Egregious and incongruous changes. A mobile vehicle / or RV park north of Young Avenue, and a hotel and conference facility south of Young Avenue.
22 acres north of Young Avenue, a 200 lot sub-division that has been farming land for decades.
26 acres south of Young Avenue, 6 parcels of land is farmed, and also occupied by the Sea Horse Ranch, and a private home.
North of Young Avenue
A 177 vehicle RV park and amenities including a club house, that could very feasibly be occupied by an additional 177 personal vehicles, park vehicles, 750 people, 350 dogs, 177 outdoor grills, 177 ghetto blasters, 177 TV’s, 177 air conditioners, 177 pump flush toilets and water pumps, ; running, yelling, broadcasting light and sound, humming, flushing, not to mention the alcohol, tobacco and coming and going of vehicles – 24 hours day, 365 days a year. Many of these same people, trudging through the berms, destroying them as they take the shortest path to the beach.
South of Young Avenue
A 212 room hotel, 15,000 square foot conference facility, parking garages and other related services. Another 450 people, 200 plus cars, and that doesn’t include the staff, the deliveries, the conference / event organizers and staff, and the undoubted access that the hotel and its guests will have to the beach. I’m sure that conferences will also stage parties on the beach. More visual and aural pollution. Are there not enough hotels in Half Moon Bay?
The RV park and hotel are being proposed by John Vidovich,
https://www.half-moon-bay.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/2433/1_Dunes-Specific-Plan?bidId=
aided and abetted by an accomplice, from the link – ‘The applicant owns the remaining 167 Surf Beach Tract lots and has intermittently dry-farmed them for the past few decades.’
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Besides impacting the neighborhood, It ruins the vista of one of the most beautiful stretches of beach visible from highway One and the coastal trail, the Dunes. There are other beaches and parks in Half Moon Bay that are available to visitors. Dunes Beach has always been a locals beach because of it’s proximity to Miramar, El Granada, Purisima Way, Fisherman’s Creek and the High School. Even now on the weekends the volume of vehicles, bikes and pedestrians on the coastal trail makes it nearly impassible for locals. Traffic on One makes exiting MIramar Drive, Roosevelt Ave and Wave Ave hazardous to imposible. It is hard to even imagine the amount of traffic of all kinds coming to and from this proposed project that will make every week as crowded and noisy as the weekends. One of unique and charming views along Dunes has been the horseback tours from SeaHorse Ranch and Maloney’s Horses and ponies but these HMB classics will be displaced.
This development, if it were to go forward, would truly be a tipping point that will change the coastside from Half Moon Bay to Montara into a totally different type of community. I anticipate the floodgates will opem to other developers and landowners seeking to cash in. I’s too big, in the wrong place and will change us from a small town rural community to a mega-resort city.
If the local politicos don’t stand up and vote against this I will not rest until they are thrown out of office!
What makes our Coastside homes so wonderful? We live in a place with beautiful ocean views and fresh air, many mellifluous songbirds, and myriad plants and wildflowers. It’s what makes us unique. We already have some development, a couple of RV parks and lowrise hotels. We don’t need any more of them. If this project goes through, we lose our environment period. It’s not an economic issue. It’s the preservation of our priceless way of life.
It would be a huge mistake to add more traffic congestion & pollution, conserve less open space, stress the community & natural resources of this area even more. Quality of life goes down, mental & physical illness increases for everyone, locals, visitors, animals, the environment. Local politicians are there to ensure the wellbeing of this community & land. In a properly managed city chasing money should not be above health & wellbeing & the greater interest.
Thank you
This plan is ruinous! The highway is already overburdened on weekends and during the summer. The coast trail is packed. The nearby beach is relatively narrow and can be nearly nonexistent at high tide. It’s backed by dunes that won’t survive the traffic of hundreds of people going back and forth. Most of the jobs it might provide will be lower paying service jobs (the kind of jobs that are going unfilled at existing local establishments) requiring workers from out of town and yet more traffic. The scale and scope of this project is a poor fit for the neighborhood and I’ve yet to meet anyone who thinks it’s a good idea excepting people affiliated with the developer. The people in a position to approve this have a responsibility to the town and the community. Don’t eliminate the beauty that draw people to the coast. Don’t increase the suffering of locals trapping by crowds and traffic. Don’t allow something that will permanently blight this section of coast.
I oppose this development for environmental reasons. The stretch of land is adjacent to the coastal trail, a local creek, and a local campground. It is a sanctuary, not only for our community, but for animals such as birds, rabbits, and the occasional coyote. Building a large hotel and RV park is going to irreversibly damage this ecosystem. The RV park proposal is especially concerning: we have over 5 RV parks in the town, these spaces are noisy day and night, tightly packed with vehicles, and often face increased trash and pollution problems on site. The current proposal as is goes against the city’s value of low density construction and sensitivity towards existing traffic concerns – I support this measure oppose it.
I have been a resident of El Granada for the past 21 years. I have watched the Half Moon Bay community double in size, 20 houses built on my block alone in one year, without any transportation considerations.
I have only seen one survey taker questioning passers-by regarding traffic conditions. There have been a few meeting regarding same, but yet, nothing has been done. I can’t imagine adding more cars to the mix.
The morning commute has been mitigated, somewhat by the schools changing their hours, but there are still long lines coming and going during commute hours. Because of these long lines, those who can avoid those times do, which ironically enough, it means heavy traffic all day long!
And, we haven’t even looked at weekend traffic! I work on the weekends and it can take me up to 1-1/2 hours to wind my way down 92 coming home from work. And, if I want to go somewhere in the evening on a weekend, it can take up to 45 minutes to an hour to just negotiate Hwy 92 to leave.
While downtown merchants think this traffic is good for their business, I beg to differ. I have come across many people, both personally and in my business, who won’t even consider coming to the Coast on the weekend because of the traffic. I can’t imagine adding any more to a problem that has yet to be analyzed creatively and solved.
And, once here, people seem to lose their responsibility to mind their driving behavior and consideration of the town they are visiting. They drive up and down streets looking for ways to bypass the traffic, driving poorly and aggressively, trying to find a faster way out. At the very least, they clog up our arterial streets making it difficult to even get home and forget going to the store.
Traffic and transportation and the lack of accountability or effort to mitigate is a big reason why this is such a bad idea.
The second, but certainly not any less important of a reason, why I’m against this project is because this project would have a huge environmental effect on the immediate area of Dunes Beach, as well as, surrounding areas.
Your environmental impact reports pay little heed to migration of birds and animals, as well as, people who use this area to commune with nature and detox from all the other overloads of an overly dense environment.
We know we have a bird sanctuary here on the coast. Disturbing even just what might seem one little plot to you, is a gigantic step of reduction to these creatures who rely on you to be responsible and good stewards of their habitats and environments.
Adding huge buildings with huge footprints along with all the pollution and resultant waste is also not being good stewards for all living creatures, including people.
And with the constant juggling that goes on trying to manage the waste of the population as it stands, I would vote NO for that reason alone.
The trail that runs through Dunes Beach is heavily used by residents and visitors alike. Since it welcomes hikers, bikes, dogs, children, carriages, etc. it becomes quite a feat of avoidance while merely walking your dog and getting your breath of fresh air or your 10,000 steps.
It’s scientifically proven that people need a natural space to restore their bodies and their minds. That doesn’t mean to take space away and then populate it with more people.
Every year, my grandchildren, who also live in this community, participate in programs at Dunes Beach because it provides the kind of environment needed to be safe while learning how to live near and participate in water activities. Have you considered how this project would impact the people’s use of the beaches in their own community?
Cutting down on our recreational opportunities would be another reason to be against this idea.
People first, not dollars.
Donnalynn
If this development goes through, our small, friendly and welcoming community will be destroyed. Hwy 1 will become a freeway, the west side will be full of hotels and RV Parks. The natural beauty will be gone and the locals that treasure this place will suffer beyond belief. Our small supportive and caring community will wither away and turn into another Los Angeles or Miami Beach. Is that what we want to happen here? NO. I moved here to enjoy the beauty, the people and the natural trails/ocean and walks. Please stop this development now, before we are destroyed.
This plan would have a tremendous negative impact on the coastal environment, traffic, and local communities. Any positive outcomes of new jobs created will be offset by the need for employees to travel from out of town, thus more traffic congestion and pollution in an area already negatively impacted. This is a rural community, it is not equipped to handle the scope of a mega development. Efforts to protect this unique coastal environment, its wildlife, and flora and fauna – and to save it for future generations – will be destroyed if the plan is approved.
Ditto all the comments above – RV park and Hotel will block views to open space and beach, it will negatively impact the endangered snowy plovers, hugely impact our overloaded sewer and water systems, create more traffic and much more noise and carbon monoxide. This project is an insult as a proposal, butting up and destroying open space and public access – it benefits few people but negatively impacts an entire community that DOES NOT WANT THIS – listen to your community city council members please and DO NOT APPROVE THIS. Thank you.
I left Silicon Valley for Half Moon Bay a year ago to escape traffic, noise and light pollution. The proposed development will adversely impact all three of the qualities I sought when I moved to my home in Miramar. Traffic on Highway 1 is already over capacity, which has a negative impact on air quality. The natural beach habitat is already endangered by tourists who leave the trail for selfies in protected areas, and drop trash on the trail, dunes and beach. Noise and light pollution are also inevitable if this plan moves forward.
If this RV park is allowed, it will change the look, feel & personality of Miramar forever. This is not what the residents want. Please leave this area as is! Miramar is already going through a lot with climate change, and sea level rise. We really need to preserve Miramar & keep it quaint, not commercialize it with an RV Park. ugh
I wholeheartedly agree with the comments opposing the Dunes Beach development plan. Here are my thoughts. against this devastating proposal.
FIRST, and MOST important, is the destruction of the coast that we love. Along California shoreline there are many areas that have been developed and the tourists who are expected to visit the proposed hotel have multiple choices to spend their time there. The unique features of the Coastside are natural environment, unspoiled ocean shores with many bird, animal and plant species that will be brutally paved over. The idea of developing Dunes Beach will destroy our unique part of the coast and will make it just another place like very many.
SECOND, the community simply cannot accommodate any more traffic, even the smallest increases. What used to be a nuisance turned into a major problem on the weekends over the 15.5 years that we have lived on the coast. Even worse, heavy traffic is a regular occurrence during non-peak hours on weekdays now and I had experienced it many times over the last several years. Not to mention the fact that all of our lives are now in danger because there is simply is no way for our community to evacuate in case of emergency. Last several months before the SIP order have seen several examples when poor planning and/or relatively simple mishaps left to motorists to and from the coast stuck in traffic for hours at a time.
My THIRD point is a cautionary example of the Oceano shopping mall (I am not sure what to call it – the retail space which is part of the Oceano hotel in the Harbor). It was built smack in the middle of the of the economic downturn and NONE of the fancy planned retail shops there materialized. In the years since the space had to adjust and rent to various businesses (a gym, hair salon, kids’ playground, dance studio, now brewery, etc) that were nowhere in the original plan. I am glad the space is used by various groups and beloved small businesses and many coastsiders visit it, but during the day the place is a ghost town with bewildered tourists trying to figure out what it is. and what they are expected to do there. It failed spectacularly to become a destination spot for tourists it was designed to be. Nonetheless, the shoreline was altered forever!
Even in the regular time the approval of Dunes Beach development would be devastating to our community. Given that we are now in an unprecedented global pandemic which is going to change all of our lives in unpredictable ways, have a profound impact on the world and California economy in ways we cannot at this point anticipate, the potential damage of developing one of the best, most beautiful and appreciated places on the coast is absolutely clear but its supposed benefits are likely to never materialize even for the developer, not to mention the city of Half Moon Bay.
I’ve lived on the coast for over 20 years and I have seen many changes, especially traffic.
The proposed development would devalue my property and interfere with my view of the ocean!
This is not my main concern! We have enough tourist destination which are currently not being filled, especially places to overnight at.
People come here to enjoy our coast, more building would accomplish the opposite!
Open Space has offered to buy the land. I think it is greedy of the owners not to accept! We want to preserve our beautiful coast. I’m not in favor of having this huge destruction of pristine ocean view destroyed!
I totally agree with Irma here. Why can’t we do some large scale preservation at this beautiful site? Why do we always capitulate to the list of developers and their eager attorneys? The people of Half Moon Bay want more, more thoughtful consideration of the human-nature connection and the preservation of precious natural areas. Please don’t be like Redwood City–sacrificing the skyline for revenue. Yes they have wonderful community events, programs and fireworks but at what cost? Coastsiders and Bay Area residents need more nature and less fancy events and perks. Please listen to us. Preserve dunes beach natural corridor!
This is the LAST thing our beautiful small town needs. Please everyone step up to the plate to make sure this isn’t going to happen.
I, too, oppose this development, for all the above reasons, but in addition to those, what does the developer think will happen as the ocean continues to take the bluffs away at a rate of 10 feet/year in some years, and at a minimum 1 foot/year? This is a natural phenomenon which has been occurring steadily. Sewer lines will wash away, the highway will eventually collapse, the expensive structures he wants to erect will collapse. To stop this, he may want to dump more rip rap on the beach, build cement walls to slow down the erosion, truck in tons of sand, what ever he can think of to “save” his development. We have all seen our coastside trail being re-routed due to this type of erosion. Leaving the land to serve is present purposes, agriculture and a natural and beautifully peaceful place for recreation, these are the uses the Coastal Commission was designed to protect.
I walk or ride a bike from my home in Frenchman’s Creek past this tract almost every day.
The tranquility of nature here is amazing, and soul refreshing. The notion that this can be transformed into…anything else…is astounding. This is the essence of what open space preservation is about. We can keep it forever…or lose it forever, and gain only additional traffic, pollution and blight. The choice is easy.
This area was made for beauty and respecting nature. The idea that a giant RV park should end up in this spot is outrageous and uncalled for because there are already 2 RV parks in town. One of the RV parks is already right on the water and enjoys all the benefits. Adding another one is ridiculous and is not helpful to the environment either. Please stop this travesty from happening here and deny the rv park in this area.
This development is a terrible idea!
This development is a terrible idea that will adversly impact the natural peace & beauty of the surrounding area.
Have we learned nothing from COVID-19? The earth is polluted and over run with commercialization. We need to focus on Health and healing now, not capitalizing on loopholes. This stretch of land is preserved for a reason.
The health and well being of the people who live in this area should be the focal point of the elected representatives .
Now more than ever we need to keep our environment safe. The people of Half Moon Bay have always been proud of where they live,
but this will all change with the development of Dunes Beach. Please listen to the people…it”s important.
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Half Moon Bay is a magical place because it is not over developed and overly populated. That is why tourists come here, and that is why we choose to live here. Beyond this, I worry about the amount of traffic coming in and out of Half Moon Bay (as traffic has already gotten much worse since we bought our home here in 2012. It can take almost an hour to get to/over 92 from Miramar on a weekday morning).
Please Please Please don’t let this happen!
This just doesn’t fit with what we always have had here.
I have been here for my entire life and don’t remember any development being more scary than this
I believe in progress and I don’t believe this is authentic progress