Vallemar Bluff

Vallemar Bluff lies along the spectacular rocky shoreline west of Vallemar St, in Moss Beach.  The beach, cliffs and public trail along the bluff edge are the northern reach of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve (FMR) which extends south to Pillar Point.

The grasslands of Vallemar Bluff are an increasingly rare native plant community known as Coastal Terrace Prairie. In 2015, a six-house development was proposed (site plan), sprawled across the previously undeveloped 2.5 acres at the corner of Juliana & Vallemar. The development proposal raised awareness of the sensitive Coastal Prairie habitat, which is protected by the County’s Local Coastal Program (LCP). The CA Native Plant Society documented the rare plants that grow here including "coast yellow leptosiphon" which grows nowhere else in the world (Local Botanist Toni Corelli letter and slides Dec 2015). The 2002 FMR Master Plan did not survey this area or account for these rare plants. With no awareness or protection from human activities and invasive non-native plants, the sensitive habitat, on both public and private land, had been gradually degrading over the years.

Public review of the development proposal began at a Dec 2015 Pre-Application Workshop hosted by MCC, whose comment letter called out key issues: Protect the rare Coastal Prairie sensitive habitat which covers over a third of the site; require adequate setback from bluff edge accounting for increased erosion from sea level rise; prohibit future shoreline armoring; ensure continued public trail access along the bluff through a floating easement that will move inland as bluff retreat occurs; preserve the visual and open space qualities of the site.  The following year Committee for Green Foothills commissioned a bluff retreat analysis by ESA (memo & slides) showing the houses should be set back further from the shoreline (10/26/16 MCC meeting).

Over the next few years the proposal was reduced to five, and finally four houses along Vallemar St, set well back from the bluff edge.  Spacing between the homes is 40 feet due to setback requirements of RM/CZ zoning (Resource Management/ Coastal Zone).  The developer agreed to a private conservation easement to restore and protect the Coastal Prairie habitat, as well as a deed-restricted prohibition of future coastal armoring and a floating easement to allow the public trail to move inland as bluff retreat occurs.  The project was approved in 2019 with no appeals (staff report - Letter of Decision).  

Habitat restoration on the private conservation easement, denoted by a low picket fence, began in 2020 (blog post) and will continue over the next four years.  County Parks has moved to protect the rare plant growing on their parcel.

• The crowded grove of damaged cypress trees is cleared out, along with the ruderal understory, to reveal a few tall old remaining specimens with rugged coastal character, to help tie the large new homes into the landscape.

• The coastal prairie has been acknowledged, protected and is being restored by knowledgeable people with the infusion of private funding — probably the only way this could have been accomplished.

• The beautiful sea cliffs with their amazing exposed geology are saved in their natural state, along with public access to be there and take it all in.