COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT

DATE:

June 22, 2009

BOARD MEETING DATE:

July 7, 2009

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors and Interested Parties

FROM:

Lisa Grote, Director of Community Development

SUBJECT:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Public Hearing Regarding the Coastal Commission Staff’s Recommendation on the Midcoast Update Local Coastal Program Amendments

RECOMMENDATION

1.

Reconvene the public hearing initiated and continued on June 16, 2009.

2.

Authorize the Community Development Director to send a letter to the California Coastal Commission staff, on behalf of the Board of Supervisors, identifying the County’s concerns and requests detailed by this report, and as may be supplemented at the July 7, 2009 public hearing.

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

On June 16, 2009, the Board of Supervisors conducted a study session to consider the changes to the Update proposed by CCC staff, and to discuss possible County responses. The meeting was continued to the July 7, 2009 Board of Supervisors 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 addressed by the County’s response. These include new or revised policies that:

•

Lower the County proposed annual limit of 75 residential units to 39 units, and apply this limit to secondary dwellings units;

•

Replace Countywide stormwater pollution control requirements with coastal specific standards;

•

Remove the County’s ability to resolve conflicts between LCP policies in a manner that is on balance the most protective of coastal resources;

•

Require demonstration of adequate public service capacities;

•

Prohibit individual private wells and septic systems within the Midcoast urban area;

•

Restrict the allowable capacity of public works projects;

•

Reserve roadway capacity for p[riority land uses;

•

Prohibit the formation or expansion of special districts until public service capacity issues are resolved;

•

Restrict the reuse of treated wastewater;

•

Lower the priority for affordable housing;

•

Limit water supply projects that would serve homes currently on private wells;

•

Require an LCP amendment for desalination projects;

•

Require new traffic mitigation, monitoring, and reporting programs;

•

Require the provision of coastal access trails and related studies;

•

Designate the Devil’s Slide bypass alignment as a Linear Park and Trail and rezone this area to Community Open Space; and,

•

Change 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.