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| SAM skirmish points to larger issues By David F. Smydra Jr.--[ david@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 1:11 PM PST It would be easy to consider two recent Midcoast events as unconnected. The first occurred on Jan. 28, when directors of the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside twice deadlocked 4 to 4 on their vote for new officers at their most recent board meeting. The second occurred less than a week later, when a residential builder made an offer on a 6.19-acre parcel of land on the Burnham Strip owned by the San Mateo County Harbor District. The district had been asking $1.3 million for the property. Considered independently, the two events share no explicit relation. But together they point to complications in a plan that local and county officials had informally developed to handle stormwater runoff on the Coastside. SAM had been eyeing the Burnham Strip parcel for a 600,000-gallon, underground wet-weather storage tank. The joint agency, which comprises officials from the city of Half Moon Bay, the Granada Sanitary District and the Montara Water and Sanitary District, has been tinkering for years with plans for installing such a tank. An underground tank on the property, located across the street from the Portola Pump Station, would allow SAM to handle large infusions of water from what the agency calls "10-year/6-hour storm events." Currently, SAM strains to handle the overflows from rainy seasons, and every winter installs six temporary holding tanks on the Midcoast to handle excess flow, at an annual cost of $80,000. But best of all, say county officials, installing an underground storage tank would allow the agency to use the land for a public benefit, but still maintain the parcel as public open space, possibly to be managed by San Mateo County Department of Parks. "One of the things that we are totally aware of and supportive of is maintaining the bulk of that property in usable community open space," said Peter Grenell, the Harbor District's general manager. "Our primary goal here is to recover the value of the site - but if we can do it in a way that provides maximum public benefit, we're all for that. Without question." This is where the board's deadlocked vote for this year's officers comes into play. Typically, the vice chair is elected to the chair position with the new term. Half Moon Bay Councilwoman Marina Fraser is the current SAM vice chair, but her ascension was opposed by the four Midcoast representatives. (Fellow Half Moon Bay Council member John Muller and Fraser each get two votes, compared to one vote from Midcoast officials, due to the joint agency agreement that acknowledges the city's greater financial contribution.) The vote, which split right down Half Moon Bay and Midcoast lines, reflects steady disagreement among SAM directors about whether to pursue the storage tank idea at all. About a year ago, Half Moon Bay officials asked SAM staff and engineers to look into the prospect of installing an 8,850-foot parallel pipeline to transport water during big storms. "To me, to have a parallel main is very, very dependable and safe," said Muller. "What if we need to take one out of service for maintenance or something? Personally, I think we'd be better served at that." The other issue concerns who would pay for it. In August, Half Moon Bay staff submitted a memo to the City Council stating: "Staff does not believe that the city has any financial responsibility for any improvements to ... any facility that the city does not utilize in its system, unless agreed to through an agreement." Half Moon Bay's hesitancy to pay for either project brought the process to a standstill last fall. An environmental impact report for the storage tank and pipeline was put on hold in September. "The issue is we're still waiting for some firm decision from the city," said Jack Foley, SAM general manager. "The SAM board folks said, well, we want that in writing ... If the SAM board heard from the city, it would then make a decision over what to do next." All of this back and forth was well and good while the Burnham Strip property was still on the market. But a shrewd business gambit by Grenell and the Harbor District may shut the door on the storage tank proposal. By securing a grandfather clause in the Local Coastal Program amendment that is currently before the California Coastal Commission, the district is close to locking up a residential buyer who could legally build a house on the property before the zoning changes eliminate that possibility. Realtor Jan Gray, who is brokering the property for the Harbor District, said that the offer she received from Naren Nath and Arti Srivastava is "a very workable offer from serious people." She declined to say how much Nath and Srivastava offered to pay. Now Midcoast representatives on the SAM board are growing testy at seeing a potential opportunity pass them by. "We could have done this project years ago at a much lower cost if Half Moon Bay hadn't been dragging their feet," said Granada Sanitary District representative Leornard Woren. Speaking of Muller and Fraser, he said, "They're saying that, 'We don't have to pay our share, but we get to tell you what project to do.'" Some disagreement now exists over whether SAM could still build a tank on the Burnham Strip property even if it is purchased by private owners. Grenell said such a possibility could result from an easement. Woren disagrees. "You just don't build something that you can't pick up and move on land that you don't own. And anyone who does that is an idiot." In the meantime, Muller and Fraser said they are waiting for more clarity from the city's legal staff about Half Moon Bay's obligations. Muller expects a memo on that topic by March. "I haven't even made a decision on which way to go on the wet weather station," Fraser said. The split vote for officers seemed to her to be "political maneuverings" for a board that should strictly be operational in nature. "And I don't think it has any place," she added. As the Harbor District considers the offer on its property, the SAM board could vote again on officers at its Feb. 25 meeting. For now, vice chairwoman Fraser will act as chair in the absence of a decisive vote. |