Local historian and author Barbara VanderWerf provided this overview of the history of the lands convered by the "Mirada Surf" proposal by the El Grenada Waterfront Taskforce. You can read more about Barabara's book "Granada, A Synonym for Paradise" elsewhere on this website.

The present day east and west Granada parcels came into being in 1906 with the Burnham Plan for the townsite of Granada.

• Between 1908 and 1920, the route of the Ocean Shore Railroad split the parcels.

• Between 1920 and 1949, the parcels were not split by a transportation route. The main road ran along the bluffs.

• From 1949 to the present, the east and west Granada parcels have been split by the route of Highway 1. (See pages 118-119 of "Granada" for parcel configuration.)

1. East parcel design

The Burnham Plan of 1906 shows the east Granada parcel as a single purpose parcel, that is railroad serving: South Granada freight station and train yards. (See 57, "Granada") On the 1910 town-plan-as-built, this area is labeled "50 acres reserved for car shop and power house." (Note: this 50 acres was not designed as a park.)

Today, El Granada School occupies the site of the South Granada freight station (photo p. 101 "Granada"). The horse pasture occupies the site of the proposed round house, train yards and power plant.

The Art Institute of Chicago verifies that Granada is the only Daniel H. Burnham town built in the United States. As such, it ranks as a national treasure. Granada's street design reflects the best of Burnham's thinking about urban design. Two world famous Burnham city plans, which in part look similar to the Granada Plan, are the San Francisco Plan of 1905 (never implemented) and the Chicago Plan of 1909 (partially implemented.)

Given the historical significance of Granada and the integrity of the Burnham Plan, the questions for debate are:

• Should a new subdivision on the east parcel disrupt the Burnham Plan for Granada?

• Should the east parcel fulfill its original single purpose design and in what form?

(Note: The new subdivision would be tacked onto the classic 1906 Burnham street plan of arcs and radials. This would be the first time that the Burnham street plan would be breached. El Granada Highlands was added to the Burnham Plan in 1920 using existing roads in the Burnham hillside pleasure park. Clipper Ridge is outside of the tract of Granada and therefore does not infringe on the Burnham Plan. See page 59 "Granada" for Burnham street plan as built.)

2. Agricultural use (historic single purpose use)

Given peripheral evidence (old newspaper accounts and maps), a good case can be made that the east and west Granada parcels were in dry-land agricultural use (hay, red oats, root crops) as early as 1861. Previously, they were used for cattle grazing.

• The 1928 aerial of Granada (part of a series of the first aerials made of the midcoast) shows row crops on the east and west parcels. Local memory indicates the crop was generally irrigated artichokes.

• The USGS 1946 aerial indicates row crops on both parcels.

• The USGS 1968 aerial shows El Granada School and what appears to be pasture land on the east parcel. The west parcel appears to be in agricultural use.

• The pasture land was until recently a horse boarding operation. Three or four years ago, the pasture was plowed and seeded to rye grass to enhance the horse feed.

The east and west Granada parcels have been in ranch/farm use from the early 1860s until recent times. From the 1790s to the 1860s, these two parcels were part of a large coastal terrace pasture.

3. Mirada Surf/Mirada Beach

Mirada Surf is the developer's name for the east and west Granada parcels. The name Mirada comes from Mirada Road, which ran along the El Granada Beach bluffs until the late 1960s when, because of rapid shoreline erosion, it fell into the ocean. Segments of Mirada Road can be seen in the surf at low tide.

• Mirada Surf Conceptual Plan was presented to San Mateo County in November of 1990 by owner Don Brown and his attorney Michael McCracken. In essence, 86 houses were proposed for the east parcel. A two-story, 104-unit motel with restaurant, shops, museum, art galleries, tennis court, pool and parking for 250 cars was proposed for the west parcel. Fourteen houses were proposed for the hammerhead but immediately withdrawn.

  On March 13, 1991, the Half Moon Bay Review editorialized, "Mirada Surf would be the development equivalent of a tsunami. It would turn one of the Coastside's most scenic and accessible open-space corridors into one of the most densely developed."

• In September of 1991, the developer proposed Mirada Beach Park. The west parcel would have 195 RV camp sites, 25 tent sites, a restaurant, a fast food kiosk, a convenience store and parking lot. The east parcel would have 68 RV sites, a golf driving range and a parking lot.

Both concept plans were withdrawn at the Planning Commission level.

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