Mirada Surf Page

This page has links to background documents related to the El Granada Waterfront Taskforce proposal to be presented to the Midcoast Community Council in October. This collection is expected to grow. Major additions will be announced on midcoast-l.

• Mirada Surf EIR Scoping Document and Response to Mirada Surf EIR Notice Of Preparation - MidCoast Community Council Planning & Zoning Committee - Final 5/14/98
  
• Second legal opinion -- SaraLynn Mandel, Attorney-at-Law practicing in Half Moon Bay, assesses and addresses the legal "opinion" provided by counsel retained by the Task Force.
• Erosion map -- The buildability of the land on the west side of Highway 1 may enter into your considerations of the taskforce proposal. Erosion is one of the main factors affecting the "economic life" of any development, and hence its chances of approval at the County and the Coastal Commission. Coastside author and historian Barbara VanderWerf presents her estimates of erosion over 50 years [the timeframe of statutory interest], along with notes and disclaimers.
• History of the land -- Barbara has also written this short history of the land, starting in the late 18th century, through the Burnham plan and the railroad years, and covering two recent development proposals.
• Legal opinion on zoning issues -- Your decision to support or oppose the taskforce proposal may depend on your estimate of the ability of the County or a citizens' group to oppose legal moves the developers may make if the proposal is rejected by the community. The taskforce retained a land use attorney, E. Clement Shute of San Francisco, to investigate these issues. Transcriptions of his letters are here:
  • Summary -- Mr. Shute summarizes his findings in this letter of September 12. Start here and refer to the following letters for the details:
  • Letter of August 15 -- Mr. Shute's first letter to the taskforce, with emphasis on case law behind "takings" claims and the Park designation.
  • Letter of August 25 -- Mr. Shute revisits these issues to answer specific questions raised by the taskforce after reviewing his earlier letter.

     

  We anticipate that Mr. Shute will be available for questions at the MCC meeting to be scheduled in October. Mr. Shute's fees were paid from the $15,000 taskforce budget.

  [Please note: Though we've been careful, these transcriptions of Mr. Shute's letters may contain errors.]

• Park designation -- This exchange of letters between David Byers, attorney for landowners, and the County's Paul Koenig addresses the County's willingness to buy the land for a park. This may also be preliminary maneuvering for a challenge of the Park zoning by the landowners.
• An earlier County study -- Kathryn Slater-Carter provided these documents from an County study of an earlier proposal for the Mirada Surf land. "As you will see from reading this," she writes, "it is quite likely that any General Plan, LCP, or zoning changes granted to these properties will likely be sought for the other urban RM/CZ parcels on the Midcoast. Eventually our community will look like the El Camino corridor with no intervening open spaces between the communities."

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