COUNTY OF SAN MATEO Inter-Departmental Correspondence
Environmental Services Agency
DATE:					February 3, 2005
BOARD MEETING DATE:					April 12, 2005
SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:					10 Day Publication, Public Hearing 9:00 a.m. Set Time
VOTE REQUIRED:					Majority
TO:			Honorable Board of Supervisors
FROM:			Marcia Raines, Director, Environmental Services Agency
SUBJECT:			Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Master Plan and Environmental Impact Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a resolution:
1.	Certifying that the Final Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Master Plan, which consists of the Draft EIR dated November 10, 2003 and the Final EIR dated June 2004, is complete, correct and adequate and prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, by adopting Findings, and adopting a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan; and
2.	Adopting the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Master Plan dated May 2002 based on the clarifications identified in the Final EIR dated June 2004.
VISION ALIGNMENT:
Commitment: Preserve and provide people access to our natural environment.
Goal 14: Important natural resources are preserved and enhanced through environmental stewardship.
Adoption of this Master Plan will allow County Parks to better preserve and enhance natural resources at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve through improved environmental stewardship.
BACKGROUND:
In 1997, the County acquired the Pillar Point Marsh (Marsh). The County then determined that a Master Plan was needed to integrate the Marsh into the Reserve, balance the educational and resource protection mission of the Reserve, and address problems with high levels of visitation on the Reserve’s intertidal reefs. The Master Plan was prepared in three and a half years and involved four Technical Advisory Committee meetings and 12 public meetings. This is the first Master Plan for the Reserve to be prepared and only pertains to County owned property. The fundamental concept underlying the Master Plan is that protection of the natural resources of the Reserve will require a new approach in the management of ecological systems and visitors in future years.
The Board of Supervisors conceptually approved the Draft Master Plan at its June 19, 2001 meeting and recommended changes following comments received from the Mid-Coast Community Council, Resource Conservation District, and County Public Works Department. Staff then compiled a Final Draft Master Plan dated May 2002 from the Draft Master Plan dated August 1999; its Addendum, dated January 2001; and the changes recommended by the Board of Supervisors.
The fundamental concept underlying the Master Plan is that protection of the natural resources of the Reserve will require a new approach in the management of ecological systems and visitors in future years. The best way to accomplish that goal is to emphasize the sensitivity of the resource, to enhance the educational value of the Reserve, to manage and reduce visitation, and to limit use as a recreational destination. The goals of the Master Plan were developed through the public review process, and are based on ecological and environmental conditions within the Reserve, including the Marsh. The goals are stated more or less in order of priority, with the primary goal being to preserve the natural resources of the Reserve. These goals provide the foundation for the Master Plan concept, which follows:
•	Preserve and Enhance Natural Resources
•	Protect Cultural Resources
•	Provide Education and Interpretive Opportunities
•	Improve Baseline Information
•	Improve Visitor Management
•	Improve Visitor Facilities
•	Minimize Impacts to Neighbors
•	Provide Recreational Opportunities
•	Ensure Adequate and Well Trained Staff
•	Seek Funding Opportunities
The Master Plan has four major components:
•	Natural Resource Management Program
•	Visitor Management Program
•	Uses and Facilities Program
•	Implementation Program
In the spring of 2003, staff initiated the environmental review process. The following is a chronology of action to date:
June 2003				Initial Study prepared
June 25, 2003				Scoping Session held and written comments were received
November 10, 2003				Draft EIR prepared and distributed for public comment until January 30, 2004
January 7, 2004				Park and Recreation Commission held a public hearing on Draft EIR
June 2004				Final EIR published which included responses to comments, and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
October 7, 2004				Parks Commission considered and recommended that the Master Plan and EIR be approved and certified respectively by the Board of Supervisors
DISCUSSION:
1.	Draft Environmental Impact Report
The major environmental issues analyzed in the Draft EIR focused on:
•	Biological Resources
•	Geology and Soils
•	Land Use and Planning
•	Recreation
•	Transportation and Traffic
2.	Final Environmental Impact Report
There were a total of 10 written comment letters received and eight speakers at the public hearing on the Draft EIR. The following is a summary of the comments received about the Draft Master Plan:
•	Concerns regarding limiting visitor access with a reservation system.
•	Concerns regarding putting educational uses as a priority over recreational uses.
•	Concerns regarding eliminating fishing and diving.
•	Concerns regarding alignment of the Coastal Trail (especially in area of Weinke Way).
•	Improve San Vicente Creek water quality.
•	More enforcement needed.
The following is a summary of the comments received about the Draft EIR:
•		Terminology change – Area of Special Biological Significance is now called a State Water Quality Protection Area.
•		Potential impacts to water quality in the Reserve and the Marsh.
•		No new discharges to Reserve should be allowed.
•		Potential impacts of more visitors to Frenchman’s Reef and Marsh area with new facilities proposed.
•		Potential noise impacts to Education Center from Half Moon Bay Airport.
•		Potential parking impacts on neighborhood once parking fees charged.
The Final EIR incorporates comments received on the Draft EIR, responds to those comments, and reflects a list of changes in the Draft EIR as a result of comments received and staff initiated changes for minor clarification to the Master Plan and EIR. The Final EIR also includes a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), which is required by the California Environmental Quality Act to ensure mitigation measures listed in the EIR. The MMRP lists potential impacts mitigation measures, timing of the mitigation measure and the County department responsible for implementation.
3.		Review by Parks and Recreation Commission
On October 7, 2004, the Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the Final Draft Master Plan and Draft and Final EIR. At that meeting, there were two speakers. Both Mr. David Beaumont, representing the Coastside Planning Coalition, and Mr. Leonard Woren, El Granada, raised concerns regarding the possibility of permitted parking in the neighborhoods surrounding the Reserve. Also, at the October 7, 2004 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, two letters were received from the Ocean Conservancy and the California Department of Fish and Game. The comments of the two speakers and the content of the two letters received were addressed by staff and the Parks and Recreation Commission recommended approval of certifying the EIR and adopting the Master Plan with no further changes.
4.	Implementation of the Master Plan
Following the Board of Supervisors conceptual adoption of the Draft Master Plan on June 2001, staff began looking at opportunities to move the recommendations of the Master Plan forward. The following actions have occurred to date:
•	County Parks took over the responsibility of the Reservation System for large groups from the Coyote Point Museum, which will bring in $2,500 a year in revenue.
•	County Parks successfully applied and secured a Coastal Impact Assistance Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the amount of $140,000 to prepare a Resource Assessment of the Reserve. The Final Report was reviewed by the Parks Commission at its December 2004 meeting.
•	County Parks has had ongoing dialogue with the California Department of Fish and Game regarding the potential to seek State Marine Reserve status as part of their Marine Managed Area Protection effort.
•	County Parks has commented on the Vandenburg Air Force Base Natural Resources Management Plan, and identified opportunities for cooperation and collaboration including a joint Cultural Resources Management Plan.
•	Existing bathrooms have been improved for handicapped accessibility with input from the Commission on Disabilities.
•	A $125,000 grant from Tanker Vessel Command Oil Spill Restoration Fund has been secured for improvements to the Seal Cover staircase, which is in disrepair.
•	Park Foundation gave $6,000 to fund an Interpretive Park Aide the summer of 2003.
•	Park Foundation has raised funding $80,000 to develop a Conceptual Plan for an Education Center. The Parks Commission at its February 17, 2005 meeting reviewed the Draft Conceptual Plan.
•	Park Foundation is actively fund raising for construction of the Education Center, outdoor classroom, and interpretive exhibit panels throughout the Reserve.
•	Vegetation management of diseased tress and exotic invasive removal has taken place using Park staff and volunteers.
•	The Division’s Volunteer Program through grants from the Park Foundation has provided funds for docent training and signage at the Reserve over the past five years.
•	The Phase I of the Vegetation Management Plan inventoried all of the vegetation at the Reserve.
•	County Environmental Health has had an active volunteer water quality-monitoring program in the San Vicente Creek watershed for the past four years.
•	Park staff has identified $500,000 in Proposition 40 funding for replacement of the San Vicente Creek Bridge, improvements to the Coastal Trail within the Reserve and landscaping improvements. This is envisioned to be the first of three phases to construct the Coastal Trail at the Reserve.
•	County Parks held a meeting regarding opportunities to acquire lands or easements between the Reserve and the Marsh, and subsequently the Peninsula Open Space Trust has acquired a 119 acres located adjacent to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve bluffs. The Trust is planning to improve the Coastal Trail section through that property to connect the Reserve and Marsh.
Some of the future improvements at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve will require further public review as specific plans are developed, including Coastal Development Permits, and potentially additional environmental review, based on further detailed plans.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Parks Division is not requesting any new funding for implementation at this time. All projects recommended in the Master Plan have been listed on the County Parks Capital Projects list since the Draft Master Plan was conceptually approved in 2001. County Parks has been successful in securing several grants to initiate the next steps in the implementation of the Master Plan as described above. The Parks Division is committed to finding outside grant funding and funding from the Park Foundation to assist in paying for some of the recommendations resulting from the Draft Master Plan. In the future County Parks may come back to the Board of Supervisors to seek matching funding for projects, which are eligible for grant funding.
Attachments
Attachment A:			Final Draft Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Master Plan, dated May 2002
Attachment B:			Draft Environmental Impact Report, dated November 2003
Attachment C:			Final Environmental Impact Report, dated June 2004