Vallemar Bluff 4-house project Design Review Hearing July 13

Revised development plans have been submitted for the 2.5-acre blufftop property at Vallemar and Juliana in Moss Beach. The project has been down-sized from 7 lots to 4, with the houses set back away from the bluff edge. The developer intends to create a conservation easement for the rare Coastal Prairie habitat and provide for the coastal trail to retreat onto private property as the sea cliff naturally erodes.

The Coastside Design Review Committee (CDRC) will now evaluate the scale and design of the houses to determine if the project complies with the Midcoast Design Review Standards. The 4 houses are all well over 5,000 sq.ft. and their full height would rise straight up 3 stories (32.5 ft) above the Coastal Prairie as seen from the public bluff trail along this section of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. The incomplete story poles make it seem the houses will be hidden in the trees – not so. Most of the tangle of trees will need to be removed, leaving all 4 houses in full view of the coastal bluff. The bar graph shows the square footage of the proposed houses (#9-12) compared to the surrounding neighborhood.  

Project approval process:

1 - Coastside Design Review Committee will determine if the project complies with the Midcoast Design Review Standards.  July 13, 2017, agenda   [7/25 continuance letter
[UPDATE: Item continued to 9/14/17 meeting for design changes]            

2 - Environmental Review document (Initial Study & Negative Declaration) will be published for 30-day public comment period.

3 - Planning Commission hearing for project decision (project is appealable to the Coastal Commission)

Project Planner: Dave Holbrook dholbrook@smcgov.org

Vallemar Bluff page has project plans, multi-year project history, and comments on earlier 6-house and 5-house versions.

MCC Meeting June 28, 2017

AGENDA for June 28, 2017, 7:00pm at GCSD
504 Ave Alhambra, 3rd floor, El Granada
Supporting documents:

Grant funding presentation (Ellie Dallman)
Parallel Trail funding MCC letter

Gray Whale Cove crossing background:
crossings page — presentation

Princeton street-end improvements: presentation
6/6/17 funding staff report
2002 Vassar beach access concept plan
2014 Yacht Club ramp & floating pier plan

Consent: Minutes for May 24, 2017
PLN2016-00327 (105 San Lucas) MCC  comments

UPDATE:  6/28/17 meeting Video & Minutes

HMB Local Coastal Land Use Plan June 27 Study Session

HMB Planning Commission Study Session     VIDEO
Tues, June 27, 2017, at 7:00 PM
Emergency Operations Center, Kelly Ave, HMB

Coastal Access will be the focus of the June 27 session, which will feature a presentation posing options for Highway 1, in addition to topics relevant to coastal access, including trails, parking, and transit. Community members are encouraged to attend and participate during the public forum.​​

Path of Pollutants from Watershed to Harbor

San Mateo County Resource Conservation District provided an update presentation to the Harbor Commission 6/21/2017 on their continuing investigation of sources of fecal bacteria from warm-blooded animals in Pillar Point Harbor, particularly at Capistrano Beach.  Past studies have shown that the pollution enters the harbor from watershed drainage (creek and storm drain outlets) rather than from boats.  The current investigation is focused on the upland areas that drain to Capistrano Beach: Denniston watershed, St. Augustine watershed, and Capistrano drainage.  

Video of presentation (at 13 min)