Breaking News (7/2/08)- Beachwood Development / AB 1991 sent back to "rules Committee" of the California State Senate for amendments to meet the requests of all agencies involved. It would appear that the rules committee will attempt to enhance the "value" of the Beachwood property (number of houses to be built??) to increase its value if the present developer chooses the 18 million dollar payout by the city of Half Moon BAy (down from the 41 million dollar awarded the developer in Federal Court). Beachwood development would provide a traffic signal at Bay View and Highway 1 for possible access to Pacific Ridge/Ailanto Property

Breaking News (6/7/08)- Beachwood Development / AB 1991 to be reviewed by California State Senate mid June, 2008. Passage would provide traffic light at Bay View and Highway 1 for possible permanent access to Pacific Ridge.

At the April 3, 2007 Council Meeting, the Council Members voted to direct City Staff to stop work on the Coastal Development Permit for the Highway 1/Terrace Avenue Signal Light Project and to authorize the City Manager to enter into irrevocable letters of credit for 2.5 million dollars with Ailanto Properties pursuant to Paragraph 7(d) of the Settlement Agreement. This amount has been determined to be a sufficient amount to fund the signalization and widening project.

The residents of the Community were given to believe that the Council listened to the 2000+ people who signed a petition opposing the light and that the Council exercised paragraph 7 (d) in their behalf. The Council’s decision has not eliminated the installation of the Signal Light as was requested by the people who signed the petition.

In reality, the Council’s action has separated the signal light from the Pacific Ridge Project and by doing so has given Ailanto the opportunity to immediately proceed to the Coastal Commission for the final approval on the CDP for Pacific Ridge. The implementation of the Settlement Agreement for the development of Pacific Ridge will no longer be delayed or be contingent upon approval of the Terrace Coastal Development Permit.

Also, by its action, work on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Signal Light Project will cease and all of the criticisms of the report submitted by the public will not be addressed and the results of the Draft EIR will not be finalized. The Draft EIR does not support the Signal Light Project and this action closed the door on these findings. How is the City going to justify approving this light in spite of this report?

At the Council Meeting on May 1, the Council voted to place all funds obtained pursuant to Paragraph 7(d) of the Settlement Agreement with Ailanto Properties in a segregated account; and to restrict the expenditure of all such funds to the mitigation of traffic impacts caused by the Pacific Ridge project at the intersection of Terrace Avenue and Highway One until such time as the City issues the final certificate of occupancy for approved dwelling units within the project.

The Councils decision restricts the use of these funds until Pacific Ridge is completed but does not specify a time frame. Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement Ailanto can take up to 8 years to complete building the 63 houses. Anytime, within these 8 years, the City could decide to put in a signal light at the Terrace intersection. Upon the completion of Pacific Ridge, the City has the option to use any of the Ailanto funds not used at this intersection for whatever they decide.

By restricting these funds only to the Terrace intersection, the possibility of using this money to look at other traffic solutions on Highway 1 between North Main Street and Frenchmen’s Creek will continue to be ignored

The installation of the proposed Signal Light would affect anyone using Highway 1 and would contribute to the traffic circulation problem on the Coast. Also, a signal light does not guarantee safety. According to statistics reported in the DEIR there is a higher risk for accidents at signalized intersections. Improving traffic circulation is a Community issue and should be addressed as such. Proper long range planning is critical.

The residents of Terrace Avenue are not opposed to Ailanto building houses in Pacific Ridge. The resident’s opposition is to the Signal Light and the use of Terrace Avenue as the only and permanent access road to the development.

In dealing with the terms of the Settlement Agreement this Council has made decisions that have left many residents bewildered and disappointed. The Council members actions have been questioned as a result of how they have addressed this issue and how it has been acted upon. This Community depends on the City Council to not misrepresent their actions.
Posted by: Lucy Lopez - Half Moon Bay