| 5. Fiscal Impacts |
Please refer to Appendix C: Excerpts from San Mateo County - C/CAG Countywide Transportation Plan: Jobs/Housing Imbalance and Congestion Management Program
An analysis on the fiscal impacts of this proposed project's use of the land is essential in light of current planning activities with the County concerning the MidCoast Area. A preliminary Fiscal Analysis of Incorporation of the MidCoast presented an initial operating deficit of $775,000, and an even higher one is the area were annexed to Half Moon Bay.
Current estimates show that housing, when taking into account infrastructure and service requirements, can increase the local government deficit by $1,100 per house. A thorough study of the deficit load on 35 new large family houses, along with what impacts they may add to new taxes or projected costs, is necessary.
Alternative uses of the land, especially those within the boundaries of its current Land Use designation and/or Zoning, should be analyzed as well for comparison. These should include use of the East Parcel as a Community Park, East Parcel development under the current zoning, and possible visitor-serving development on either parcel and their fiscal impacts.
Details are not currently available to examine how the proposed development would link up existing infrastructure; will the builder provide the infrastructure within this area, or would existing utilities be required to extend their lines to serve it? The added housing cost of built in services, or the heightened public cost of service extension, should be fully studied in the fiscal analysis, along with how the different options would affect the income and service costs to the community.
The EIR should take into account the effect the project would have on the already lopsided jobs/housing imbalance on the coast, which is having a distinct negative effect on traffic congestion.
The EIR fiscal analysis should also take into effect the projected market that sales of these lots/homes will be competing in - with the new sewer capacity coming on-line within the year, many pre-existing infill buildable lots in established neighborhoods that have been waiting years for sewer capacity will become available for building. Contention for building permits within the allowable limits of new construction according to the LCP is expected to be very competitive, and existing lot owners will have a case for being ahead in line of newly subdivided lots. For a realistic assessment of what impact this project will have on tax rolls or contributions/demands on services needs to be weighed against a realistic expectation of how sellable this project will be (refer to Section 13. Short-term Construction Impacts). Consideration should be given to community need for more of this market level of housing - public concerns are that the MidCoast needs more affordable moderately priced housing than upscale units.
The accumulative fiscal effects of this project, along with other large projects in process or proposed in the MidCoast area, should be taken into account, especially concerning the projected cost in infrastructure (roads, utilities, schools, shopping areas, services) and the projected demand for higher infrastructure levels if and when these all should be built. Should include but not be limited to:
1. Moss Beach Highlands project (for high density housing about 4 miles north of this site)
2. Proposed Shorebird Hotel and approved Harbor Village project at Pillar Point Harbor.
3. Two proposed hotels and approx. 200 new homes in Half Moon Bay along Highway 1 between this site and Rte. 92 intersection.
The EIR should also study cumulative impact from precedent-setting use of low density lands within the urban area (400 acres) for higher density development, both in the added infrastructure cost and the potential loss of visitor serving facilities, attractions, and Open Space areas.
| 5.1. Precedents and Consequences |
| 5.2. Mitigation |
* The use of the term "attraction" is meant to imply those types of land uses that attract visitors to the coast; these need not be commercial establishments - trails, open space, coastal access, and recreation areas all serve as "attractions" that supply potential customers for existing visitor-serving commercial developments.