportunities (emphasis at Princeton)
$	Assess zoning adequacy in Midcoast open space and rural residential areas
$	Prepare an impervious surface limit for new development
$	Protect CalTrans’ “Devil’s Slide” bypass land for low intensity uses
$	Revise and update the design review standards
$	Update the definitions and mapping of sensitive habitats and wetlands
The Planning Commission is proposing a set of amendments that, in general, preserve the community’s planned buildout and development density, decrease the rate of residential development, reduce house size on nonconforming parcels, and further protect Midcoast community resources. It does not include the updated Design Review standards which your Board approved in April, 2004, nor does it include changes to LCP sensitive habitats and wetlands policies. The Commission postponed consideration of these changes to provide time for additional analysis.
SUMMARY
The key amendments being proposed are to:
1.	Lower the annual limit on new houses from 125 per year to 1% of the Midcoast population, not to exceed 52 units, and distribute this amount among the Midcoast communities according to the relative number of vacant parcels.
2.	As allowed by law, comprehensively merge applicable residential substandard lots up to 5,000 sq. ft. or the minimum parcel size of the zoning district.
3.	Reduce the house floor area limit for nonconforming parcels from 48% of the parcel size to a formula incorporating the more restrictive “Proportionality Rule,” whereby house size is reduced proportionate to the amount of parcel nonconformity.
4.	Limit residential use in the C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zoning district to above the first floor, with residential floor area not to exceed commercial floor area.
5.	Increase the number of caretaker’s quarters permitted in the W (Waterfront) zoning district from 20% to 27.5% of the developed parcels.
6.	Prohibit single-family residences in the COSC (Coastside Open Space Conservation) zoning district.
7.	Prohibit timber harvesting, surface mining, oil and gas exploration and solid waste facilities in Midcoast areas zoned PAD (Planned Agriculture) and RM-CZ (Resource Management).
8.	Redesignate two areas near Montara that are not served by water distribution lines from Rural Residential to Rural.
9.	As allowed by law, comprehensively merge applicable lots/parcels designated Rural Residential or Open Space, with the goal of merging up to 5 acres.
10.	Change the land use designation and rezone three portions of the Caltrans’ owned Devil’s Slide bypass property from Very Low Density Residential (RM-CZ) and Medium Density Residential (R-1/S-17) to Open Space (COSC).
11.	Limit the amount of parcel area that may be covered by ground level impervious surfaces, e.g. pavement to 10% of parcel size, not to exceed 1,170 sq. ft.
12.	Prohibit winter grading unless it is shown that rigorous site containment will occur.
FISCAL IMPACTS
Reducing the residential growth rate limit could reduce annual building and planning permit revenues. Comprehensively merging applicable lots may require additional staff resources for a limited time. Otherwise, there would be no additional cost to the County to implement the proposal.