Coastal Commission rejects Big Wave project, approves Local Coastal Plan update

CGF is pleased to report that the Coastal Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to deny the Coastal Development Permit for the “Big Wave” project, a combined 8-building office park and 2-building residential complex for developmentally disabled adults on the coast next to Half Moon Bay Airport. The project’s massive, bulky buildings of up to 46 feet high would have been out of scale with surrounding development and would have obstructed scenic views of Pillar Point Bluff, Pillar Point Marsh, and Rancho Corral de Tierra, as well as impacting habitat for California red-legged frog and San Francisco garter snake. In addition, the site was fundamentally incompatible with the proposed use, since it was within a tsunami inundation area, right across the street from an airport, and located on a rural road with access through two bottleneck intersections. The project also failed to conform with the Local Coastal Plan in that it proposed impermissible private utilities, relying on an agricultural well for its water supply and an on-site wastewater treatment facility rather than connecting to the local water and sanitary districts.

Watch video of the statements made by the Commissioners on their reasons for denying the project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VSm3w0PYA0&f.

At the same hearing, the Coastal Commission also approved the update of the Local Coastal Plan, thus finalizing a 13-year effort on the part of CGF and coastside activists. The updated LCP limits growth by reducing the number of building permits on the Midcoast to 40 per year, and directs growth to areas where there are adequate public services available by restricting construction of private wells. Trails and recreation also benefit from a requirement for dedication of trail easements along the routes of LCP trails for each development permit for a land division in the Coastal Zone. The updates pave the way for future construction of a bicycle and pedestrian trail paralleling Highway 1, turning the abandoned alignment of Highway 1 into a recreational trail after the Devil’s Slide tunnel opens, and construction of safe bicycle and pedestrian crossings across Highway 1.

CGF applauds the Coastal Commission for protecting the San Mateo County coast!