Half Moon Bay plans for influx in summer

A major tenet of the city’s summer management plan is preparing for weekends on a case-by-case basis. If temperatures are 85 or above in nearby areas like Hayward, for example, it’s a fairly safe bet that the coast is going to be receiving a high volume of visitors, Public Works Superintendent Todd Seely said. 

“We’re constantly monitoring the weather in the summer months and making decisions about staffing almost on a daily basis, just trying to figure it out and see how many people we need to get out there,” he said. 

The city can implement full-day weekend coverage and outsource to groups like Abundant Grace for additional litter cleanup at popular spots like Poplar Beach, he said. Special preparations are made for reliably high-volume days like Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day. 

Police patrols in the late evening and early morning around beach hot spots will also increase during the summer months, San Mateo sheriff’s Capt. Richard Cheechov, chief of Half Moon Bay’s police bureau, said.

Early-evening police presence can also serve as a deterrent to potential troublemakers with plans for bonfires or fireworks — two issues councilmembers broached as ongoing problems during summer, especially around holidays. 

Seely pointed to an extension of a legal bonfire pilot program as one potential solution that the City Council could use to create more controlled fires on the beaches. 

“We did have the fire pit pilot and that was kind of successful,” he said. “That might be something to consider to alleviate the bonfire issue.” 

The Half Moon Bay Planning Commission also recently approved a coastal development permit for a gate across Redondo Beach Road to be closed from sunrise to sunset as a way to prevent environmental issues like littering and fire danger. 

As the weather gets warmer, concerns around partying and camping in the area also remain an issue — though some groups, like the Surfrider Foundation, expressed anxieties that the decision will limit legally-required beach access. It remains to be seen whether the Coastal Commission will move to appeal the gate decision. 

“We chose not to appeal locally to wait and see if the city would work with the Coastal Commission on meeting requirements they apparently haven’t completely met,” Kimberly Williams, representing the San Mateo County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, said. “The gate at Poplar is also an unpermitted gate — that will also come up at some point.” 

Councilmembers expressed a variety of additional concerns for Public Works and Sheriff’s Office staff to consider, from the cleanliness of various city-provided portable toilets to the possibility of additional police presence on State Route 92 and Highway 1. 

It’s most likely that additional police presence to deter traffic blockages or other various misdeeds will be stationed on days with a high volume of visitors, Cheechov said. 

“It’s going to really be a case of trying to forecast the weather and what the need will be,” he said. “We could do it every weekend, but that’s going to use up a lot of resources.”