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| RV park site now up for auction By Mark Noack [ mark@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 12:34 PM PDT Nurserymen’s Exchange will auction off a stretch of fallow farmland along Wavecrest Road, a site formerly considered for an eco-tourism campground and haven for recreational vehicles. The Half Moon Bay-based garden supplier says the property has already generated interest among prospective buyers, landowners who have more latitude to develop the farmland after a the property was re-zoned last year for commercial development. Now the 7.8-acre property could be developed for a number of uses beyond agriculture. “We were always planning to sell the land, and so now we’re going from plan A to plan B,” said Don Mendel, spokesman for Nurserymen’s Exchange. “There is a broad list of things that are permitted for the property … It could be an RV park, it’s could be a hotel or have certain types of retail.” Nurserymen’s Exchange originally planned to sell the 7.8-acre property to brothers Cameron and Kevin Palmer, but their campground project never advanced beyond architectural plans and paperwork. Cameron Palmer, who championed the project before the Half Moon Bay City Council, said their business concept didn’t draw loans sufficient to finance the land purchase and development. “Once I found out there were no lenders interested in making a loan for vacant land, that’s when I saw the writing on the wall,” he said. “I just found no interest.” The nature-themed “Birds of Paradise” campground idea received lavish praise from business and elected officials when it was presented in public meetings. Popular momentum encouraged the city to re-zone the unused Nurserymen’s Exchange farmland for commercial use. Palmer said he notified Nurserymen’s Exchange in late spring that he could not afford the land. Palmer said he has no plans to attend the auction to buy the property, which has a suggested opening bid of $899,000. Mendel said plenty of other buyers have voiced interest. “People are inquiring, calling us up, wanting to know more about this property,” Mendel said. The zoning for the property, commercial-visitor serving, allows the property to be used for hospitality-based businesses. However, it could be a long time before the farmland is dug up for a new hotel or similar business. Any new development on that property would be subject to the environmental-quality process, a procedure that can take anywhere years to complete. “For a hotel or another business, an entire new study would have to be done,” said Sean Gallegos, associate city planner. “In the shortest timeframe it could be a three- to six-month process … but there’s a lot of factors that could impede development for that site.” Gallegos pointed out that a proposed development could require a full environmental impact report, which takes at least a year. And given that the plot lies within the coastal appeals zone, any stage of development is also subject to further scrutiny by the California Coastal Commission. The property will be auctioned on Sept. 15. |