News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			The Mercury News March 26, 2003   Home-size limits  considered San Mateo County proposes  cap for coastal farmland By Marilee Enge Concerned that historic farmhouses, barns and open  vistas increasingly are giving way to monster homes on San Mateo County's  rural coast, the county is proposing to cap the size of new houses there  at 5,000 square feet. A trend in building larger and larger homes on land that is designated  for agriculture threatens the farming economy and the pastoral landscape  that makes western San Mateo County a national treasure, argue environmentalists,  who for years have pushed for size limits on the coast. "These areas are designated for agriculture and open space," said Mark  Duino, manager of long-range planning for the county. "We allowed houses  out there, but we intended them to support the agriculture community.  That's not what's happening." But property owners and real estate agents say size limits are unfair  to farmers hoping to sell their farmland or residential owners with plans  for a spacious dream home. Since 1993, the size of new homes on the coast has risen from an average  of 2,500 square feet to 10,000 square feet, according to county records. "We want to look at it really carefully,'' Roberts said, "to  see where would they get the most benefit from undergrounding it.'' On Tuesday, the county board of supervisors considered three proposals  for restricting home sizes on rural, unincorporated parcels near the coast,  but delayed a decision while the planning staff conducts more research  on the economics of such caps. Supervisor Rich Gordon said he was reluctant to take any action that could  harm the coast's struggling agricultural community. He said that after  hearing Jack Olsen of the county farm bureau testify that farmers are  concerned that size limits would make it harder to borrow against their  land. "Cash flow at this time is important for keeping agriculture viable,"  Olsen said. Most of the speakers at Tuesday's public hearing, however, were not farmers  but real estate agents and property rights activists. "The people who own prime agriculture land are elderly," said Allan  Bernardi, a Coastside property broker who specializes in farmland. "To  limit what can be developed on the property limits its value." Mario Pelligrini, whose 21,000-square-foot mansion in Montara is often  cited as an example of monster house excess, argued that size restrictions  would violate the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits  taking private property for public use without just compensation. "That's what private property is about in America,'' he said. Conservationists worry that allowing even one or two mega-homes to be  built each year could eventually alter the rural character of the coast  and drive farmers off the land. "The time to do the proper planning is before you have a crisis,'' said  Lennie Roberts, legislative director of the Committee for Green Foothills.  "We're seeing more people looking for places to build statement homes.'' "The coast is a beautiful place,'' she added. "We want to ensure we continue  to have agricultural enterprise. When you start pricing 20-acre parcels  for estate houses, agriculture isn't going to survive that.'' At Tuesday's meeting, the board of supervisors also directed county staff  members to take several steps to help farmers, including: Developing a way to fast-track approval of winter  water collection methods so farmers will have water for the summer and  won't be so dependent on streams that fish need, too. Devising models of a "right to farm'' ordinance  that would help ensure agriculture's future. This could entail warning  potential neighbors of the dust, pesticides and other aspects of farming  that would be next door. It also could include increased setbacks separating  farms from non-farm properties, said Gordon. Making county staff members with graphics  expertise available to work on a logo for a "San Mateo County Grown''  marketing label. Page last updated March 26, 2003 .