Coastside Design Review Committee (CDRC), as part of their Design Standards Update project, has prioritized an update of Midcoast Neighborhood Commercial development standards. These commercial districts are clustered in Montara, Moss Beach, and El Granada and are intended primarily for trades and services to meet the needs of Coastside residents, as opposed to the visitor-serving commercial districts located west of Highway 1.  

CDRC is holding monthly open study sessions to develop a draft ordinance specific to the Midcoast. The public is encouraged to get involved, by reviewing the study materials, attending the study sessions, or sending your ideas to CDRC@smcgov.org.  

Next study session is Friday, July 26, 1:30-4:30 at GCSD (agenda)
Study materials [updated 7/30/19]: 
Purposes -- Development Standards -- Performance Standards.
Background and supporting docs are here.

The existing ordinance (C-1/S-3) is generic countywide and does not contain adequate development standards to clearly and simply guide appropriate development that preserves the unique coastal small-town character of our Midcoast communities.  A hotel proposal for Montara in 2017 brought this issue to the attention of the community.

See 3/22/17 MCC letter & presentation on the need for C-1 zoning update.