A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 21, 2008
2. Supply –
Long-disputed coastal development moves forward, in modified form
By Julia Scott
HALF MOON BAY — In a town where litigation is usually a prerequisite for development, the biggest development in decades looks set to be built after more than 15 years of legal delays.
Last Wednesday, the California Coastal Commission unanimously approved a 63-unit subdivision proposed by Ailanto Properties. The homes will be situated along Pacific Ridge, a gently sloping section of the Santa Cruz Mountain foothills northeast of downtown Half Moon Bay and not far from another controversial would-be development, Beachwood.
In contrast to Beachwood, the Pacific Ridge development earned the support of the Coastal Commission, the Committee for Green Foothills and the Sierra Club when the landowner agreed to whittle down the size of the proposed development from the original 220 homes to 63 homes after a series of lawsuits and settlement talks with the city led to a compromise.
Purchased in 1985 by Albert Fong, Pacifica Ridge was slated for construction in the 1990s like Beachwood but a sewer moratorium intervened and delayed the process for several years. Like Beachwood, the development was eventually opposed by Half Moon Bay's Planning Commission partly due to the presence of wetlands that would preclude a large project.
But unlike Beachwood, Fong worked through the ensuing lawsuits and appeals and finally sat down at the negotiating table, reaching an agreement for 63 homes in 2004. Last week's Coastal Commission vote codifies that agreement; construction could begin next spring.
"I view the whole thing as a good compromise. I think the developer in trying to get acceptance of this project gave up quite a bit in terms of entitlements," said Mike Ferreira, who was mayor at the time the settlement was reached and testified before the Coastal Commission last week. "It's built at a higher elevation and it's 72 percent open space. The homes are clustered in the area that does not have resource problems."
Ailanto Properties has agreed to pay the city $2.8 million to purchase 63 other vacant lots in town and take them out of the running for development, now or in the future. It has already handed the city a letter of credit worth $2.5 million to add a traffic light and widen Highway 1 at the intersection with
In an unsurprising twist for Half Moon Bay, not everyone agrees with the Coastal Commission's vote. Terrace Avenue residents, concerned that a traffic signal would add to existing congestion at the intersection with Highway 1, once delivered a petition with 2,000 signatures seeking to stop the project.
Many locals hold out hope that the Beachwood development will pull out of its legislative bottleneck next year and be built next door, if only because it would mean another road could be built connecting Pacific Ridge residents to their homes.
Ailanto Properties contractor John Wade said the language of the agreement does not rule out substituting a traffic light at
"It's very unlikely because this is a priority on Highway 1 — this intersection was identified," said Wade. "My sense is the city would draw on that letter of credit and it would be done before the homes are built."
One major obstacle may prevent the project from getting started this spring — uncertainty over its water source. Pacifica Ridge has all the water permits it needs, but the developer wants access to a new, public water pipeline buried under
The Coastside County Water District sent Fong a letter last month warning him that the agency had approved no such water plan, and the Coastal Commission is withholding the final coastal development permit until the dispute is resolved. #
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_10770861
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