The Half Moon Bay City Council could approve a deal Tuesday that would dramatically alter the parks and open space landscape of the Coastside.
Following more than a year of closed-door negotiations, the city is planning to acquire 22 acres of property just south of Highway 92 on the eastern edge of town. The land, owned by Nurserymen's Exchange, is to be sold to the city for $3.1 million, substantially less than the property's appraised value of $4.6 million.
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The parks deal is being made possible through an interest-free loan to the city from Peninsula Open Space Trust, a loan that the city is obligated to repay within three years. The city could repay the loan by selling other property, issuing bonds or securing grant money.
Aside from the parcel's large size,
its already existing water and electrical hookups and latticework of gravel roads - all of which work together to create a framework for future parks design plans - one of the most appealing aspects is the area's central location, said Mayor Mike Ferreira.
Resting at the entrance to Half Moon Bay, partially blocked from view by a long line of Cypress trees - trees slated for removal and replanting as part of the future Highway 92 widening project - the land offers a panoply of recreational possibilities.
"Look at that right now," said Ferreira, standing near an irrigation pond at the northwestern end. "Can't you just see families and soccer fields, Frisbee players, a community garden..."
Though he couldn't speak directly for other council members, Ferreira did believe all were in favor of acquiring additional active parkland, especially such a sizable parcel.
"I see the council as just chomping at the bit to move forward with this. This is a big step for the city of Half Moon Bay - for the entire Coastside," he said.
Once the land is purchased, the city hopes to rely on a broad base of community members working in partnership with the parks and recreation officials to decide how to make use of the land, he said.
Possibilities include soccer and baseball fields, horseshoe pits, a small amphitheater, a garden, and even a pond that could be used to race miniature boats, Ferreira said.
Additionally, a few structures exist on the property, which could be used for a long-sought-after new city maintenance yard.
The potential seems almost endless, he said.
Nurserymen's Exchange, one of San Mateo's largest growers, has owned the property since 1988, using it to raise a variety of ornamental flowering plants. In April, as negotiations moved forward, plant production ceased.
Don Mendel, general counsel for Nurserymen's Exchange, said the company has long been working to intensify the use of its other properties on the coast, most likely its main operations north of Frenchmans Creek.
The company considered the property dispensable.
The land isn't contiguous to other property owned by the company and access was difficult - the property is surrounded by townhouses to the west and by and businesses to the east.
"We could have held onto it, but we saw this as a great opportunity to partner up with the city and create a great asset for Half Moon Bay," Mendel said.
The parcel was not put up for sale on the open market prior to discussions with the city and POST, Mendel said. He said there were a number of other interested parties but declined to elaborate.
As part of a "good faith" effort to transfer the land to city ownership, Nurserymen's Exchange sold it for less than the appraised value.
"Once we started taking to the city about making it a park we remained committed to seeing the process through with them," he said.
Nurserymen's Exchange is entitled to some unspecified tax benefits from selling property for less than its worth.
As a nonprofit dedicated to preserving open space, POST generally is involved with rural land deals, not active parkland, said President Audrey Rust.
But a special exception was made in this case, she said, because the 22 acres presents such a rare opportunity for city parks purposes.
POST does not stand to gain financially from the deal, she said.
"We're not making any money on it or anything like that," she said. "We want to help."
Fundamentally, POST has interests in expanding the Coastside's trail network and repairing sensitive riparian habitat. Both of those opportunities exist on the property.
As part of standard nursery operations, pesticides and chemicals have been used on the property. The city has commissioned environmental reviews, which entail surveying the land and performing pesticide and chemical analyses.
The Review could not examine those reports by press time. Ferreira said he did not foresee any potential obstacles associated with the results of those environmental assessments.
"We're in good shape on potential contamination issues," he said. "We wouldn't buy it if we had an unresolved pesticide problem."
Flanking the southern end of the property is Pillarcitos Creek, which reportedly is home to the threatened red-legged frog.
The protected species was recently discovered on Wavecrest property south of Half Moon Bay, and as a result federal and state agencies entered the fray. That massive project has been once again delayed - this time indefinitely - while those agencies determine what additional measures should be taken to prevent impacting the animal's habitat.
Though the frog may exist on or near the 22 acres, Ferreira said it was unlikely the agencies would get involved as they did at Wavecrest.
Nurserymen's Exchange had been operating under an "agricultural exemption," meaning it possessed the wherewithal to extend production all the way to the edge of the creek if need be, Ferreira said.
If the city purchases the land as planned, the species, and the creek as a whole would have additional protection, because a 50-foot buffer will be put in place as part of the city's Local Coastal Plan.
The agencies would be in favor of increased protection, he said.
Barring any unforeseen obstacles, and after hearing public comment, Councilman Jim Grady, presumed the plan would be approved Tuesday.
He was in favor of the plan, he said, because it presented an exciting opportunity for the community as a whole.
He likened it to something of a legacy - "a longterm asset for future generations of our town."
"You could let your imagination run wild in a positive way when you think about 22 acres and what's potentially available out there," Grady said.
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