We live is a special place, my wife and I moved here only recently, drawn by the clean air, open space and relative isolation from ‘the daily grind’. What we’ve found out since we’ve been here, we didn’t expect and it makes it so much more special; the community, the people, their warmth and spirit. Everyone has said we have landed in a special place, that’s no understatement.
I’m sure that I’m not alone is hoping that this never changes.
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Susan and I moved here from Menlo Park where we had lived for 25 years. We loved MP but it suddenly became over crowded and experienced massive building projects. The builders seemed to not consider how all the construction would require more roads and other infrastructure changes. The only good change was that East Palo Alto went from being the murder capital of the US to gentrified. Going the 5-7 mile drive to Stanford or the Palo Alto VA became an hour commute if you included the parking time, though my wife’s walk to the Menlo Park VA was very nice.
We are very happy being at the beach on Half Moon Bay. We walk our dogs every day along the coastal trail. The trail is only 300 steps from our downsized home and we have a sliver of ocean view from out second floor balcony. Sure, there are limited shopping opportunities here but ACE hardware, the New Leaf and Safeway are first class. And the volume of tourists on the weekends can be over whelming … and Highway One is like a parking lot.
It would be a shame to have the changes that ruined Menlo Park for us happen here. The natural beauty of Half Moon Bay should be preserved. It is very sad to see the area around Dunes Beach become commercialized.
This is America, land of free speech ensured by the First Amendment. Per due process, the residents of Half Moon Bay and outside investors have been engaging in an ongoing discussion about repurposing Dunes Beach to become a RV park and hotel site. Since this country prides itself in having all voices heard equally, a forgotten voice has been missing from this debate. Mother Earth, the ultimate real estate mogul, has not been present at the podium.
Mother Earth speaks in Mother tongue. Her native language combines using panoramic colors, haunting and healing sounds, and memory making scents to message individuals as they experience her grace. Concerning the Dunes proposal, she is speaking in color with overwhelming disdain.
As you overlook the sensual wave of green grasses in the open space, green resonates the major message from Mother. Green symbolizes growth, harmony, safety, and renewal. These primary qualities reflect the core values of Half Moon Bay residents in saving Dunes Beach. This pristine area provides growth of the soul, harmony with humans, safety for the environment, and renewal in our faith that we will not overrun our planet with development. Green also associated with money, ambition, and greed. Like all good Mothers, she is warning us to meet these investors with the firm resolve to reject their unsound proposal that is only for personal gain.
Brown cypress trees guard the land at the Southern perimeter. Brown symbolizes being grounded, stability, and integrity. Half Moon Bay residents appreciate the grounding nature of having open space, the stability of everyday life without an influx of more visitors, and the need to have integrity with honesty when discussing the real motives for developing Dunes Beach. Brown also can stimulate feeling of vast emptiness, stark loneliness, and deep isolation. Mother Nature may be warning us that transforming this land as proposed will fester these negative emotions if we surrender our deep priorities as a community.
Flickers of yellow mustard highlight the border edges of the planned site. Yellow, the color of hope and enlightenment, affirms the belief of Half Moon Bay residents that the planning commission will decline the proposal to build on Dunes Beach. Yellow also represents cowardice and deceit. Mother Nature signals us to bravely fight against the deceitful promises of the investors.
So, as we see, Mother Nature has illustrated her message and sage advice but as of now, she had not been heard loud enough. And we all know, “Mother knows best.”
My family Roi, Autumn, Ashley, Roi Jr. and I have called Miramar home for almost 30 years. We moved from San Jose, taking a detour thru North Carolina before settling in here in HMB in the early 90’s. Population at that time was around 8,000, we may now be closer to 14,000 (zip code 94019), growth has its good, not so good points and just plain bad – developing Dunes Beach is the later just a plainly BAD idea. SAVE DUNES BEACH
We’ve lived In the Miramar neighborhood for 27 years. It’s sublime beauty remains to this day but is threatened by development without regard for nature, sustainability and harmony with the community.. we walk our dogs south on the beach path from Washington everyday and to imagine this beautiful scene obliterated by noise, from the 177 unit RV Park plus the hotel is mind boggling. Our community put development standards in place to retain the beauty and rural atmosphere we prize most. The notion that developers like John Vidovich can use his amassed wealth to sway the city council and bend to his ways with a carrot of tax revenue or threat of lawsuit is not in character with our community. If there’s was ever a time to organize and speak with one voice to protect the jewel of our community it is now.
This development not only threatens the Miramar neighborhood, but the entire coastside communities from HMB to Montara. The powers that be must act decisively to nix the Dunes Beach development and proactively protect this and other key coastal properties for the future.
It is alarming to realize that our city is seriously contemplating approving a project that will not only negatively affect our local community but will also contribute to a much larger and pressing problem, that of global warming. It is hypocritical to point a finger at the commercial deforestation occurring in South America when we ourselves are selfishly considering doing the same: clearing acres of healthy, vibrant greenery for non-essential, profit-driven enterprise. Some may argue that the size of the area to be developed is negligible in comparison to the thousands of acres being destroyed daily in other parts of the world; however, this doesn’t negate the fact that these actions will certainly contribute to our planet’s inability to absorb the ever increasing amount of carbon dioxide that we humans produce. Our planet really can’t afford to lose any of its plant life.
On top of that, I expect that construction of the proposed development will require the manufacture of a huge number of brand new, factory made items, while running the establishment once it’s completed will demand a constant flow of electricity – both factors that will dramatically increase the amount of greenhouse gases that plague our environment through the burning of fossil fuels. Add to that massive consumption of precious water, and it’s easy to see that this is a project that will take so much more than it can possibly give. I understand that sometimes development is necessary for improving quality of life. This is not one of them.
Going through with this project would be a slap in the face to all of our Coastside youth. It would basically be saying, “We don’t care about your future. We’re more interested in the money we can make right now than in ensuring that you have a future,” and the proof would be right there for all to see. We can’t just talk the talk; we have to walk the walk. I would like to be proud of our city and to be able to show people a real-life example of a community that recognizes that times are changing and the decisions we make, both large and small, can have grave consequences for our entire planet and that sometimes we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good.
We moved to HMB to live near Silicon Valley but get away from it all. Having these developments go through would defeat the purpose. Please stop the developments!
The impacts of HMB’s development decisions hit hard all along the mid-coast. Projects already on the books will cause massive increases in traffic congestion which will only be made worse by adding the Dunes Beach development. I live in El Granada. I already avoid driving to or doing business in HMB on weekends because current traffic is so bad. Developing Dunes Beach will guarantee that I avoid shopping in HMB, taking my business to Pacifica (Safeway) and other venues. Continued development in the area will keep us from spending our dollars in our own community and force us elsewhere. What is the upside to that? Please . . . DON’T DO THIS!
Developing Dunes Beach with the resource and traffic issues that already plague the coast has to be one of the worst ideas ever considered in HMB. The benefits go to a few developers at the expense of the all of us that live on the coast. In addition, the ambience of Dunes Beach would be permanantly destroyed. Please take your project to another community. Nobody here wants it!
The devastating impact of the Dunes development would transform the San Mateo County coastline forever. At present we have a thriving local community that cherishes the surrounding nature. Nobody wishes to see our coastal view destroyed, nobody wishes to sit on the highway for hours to get to the local shops, nobody wishes to see trash left on the beach and nobody wants to see the wildlife who belong here most of all be impacted to the point of extinction.
On any given day, you will find locals walking along the path, photographing the wildlife and scenery or bird watching. At night you can hear the owls, seals and coyotes. It’s a rejuvenating lifestyle here. Why would anyone wish to destroy such natural beauty with RV Parks and more hotels?
I moved here to get away from the traffic, the aggression, the anger, the pollution and the constant beeping of cars. Adding more development to this area will just bring all that here. Nobody wants to live around that, not even those on the Peninsula! That’s why they come here on the weekends – to get away from it. Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy earth’s natural beauty, adding more development takes that away from locals and visitors alike.
Please keep our beaches, paths and hills as beautiful as they were intended to be and stop the Dunes Beach development.
Like many who posted here, I moved to this area (Montara) to get away from the grind of the city and to enjoy the beauty of the coast. I’d like to point out though, that beyond those of us who are residents, this area is cherished by people throughout the Bay Area who value the opportunity to enjoy these open spaces and wild landscapes so close to our urban centers. This is a huge part of what makes the greater Bay Area so special. Please don’t develop these open spaces as they are a critical resource for all Bay Area residents.
We moved to the coastside from San Ramon 11 years ago, to get away from the growth & development that was going on there. In my 20 years in San Ramon, I watched with horror as that small, bedroom community tripled in size, and along with it, the traffic increase, crime increase, etc. I watched as the rolling hills there became developed, and wildlife struggled with where to go (I saw coyotes, rabbits, etc, hit & killed on the new roads almost daily). It was a nightmare that had me crying many nights. We knew it was time to leave for somewhere more protected. A realtor told us that the Coastside was pretty well protected from un-checked growth, due to the restrictions of the Coastal Commission, so we decided to buy here & figured we’d never have to worry again, about our neighborhood getting over-developed by money hungry developers. These developers don’t live in the neighborhoods that they destroy, BTW. They come in, build as fast as they can, then run to the bank, leaving the area changed forever, and never look back. It’s heart-breaking! We cannot accept this for this beautiful, semi-rural & agricultural land. We must all do whatever we can to preserve the coastside, because there is NO GOING BACK once it’s built. Please preserve this special place for our children & grand-children to enjoy this area like we do now. PLEASE!
i moved to the coast 20 years ago, first to HMB, left for a few years only to return to this place I truly call home. This proposal is truly an affront to our community in so many ways. One of the main reasons we are drawn here is the wide opening space west of HWY 1 where we have the gift of the bluff which is a unique habitat for birds and butterflies, the ocean and beach which is home to snowy plovers, and the fresh air – i give thanks for our coastal bluffs every day. This gift is not to be taken lightly – it is our responsibility to honor it by protecting it. The proposed development violates this precious area and our entire coastal community for the financial benefit of a few.
In addition to the affront on our natural environment, the magnitude of this development will result in terrific congestion on HWY 1 and will dramatically affect residents’ ability to get to and from work and to carry out essential activities on HWY 1. Since moving to El Granada 10 years ago, those of us who live north of Half Moon Bay have already suffered from increasing traffic that slows HWY to a crawl at commute times and on weekends. Since fires are more frequent in CA now and Quarry Park is at high risk, i shudder to think of how this development would increase the risk to health and safety if we were called to evacuate.
I urge the City Council to protect the environment, the coastal views and the residents by nipping this project in the bud.
We lived in Miramar for more than ten years, before making the terrible decision to move closer to work. We missed the coast so much, we were desperate to get back – we were so lucky to purchase a lot on Roosevelt, and when the shelter-in-place is lifted we will begin building our home. I do not understand why the powers that be could ever consider a hotel in the area of Dunes beach – aside from ruining the natural beauty that we all enjoy here, it would be a traffic disaster, an ecological disaster, and probably reduce our property values as well. What kind of representative government would support such a project? Hopefully it will not be supported, if we make our voices heard. I wonder if POST could acquire the property instead… The proposed project should never be approved.
We moved to HMB in the Miramar neighborhood, which has remained relatively preserved allowing for beautiful green space and a retreat from the pace of city. We were shocked and disappointed to learn of proposed plans for the RV park are Dunes beach, that would undoubtedly have a negative impact on the environment and HMB in general. Please consider this carefully as if this land is developed, there is no going back. Let’s make the right decision for Dunes beach and this special community of HMB.
We moved to Half Moon Bay 32 years ago in order to raise our two sons in a slower paced community with clean air and more places for boys to play outside. Both of them grew up loving the ocean and are now devoted surfers, teaching their own children to surf, and working to protect the environment. We would walk to the beach nearly every Sunday going through Sweetwoods Park and Campground. I still walk through Sweetwoods almost daily and go down the coastside trail. During my walks, I have seen many, many groups, mainly of children camping in the group campsite. In the evening the only sounds to be heard are the waves, the children singing around their campfires, and the owls hooting in Sweetwoods. This group campground, as well as the Sweetwoods, is a jewel, enjoyed by locals as well as many groups of children from “over the hill” who may never have seen or heard the ocean before. The campground would never be the same if the city allows a large hotel with an RV park to be built right next to the campground. Cars honking, fumes from gas-burning barbecues, headlights, people talking in loud voices, exhaust fumes all would totally take away from the tranquil experience now enjoyed by many. Please, please do not allow this development to happen!!
The idea that this area would be considered for this sort of land use is just plain outrageous! This area has been a source of beauty and serenity for the entire coastside as well as the many visitors who come to enjoy and take in the breathtaking and sweeping vistas it offers! As a resident and taxpayer here in the Miramar neighborhood, i am apalled that local officials would even consider such a damaging proposal as this and certainly hope they will reconsider for the many reasons residents here have outlined above. The reason that Half Moon Bay and particularly this strecth of land is so special is not because of RV parks. It is the NATURAL beauty it offers and we need to do everything we can to keep it that way!
This proposal was a bad idea 20 years ago. The citizens of the Coastside expressed their opinion back then, and the city government listened. Sadly, this group of developers has been planning and preparing for the city’s vulnerability in many ways, seeking to take advantage for the purposes of financial gain. This is one of the most egregious proposals yet – traffic is already at an F, water and sewer resources, environmental pollution, pollution from lights and trash, huge RV’s clogging up the F level traffic, destruction of one of the few natural habitats left to the north, a coastal trail that can barely handle what we have now…. I could go on and on. As many have said, once all this is destroyed it can never be replaced.
I chose to move to Half Moon Bay because of its beautiful open spaces, gorgeous views, rolling green hills, miles of clean wonderful beaches, and its proximity to all that it is not (San Francisco and Silicon Valley). I loved the laid back, casual attitude of the residents with their warmth & genuineness. I loved having no traffic and really being able to relax and restore in this environment. The low density of the population is part of what makes the coast what it is. This beautiful community and its stunning geography encourages reconnection with the earth and our roots. This is a healthy and necessary way of being if we are to endure as a species. When we start building unnecessarily, blocking views which are so healing, encouraging more people density & traffic, not to mention additional air pollution from heavy traffic as well as additional littering of our beaches, this will no longer be the sought after respite and retreat we all need and benefit from. It will be a burden on our water supply as well. Have we not been paying attention to the healing which is currently transforming cities, water and air quality around the world since sheltering in place? It is time to put more protections on our natural resources, which once gone, are almost impossible to reclaim. It is not in the best interest of the coastal community members, nor is in the best interest of the ocean , the land, our air or our wildlife to proceed with the dunes building project. This a space that should be preserved because we, the people and our planet, need this to remain a green open space.
Ah where the land meets the sea…how special, beautiful, how specially vulnerable that land is! How supremely tasty that land is for developers. And yet with the Arctic ice melting faster than predicted and sea level rise inevitable, humans still yearn to build in these vulnerable, beautiful areas. Marin county has managed to preserve the beauty of the land through Malt–Marin Agricultural land trust. Why can’t Half Moon Bay also preserve some of its natural beauty also? Dear City Council, this dunes beach land is a wonderful opportunity to show the people of Half Moon Bay and the entire Bay Area that you care about the natural beauty of the land/sea and the nature connection we all need so desperately in these times. So please consider that you have the power to say no. No variances, no to commercial development on this site. Show the people of this town that we can do this, that we can think about the next generation, and preserving natural corridors for plants and animals. We need nature more than ever these days. Why does it seem that everything beautiful eventually goes away to make room for hotels and stores? We need more than that, we need special natural areas that are accessible. This is one of those sites. The time is now to stand up for the human nature connection.
I have lived on the Coastside for 31 years, first in El Granada and now in Half Moon Bay. The proposal to build this project is misguided and unnecessary. Traffic is already a problem on the weekends, and I understand that there are already sufficient hotel accommodations for out of town visitors. This development would destroy this beautiful part of the Coastside irrevocably.
I grew up in Half Moon Bay, and have lived in many other places. No matter where our house was, my husband and I would wish to be back in our home on the coastside. When we finally returned, it was astonishing, after just 10 years away (1990 to 2000), to see how much the coast had grown. Some people don’t have this perspective but I think it is important to acknowledge. Now, twenty years after our return, even though I love this place, I believe we are paying a great price because of the rapid development and heavy tourist traffic. When is the tipping point going to happen? The list of new enterprises is long. And the worst one on the list is the ruination of a beautiful beach and dunes, the vista of which doesn’t exist anywhere in California. To put an asphalt parking lot for massive recreation vehicles, buildings beaconing more travelers, and lights that, at night burn out the stars? It is disgraceful. The uber-wealthy developer has a long record of profiteering off the land in the valley. How much is enough? He’s used to getting his way and big money along with it, but here in Half Moon Bay, we are a community of people who love where we live and who recognize that once the shovel is pushed into the ground this place will be permanently fouled far beyond our lifetimes.
I’ve lived on the Coastside over 15 years. I try to participate in community activities, donate to local charities, deliver food locally. I pay my taxes, vote for every education initiative even though I don’t have kids. I’ve led tide pool tours for local kids, I buy Christmas gifts for local families. I don’t want a medal, nor do I hold myself up as a paragon of virtue. All that I ask, is that you let me and my two dogs enjoy our daily walk on the Coastal Trail. Building this monstrosity will destroy an intrinsic part of what makes this a wonderful place to live. We don’t need more hotel rooms, conference facilities or trailer parks. We don’t need more traffic, congestion or more visitors who don’t pick up after themselves. We need to listen to the birds, enjoy the plants and flowers and breathe the fresh air. Please don’t screw this up. Vote down the Dunes Beach development proposal.
As a more than 30 year resident of the coast it is astounding to think that this project is even being considered, Every day the beauty of the coast takes my breath away, and I see how much others enjoy it too. Why would those presumably tasked with representing this community even consider this project. To do so would squander a piece of the coastline, already frighteningly fragile, that would be forever lost if this project is approved. Environmental stewardship is called for here in making the decision to respectfully decline this project. The developers have the right to ask, and those with the authority to approve or decline have a duty to decline. The adage, “if it’s not broken, why fix it” seems of relevance here. This is not a project that will contribute to the long-term vitality of a coastal community that is already straining from the effects of overly zealous growth.