Half Moon Bay is in the midst of updating its Local Coastal Land Use Plan, an expansive planning document meant to guide growth and conservation along the coast. A series of study sessions on the subject will wrap up in January, but are by no means the only opportunity for community input.
City officials have been working on the project for years, enlisting the help of professional planners, biologists and policy advisors, and unveiled the updated Local Coastal Plan at a special meeting in October. It includes nine chapters, each of which is addressed in one of the recent and upcoming study sessions.
A November study session was devoted to natural resources and a December one focused on coastal access and recreation, coastal hazards, cultural resources, and scenic and visual resources. A study session Jan. 22 will be on development and agriculture.
The lengthy and highly detailed document hasn’t been updated since the early 1990s. It will go to the City Council before the Coastal Commission reviews it, likely in the first half of 2019. Once the City Council adopts the Local Coastal Land Use Plan, then the general plan update process will begin.
“This project presents an opportunity for the community to define a common vision for the future, and will provide planning policies and regulation to effectively carry out that vision,” according to the project website. “A fully updated general plan and Local Land Coastal Program will ensure that future development enhances community character and identity, provides a sound framework for economic growth, and protects coastal resources and public coastal access.”
At the October meeting, Associate Planner Brittney Cozzolino described the chapter on agriculture as a “big reframe” from the original land use plan, which assumed agriculture was a dying industry in Half Moon Bay, she said.
“Instead we’ve seen its continued viability and major significance to the local community and regional area,” she said, adding that the chapter maps prime and non-prime agriculture land and includes policies that protect that land as well as existing farming operations. To ensure the continued viability of local agriculture, the chapter also establishes a new agriculture land use designation and encourages supplemental uses and the development of farmworker housing, she said.
Highway 1
The Coastal Access and Recreation chapter was also redrafted significantly, said Community Development Director Jill Ekas. In it is a plan to improve Highway 1 called “Town Boulevard.”
“The idea is to improve the flow, the appearance, the identity and definitely the safety and relationship of this main thoroughfare for Half Moon Bay, the people who live here,” she said, noting that the project does not entail any additional lanes.
According to the draft document, the concept includes potential roundabouts, signs, median landscaping and crossing improvements.
Planning Commissioner Jimmy Benjamin spoke about the “Natural Resources” chapter, which identifies sensitive habitat areas and species and includes policies to protect them.
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“We note that there are certain animals and plants that were not identified as part of our local flora and fauna [in the previous Local Coastal Program] and we are identifying those sightings,” he said. “The updates also reflect the fact that we live in a world of climate change, which was not even an issue when the first Local Coastal Program was developed.”
Sea level rise
The “Hazards” chapter is also framed in the context of climate change and sea level rise, Cozzolino said, adding that the bulk of the chapter addresses concerns related to bluff erosion, shoreline development and shoreline protection.
“Policies limit new shoreline armoring to protect existing structures and critical facilities only as well as address opportunities for removal of existing armoring,” she said. “This chapter also addresses adaptation measures such as managed retreat, redevelopment standards and public land acquisition as strategies for avoiding impacts to development, infrastructure and coastal resources.”
Discussion about the threat of wildfires specifically came up several times in the December study session.
“We have a lot of houses that are relatively near Eucalyptus and other trees so there’re issues there about what kind of buffer we need in the future,” Planning Commissioner Les Deman said. “I’m not sure if insurance codes will require that or if the state will. We have some conflict there between environmental areas and where houses are and we’re trying to figure out how we put something down that ensures a balance.”
Historic designation
Introducing the “Cultural Resources” chapter, Ekas said the current LCP focuses on archeological resources, but not historic resources. To protect historic structures and properties, she specifically mentioned the possibility of pursing historic district designation for certain areas in the city or a Mills Act program, which the city does not currently have. Such a program offers tax breaks to owners of historic homes to incentivize them to maintain those homes.
Chair Rick Hernandez said the “Scenic and Visual Resources” chapter includes a comprehensive inventory of the city’s “visual corridors,” or vista points, and policies to protect them. Undergrounding utilities to preserve or enhance views is one such policy that he referenced.
As mentioned above, the development and agriculture chapters will be the focus of a Jan. 22 study session.
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