What's behind the opposition to Half Moon Bay's new park?
Half Moon Bay’s new park may be the most positive and forward-thinking act of any council in the town’s history.
The City Council managed to secure the only piece of land where a park could be developed within walking distance of downtown, got it for a bargain price, and was able to borrow the money interest-free. The planning process has been a model of openness and public participation.
Generations from now, when our grandchildren are enjoying our beautiful, convenient, creekside park, no one will remember the controversy cooked up by the City Council’s opponents to secure a political advantage.
On September 15, 2004, the Half Moon Bay Review broke the news that the Half Moon Bay City Council was planning to buy 22 acres for a park within walking distance from downtown.
The Council voted to buy the land at its August 22 meeting. Nearly everyone – even Cypress Cove residents concerned about the impact on their neighborhood – spoke hopefully about the plan.
With the exception of perhaps one Cypress Cove resident, only two voices spoke out against the decision: city council member Marina Fraser and former city council member Naomi Patridge (Fraser’s mentor and campaign manager). Suddenly, the otherwise boosterish Half Moon Bay Review, which a week before had cheered this achievement, attacked the decision like a ravenous weasel.
The Review echoed Fraser’s concern about wetlands on the property, despite the fact that the city’s due diligence (and subsequent events) showed the land could not be any drier. They suggested that the Council violated the open meetings law -- until they couldn’t find a witness to corroborate their account of the meeting. And they implied that the citizen response was negative, although the videotape of the meeting shows otherwise.
What happened in the week between the announcement and the vote? The only thing that changed was that Naomi Patridge and her ally Marina Fraser said they opposed the park and the Review snapped to attention.
Nothing important happens without opposition. The residents of Cypress Cove have a legitimate interest in making sure the park is a good neighbor. But much of the opposition reveals just how obstructionist the pro-developer interests can be when they choose to be.
The community has a unique opportunity to create a park that is large, integrated with the environment, within walking distance of downtown, and the center of multiple community activities. But instead of working with the city council to overcome obstacles and make this dream a reality, the opposition has cooked up a series of phony challenges.
The city got a deal on the property. The Review has implied, but never demonstrated, that the city paid too much. As evidence they point to an incomplete valuation that did not take into account the roads and buildings and irrigation infrastructure, let alone its ideal location. The truth is that the city bought its ideal park site at a great price.
Location, location, location. Because it’s within walking and bicycling distance of downtown, the new park should help increase business for downtown merchants and reduce future sprawl by concentrating the community’s center on downtown. Much of it is flat. It’s bordered by a beautiful creek that is the site of a community trail.
The park planning process is a model of openness. People from all parts of the community are involved, including children’s’ play structure advocates, garden lovers, Cypress Cove homeowners, sports field advocates, horseshoe enthusiasts, and more. The plans that have been presented by the designers meet the needs nearly everyone. While a now-deceased park director had drafted preliminary plan for a grant proposal that showed more sports fields than anyone wanted, the planning process demonstrated that it was never intended as a serious proposal.
The environmental issues with the park site are minimal and addressable. With the exception of the creek that borders the property, and the irrigation pond, the land is dry and contains no habitat. Protected red-legged frogs breed in the pond, but shouldn’t be a problem as long as they are able to migrate to and from the pond.
Traffic is manageable. The plan is to allow cars to enter the park from the eastbound right lane of widened Highway 92 and exit turning right onto 92, or on the south end near Cypress Cove. The object is to keep the traffic flowing and minimize the impact on Cypress Cove. Part of the Highway 92 widening project involves adding a center lane on northbound Main Street to 92, which will improve circulation for Stone Pine and all of downtown.