Historical General Plans

Despite the extensive subdivisions created during the early 1900’s along with Ocean Shore Railroad construction, the Midcoast population grew very slowly. By 1950, there were only 1,700 residents.

1960’s

The County's 1962 Midcoastside Preliminary General Plan (map) consisted of 5 communities: Montara-Moss Beach, El Granada, West HMB, East HMB, and Purisima. Each community would contain at full development from 20,000 to 30,000 residents, for a Coastside total of 100,000 to 150,000. By 1980 population of each community was expected to be 13,000 to 18,000.  
See also 1962 San Mateo County Master Plan map.

In the early 1960's, the Henry Doelger Corporation, developer of both San Francisco's Sunset District and much of Daly City, which had acquired approximately 8,000 acres of land in the Midcoast region, started preparing plans for extensive development in and around Montara and Moss Beach. See Doelger’s Coastside General Plan map.

San Mateo County, with the help of a citizens advisory committee, adopted the Montara-Moss Beach General Plan in 1965. This plan rejected development on the scale proposed by the Doelger Corporation, but did indicate urbanization extending well beyond the "paper" subdivisions and onto environmentally sensitive hillsides. It would have allowed the population of Montara and Moss Beach to eventually grow to 30,000 people. The area covered by the plan did not include El Granada.

By the 1970's, only one Doelger subdivision had been developed (227 homes at Clipper Ridge), and the Doelger Corporation had sold off its land holdings in the area to the Westinghouse Corporation (Half Moon Bay Properties). Growth pressures continued on the area. 

In 1989 Westinghouse Corp received County approval of the large-scale Harbor Village hotel/mall/restaurant complex in Princeton — finally built in 2005. Local controversy around this project approval led to the formation of the Midcoast Community Council by Board of Supervisors resolution and voter approval in 1991.

1970’s

In 1972, people throughout the State of California were growing increasingly concerned with uncontrolled growth and loss of access to their coastline and beaches, and took the matter to the ballot box. Proposition 20, the Coastal Initiative, passed overwhelmingly. 

Midcoast residents organized to prevent the grandiose development plans promoted by Westinghouse and other speculators. They determined to create their own plan with sensibility toward the environment and a vision for reasonable, planned growth that the limited resources of the Coast could accommodate. 

Over a 5-year period in the 1970's, Midcoast residents, with the aid of County planners, created the Montara - Moss Beach - El Granada Community Plan, which the Board of Supervisors adopted in 1978. The Commuity Plan formed the basis and is incorporated by reference into San Mateo County's Local Coastal Program (LCP) adopted in 1980.