Half Moon Bay's Surfers Beach parking lot upgrades in works

The parking lot is well trafficked by surfers, bicyclists and beachgoers, but the nearest public restroom is located about a half mile away and is not easily accessible. The adjacent RV park does have a restroom, but it’s not visible or accessible to the public and has effectively been “privatized” by RV park users, according to a staff report. 

Temporary restrooms were installed in the parking lot earlier this month and during the meeting, resident Mike Wallace said they have been “fully utilized so there’s a definite need.” 

The three all-gender restroom stalls will be located on the northwestern corner of the parking lot to avoid impacts to the flow of bicycles and pedestrians on the adjacent Coastal Trail and to preserve ocean views from Highway 1. The restroom facility will be no taller than 14 1/2 feet and the roof will be made of non-reflective material to avoid glare from the sun or ocean.

Accompanying the new restrooms, which will be set back 20 feet from the Coastal Trail, will be an outdoor shower, drinking fountains and educational signs along with two existing benches. A 200-foot portion of the trail that bends around the parking lot will be pushed inland about 10 to 20 feet and three additional benches with ocean views will be installed on it.

The parking lot currently contains 21 standard stalls and two ADA ones, all of which are subject to a $10 day-use fee. The plan is to reconfigure the parking lot so that it has eight ADA parking spots that would be free to use, a minimum of eight standard ones that could be located outside of the project site, an electric vehicle charging station and a van-sized pick up and drop off parking space. There will also be a bicycle parking rack and an ADA-compliant path connecting the parking spaces to the restroom and Coastal Trail.

“This is one of the few locations along the city’s coastline where disabled individuals can access the shoreline and ocean this closely as many sections of the Coastal Trail are separated from the beach by steep bluffs, wide dunes or challenging grade changes,” according to the report.

The report adds that there are other parking locations within walking distance of the trail and beach stairway that do not accommodate ADA needs. 

Commissioners celebrated the accessibility upgrades, but acknowledged the loss of parking will be a challenge. To be clear, the number of overall parking spaces could decrease by seven while the number of standard parking spaces could shrink from 21 to eight.

“One of the best things about this project is the focus on adding the ADA parking spaces. … The staff report makes a pretty compelling case for the fact that this may be in all the city limits the best place for us to invest in greater ADA access and that makes sense, but it’s a painful tradeoff that we give up as many day-use spaces as we are,” said Commissioner Steve Ruddock, according to a video of the meeting. 

Ruddock and his colleagues also expressed interest in having the relevant regulatory agencies work together to install a crosswalk on Highway 1 at the project site after Wallace, during public comment, said there have been many “close calls” of pedestrians almost getting hit by cars as they cross the highway there. 

The 4-acre project site is owned by the San Mateo County Harbor District. Part of the commission’s action at the meeting was after-the-fact approval of a coastal development permit for both the RV park and above upgrades. The RV park can accommodate no more than 40 parking spaces, per the agreement. According to the existing rules, no one can park there for more than 14 consecutive days or more than 30 days in a calendar year except for commercial fishermen during “major” fishing seasons. 

The commission agreed to keep the night limits in place, but rejected the exception for fishermen. 

“To the extent that it’s designed to support coastal recreation — and I would distinguish that from coastal dependent industrial uses such as fishing — as much as I value, respect and support the goal of professional fishermen in the area, I don’t think this is the appropriate resource for them to use for housing,” said Commissioner Jimmy Benjamin.

The commission also agreed to remove the cypress tree located by the entrance to the public parking lot because it’s costly to maintain and its large size obstructs ocean views. The cypress trees on the northern portion of the site that were planted to screen the RV park will remain.

An application for a grant that would cover one-third of the estimated cost of the project has been submitted and the city and Harbor District are searching for additional grant opportunities. 

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5220 ext. 102