COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT

DATE:

June 1, 2009

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 16, 2009

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

None

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors and Interested Parties

FROM:

Lisa Grote, Director of Community Development

SUBJECT:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: June 16, 2009 Study Session Regarding the Coastal Commission Staff’s Recommendation on the Midcoast Update Local Coastal Program Amendments

RECOMMENDATION

1.

Receive staff’s presentation and public comment regarding the California Coastal Commission (CCC) staff’s recommendation on the Midcoast Update Local Coastal Program amendments.

2.

Consider possible responses to the CCC staff’s recommendation.

3.

Accept additional staff analyses and public testimony, and provide final direction to staff regarding the County’s response, at the July 7, 2009 Board of Supervisors meeting.

VISION ALIGNMENT

Commitments: Redesign our urban environment to increase vitality and reduce congestion. Preserve and provide access to our natural environment.

Goals 12 and 13: Land use decisions consider transportation, infrastructure demand and environmental impacts. The boundary between open space and development is fixed to protect the quality of the natural environment.

The Midcoast Update contributes to these commitments and goals by: lowering the Midcoast growth rate; establishing a substandard lot merger process; preserving opportunities for neighborhood commercial uses; promoting inter-agency collaboration to improve roadway level of service; and strengthening water quality protections.

BACKGROUND

The June 16, 2009 study session provides an opportunity for the Board members and interested parties to consider the changes proposed by CCC staff, and to discuss possible County responses. This will be followed by a Board of Supervisors hearing on the July 7, 2009 meeting, at which time the Board will provide final direction to staff regarding the County’s response. This response will be submitted for consideration by CCC staff before they release the staff report for the Commission hearing preliminarily scheduled for the August 12-14 meeting in San Francisco. In accordance with the previous direction of the Board, Planning and Building staff will continue to meet with the Commission staff in an effort to reach resolution on as many of the issues as possible prior to the August Coastal Commission meeting.

DISCUSSION

There are a number of significant issues raised by the CCC staff recommendation that should be considered at the June 16 study session. These include:

•

New policies that require demonstration of adequate public service capacities and restrict the allowable capacity of public works projects.

•

A recommended prohibition against individual private wells and septic systems within the Midcoast urban area.

•

Replacement of the County proposed 75-unit annual limit with a population growth rate of 1%, and application of this limit to secondary dwellings units.

•

New policies that replace Countywide stormwater pollution control requirements with detailed construction, erosion control, drainage, and treatment standards.

•

Deletion of a policy that would enable the County to resolve conflicts between LCP policies in a manner that is on balance the most protective of coastal resources.

•

A prohibition against the formation or expansion of special districts until public service capacity issues are resolved.

•

New traffic mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements.

•

New requirements for the provision of coastal access trails and related studies.

•

Deletion of a proposed incentive to provide affordable housing units.

•

Requirements to designate the Devil’s Slide bypass alignment as a Linear Park and Trail and rezone this area to Community Open Space.

•

Changes to land use designations and allowable uses on the Burnham Strip.

FISCAL IMPACT

The County has committed significant staff and financial resources towards developing the Midcoast Update and completing the Coastal Commission certification process. A timely and successful resolution of the issues identified by this report, as necessary to obtain certification of the amendments, is needed to realize the objectives of this investment and avoid further strains on limited County staffing and financial resources.