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| New LCP to stimulate businesses in harbor By Jeanine Gore--Half Moon Bay Review Published/Last Modified on Thursday, February 26, 2004 4:23 PM PST More business, less traffic. According to San Mateo County, those are the two things the Mid-Coast wants most. So, through a number of revisions to local land use policy, that's what a team of county planners aims to provide. After a year of work, not to mention hundreds of hours listening to public input, county planners have concluded the first half of the Midcoast Local Program Update, a project which entails overhauling a set of outdated guidelines that govern development from Miramar to Montara. And they've recently released the results. The new changes include increasing commercial space and limiting the amount of residential space near Pillar Point harbor, prohibiting residences on the Burnham Strip and providing continued funding for road improvement projects. The following is a list of tasks seven through 12, which is the second half of the recommended changes. Under, task 7, Mid-Coast developers will continue to be charged fees to pay for local road improvements. According to the LCP update, money collected could be used to fund improvements to Highways 1 and 92, but so far it has only been used to fund county road improvements. Also, the report recommends studying additional shuttle service between the Mid-Coast and Bayside, which would also relieve traffic. Task 8 aims to increase employment opportunities by protecting the amount of commercial space in and around Princeton. According to the LCP update, the Mid-Coast is primarily a residential community, meaning it has more houses than jobs. "This housing-jobs imbalance is a key cause of traffic congestion," it said. Local job creation was seen as the solution, a way to relieve the imbalance while generating local tax revenue. Princeton and sites near Half Moon Bay Airport were discussed as possible job growth areas. The planning commission stated that the commercial classification of the harbor area and two sites on Half Moon Bay Airport should remain as they are. Task 9 enabled planners to make changes to the Airport Overlay Zone, but they chose to delay a ruling until after the Half Moon Bay Airport Master Plan is finished. The AO zone is a section of land lying at the end of the runway and Half Moon Bay Airport. Its development intensity is limited to three people per parcel and prohibits residential uses "to reduce safety risks from aircraft on property," according to the update. As part of task 10, the county is recommending a bevy of new, limitations in commercially zoned areas. The goal is to ensure commercial areas are unable to be developed solely as residential space. The commission is proposing changes for each zoning district as follows: Neighborhood commercial - There are five of these areas on the Mid-Coast, with all clustered on or around Highway 1. They allow for residential-serving businesses such as grocery stores, barbershops, hardware stores, drug stores and restaurants. The planning commission is recommending limiting (1) residential use above the first floor with a use permit and (2) the residential floor area to that of the commercial floor area. When existing first-floor residential development is demolished or converted to commercial, it cannot be reconverted to residential space. Coastside Commercial Recrea-tion district - There are two of these areas on the Mid-Coast, one at Pillar Point and the other on the shoreline at Miramar. They require a use permit and allow for hostelries, restaurants, small retail shops and residential units only above the first floor. The recommendation is to continue to limit (1) residential use to above the first floor with a use permit and (2) the residential floor area to that of the commercial floor area. A separate task, number 11, deals with the aims to limit residential uses in another area of the Mid-Coast, its Waterfront district. The Waterfront district, located in Princeton, is intended to provide marine-related uses that support commercial fishing and recreational boating. The only residential use permitted is "caretaker's quarters." And even that is going to be further limited. According to the report, "a number of property owners desire to increase the number and size of "caretaker's quarters," however, staff expressed concern that adding more residential units may undermine the intent of the area by squeezing out preferred marine-related industrial and service areas. The commission is recommending that caretaker's quarters be prohibited on substandard parcels, which are less than 5,000 square feet. In addition, maintain the size limit of caretaker's quarters to no more than 35 percent of a building's floor area, not to exceed 750 square feet. The planning commission will further discuss raising the limit on caretaker's quarters to between 20 and 35 percent of the number of developed parcels. Task 12 - Limiting residential uses in Burnham Strip The stretch of grass and wildflowers known as Burnham Strip, lying alongside Highway 1 in El Granada, is designated for low-intensity development under the Community Open Space Conservation district. The current classification allows for uses that preserve the area as a view corridor for the town, uses which include agriculture, parks, public recreation and nurseries. But, there's one other use - single-family residences - that has upset some Mid-Coast residents. They want this use removed, and the planning commission is backing the change. The remaining 12 tasks have not been completed. The planning commission anticipates the job will be finished by August, as it proceeds with its monthly public meetings to hear opinions on the tasks and steer the direction of the recommendations. In addition there is one task - Mid-Coast Design Review Standards, - which is being put on the fast track to approval. The board of supervisors will hear the matter in March. The board will be presented with new guidelines restricting the height, style and appearance of new homes built on the Mid-Coast. |