News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			Mercury News April 8, 2004   Coastal plan approved Agency allows Open Space District to expand in San Mateo County By Paul Rogers  Ending six years of debate over a vast expanse of  farmland, open space and redwood forests from Pacifica to the Santa Cruz  County line, one of the Bay Area's largest open space districts on Wednesday  won approval to expand  its boundaries from Silicon Valley to the San Mateo County coast.  By a 6-1 vote, the San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved increasing the size of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District from its current 230,000 acres to 370,000 acres, a jump of 61 percent.  The vote affects some of the most scenic real estate in the Bay Area: Pigeon Point Lighthouse, La Honda's redwoods and pumpkin fields around Pescadero.  Supporters said the expansion, the district's largest since it was created by Santa Clara County voters in 1972, will mean new open space preserves for wildlife, hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders, along with safeguards against sprawl for farms.  "The land can't protect itself. It requires  significant actions to preserve agriculture and prevent overdevelopment,''  said Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, a spokeswoman for the Coastal  Open Space Alliance , group composed of the Sierra Club, Committee  For Green Foothills and other environmental organizations. Possible ballot issue Opponents, however, indicated they will attempt to place the issue before San Mateo County coastal voters in November. Under state law, they have 60 days to collect the signatures of 4,000 registered voters -- 25 percent of the roughly 16,000 voters in the annexed area. If they gather 8,000 signatures, they would kill the expansion outright.  "We're disappointed,'' said Terry Gossett,  director of Californians for Property Rights, in Moss Beach. "I'm  going to talk to my friends and neighbors. If it is up to me, we should  have a vote.'' Since 1972, the district, based in Los Altos, has purchased land along Skyline Ridge from Crystal Springs Reservoir to South San Jose's Mount Umunhum to preserve its wild state. It has set aside roughly 48,000 acres in about 25 preserves. The district is funded by property taxes -- 1.7 cents on each $100 of assessed value, meaning the owner of a home assessed at $500,000 pays about $85 a year. Under Wednesday's vote, taxes of coastal residents will not be raised. Instead, the district plans to spend about $2 million a year from its $20 million annual budget to preserve coastal land. Kudos, concerns District leaders called the vote a watershed event in preserving the rural character of the Bay Area.  "I'm exhilarated,'' said district board member  Mary Davey. "In working to save the coast, we are saving part of  our national heritage.''  Gossett and other critics, including some farmers,  said they are concerned that creating new parkland would bring traffic  and trespassers to the coast. They also worried about the loss of property  taxes, although the district estimates those at only $90,000 in 15 years  because much of the land is zoned agricultural and assessed at a low value.  Gossett also said he fears one day the district  will try to raise property taxes on the coast to buy new lands. State  law requires a two-thirds approval vote, but Gossett said that if the  entire district including Silicon Valley residents voted, their votes  could overwhelm the voters on the coast.  The San Mateo County Farm Bureau endorsed the annexation  in January when the district removed a major concern of critics by sponsoring  a bill to eliminate its power of eminent domain on the coast. Last week,  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it. The Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce  and the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group also endorsed the expansion.  Craig Britton, general manager of the district,  said his goal is to preserve 11,800 acres in the next 15 years. Of that,  some will be in purchases of development rights from farmers who will  continue to own and farm their land. Most, he said, will come from grants  and below-market sales from other public agencies or non-profit groups  such as the Peninsula Open Space Trust. Some conditions On Wednesday, the LAFCO board, made up of San Mateo County elected officials,  required the district to hire an ombudsman to hear public complaints,  to hold meetings on the coast and to fence its coastal lands when trails  come near private property.  "We hear you,'' LAFCO board member Howard Jones  said to the critics. "And I hope some healing occurs.'' Page last updated April 8, 2004 .