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Half Moon Bay Review
April 14, 2004
 
MROSD proposal approved

By Jeanine Gore

In the end, it was strangely quiet.

Six years of hard work and recent months jam-packed with  drama and controversy came to a close April 7 as Midpeninsula Regional  Open Space District gained approval to expand its boundaries over 144,000  acres of Coastside land.

 The landmark 6-1 vote was made in a matter of minutes  by San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission following a two-hour  discussion about the annexation including measures in place to reduce  potential friction between MROSD and its new neighbors.

 Surprisingly, the afternoon unfolded without the storm  of debate that surrounded previous meetings.

 Among the audience it was nearly impossible to find  anyone shocked by the outcome.

 Even the most vocal opponents said they expected the  approval.

 But as they filed out of the boardroom people on both  sides of the issue said the fight is far from over.

While the action did cap a longstanding battle between open space advocates who've been rallying for the increased land protections associated with the annexation and MROSD opponents who blister at the idea of additional government influence, emotions are still running high. .

 Now that the decision has been made, each side finds  itself mobilizing for a new kind of struggle.

 Even before commissioners finished their closing statements,  some audience members were already discussing ways to turn the annexation  on its head.

 Their goal: collecting enough signatures to bring the  issue to the ballot for a final decision by Coastside vote.

 Wrapping up the end of the two-hour LAFCo meeting,  Commissioner Howard Jones said he hoped the two parties could resolve  their differences, but the idea garnered mixed reviews.

 "From my point of view, I hope some healing can  occur on the Coastside," he said, acknowledging conflict between the two  parties.

 "Don't count on it," mumbled one audience member seated  toward the back of the room.

 "They're stealing our land," another quickly added from  under his big straw hat.

 "Now what we need ..." said one woman, trailing off  "... is a lawsuit," her companion said, finishing the sentence.

 Under the plan, MROSD, a public agency that currently  manages over 50,000 acres of open space in San Mateo, Santa Clara and  Santa Cruz counties, will incorporate a vast expanse from Pacifica to  Santa Cruz county lines into its territory.

 The land includes some of the most scenic Redwood forests  and fertile farmland in San Mateo County. MROSD intends to purchase and  preserve about 11,800 acres of that land over the next 15 years.

 To ensure the plan becomes reality, supporters are quietly  working on their own campaign aimed at promoting the annexation and aggressively  combating ideas that challenge it.

 Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, a spokesperson for the Coastal  Open Space Alliance, one of the strongest supporters of the annexation,  called LAFCo's decision to approve the plan "historic," a boon for environmental  and recreational interests.

 "I think this was one of the most important coastal  protection decisions that have been made in many, many years," she said.

 And she intends to see it to fruition.

 Exactly what sort of plans are in the works, Kersteen-Tucker  declined to say, though they likely involve advertisements, brochures  and other means of publicly promoting the Coastal Protection Program.

 "We're going to come out swinging right away," she  said, speaking for COSA, a partnership of environmental groups including  the Sierra Club, Peninsula Open Space Trust and Committee for Green Foothills.

 "After all the work we're not going to stand back  and relax because, quite frankly, they could terminate the Coastal Protection  Program with enough signatures."

 Under state law, opponents have 60 days from the  decision date to protest and to collect 4,000 valid signatures, or 25  percent of the registered voters in the annexed area.

 Collection of 8,000 signatures would stop the annexation  outright.

 Opponents have indicated they plan to collect the  necessary signatures to bring the issue to a vote.

 "We want a vote of the people. It's very, very simple,"  said Terry Gossett, director of Californians for Property Rights in Moss  Beach and one of the most vocal opponents of the annexation.

 "What are they afraid of?" he asked. "What's wrong  with a vote."

 Open space advocates say that vote already happened  in 1996, when Coastside voters approved the annexation in an advisory  ballot measure.

 The San Mateo County Farm Bureau, which was previously  aligned against the action, endorsed the annexation in January when the  district removed its power of eminent domain, a major concern of local  farmers who feared losing their land.

 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the removal of  eminent domain. .

 District leaders hailed the decision to allow the  annexation as a major step in protecting and preserving the rural Coastside  for future generations.

 Craig Britton, MROSD general manager, said the next  step in the process is to wait and see whether the opposition collects  the necessary signatures.

 "We have to wait and see what happens," said Britton.  "Now is not the time to relax for MROSD." In the meantime, the district  will work to further educate the public about the annexation as well as  complying with the list of special conditions applied by LAFCo.

 The LAFCo board, made up of San Mateo County elected  officials, ordered the district to appoint a citizen ombudsperson to hear  public complaints and mediate disputes between the district and local  residents.

 Supervisor Rich Gordon, a member of LAFCo who voted  for the annexation, said it was a major decision but he was satisfied  the district had done its best to meet the demands of its critics.

 And most importantly, MROSD will bring an important  service to the coast.

 "Frankly I feel the district will bring a capacity  to manage open space land that doesn't currently exist," he said.

 "And I do feel strongly that this process has made  and will make the open space a much better governing agency."

Page last updated April 15, 2004 .

 

 

Copyright 2001 Committee for Green Foothills