Last summer, the county released a detailed study on the ground water here. The results of this study were inconclusive so everybody took away what they wanted to believe. To some, the glass was half empty while others saw it as half full.
But to the people here who are anti-growth, they saw this as an opportunity to try and stop most building on the Midcoast by getting a ban on all new well drilling. People who live in Miramar and El Granada have the option of drilling a well or getting a water connection from the local water utility. People in Moss Beach and Montara only have the option of drilling a water well. Montara Water & Sanitary District has not issued a new water connection in decades and has no immediate ability to do so.
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A similar moratorium on water well drilling would have the same disastrous effect on property values that are already down due to lack of bank financing and soft home prices.
I first wrote about this pending moratorium in the Review on June 3 and advised landowners to rush to the San Mateo County Building Department and apply for a water well permit to protect the value of your property from nose diving. For those of you who failed to take that advice then, this is your second, and possibly last, opportunity to protect your assets.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors had a hearing on this and our Local Coastal Plan. It was looking bad going into this hearing for landowners because there was a draft already written on the ban on water wells. Luckily for property owners, SAMCAR and others fought hard to stop this ban from happening. The sups voted 5-0 against the ban, at least for now. They want the people who performed this ground water study to do more research and see if they can come up with something more definitive about the different aquifers here. Then they will revisit the matter early next year.
People who live in Miramar and El Granada should strongly consider getting a local water connection. Luckily for you, there’s a growing glut of these connections, and prices have come down a lot. Over the past year, I’ve seen the prices drop by almost 50% to around $20,000-$25,000.
But for those in Moss Beach and Montara, you can only get a water well and you are most vulnerable to a moratorium. This is your only option. If you don’t get a well and a moratorium is imposed, the value of your land will drop by a very large amount. There are some areas, particularly in Moss Beach, where wells are hard to find, so consult an expert on the success of finding water in your area.
Please believe me that the drumbeat for a moratorium will continue to grow. The California Coastal Commission plus local agencies like the Midcoast Council and MWSD want to put this into effect yesterday, and they won’t stop pushing for it until it happens.
I’m sure a water well doesn’t make your Top 10 List for Christmas presents, but there are some people on the Coast who want to put coal in all the stockings of landowners. Act while you still can, otherwise it could be years till this ban is lifted.
Steven Hyman is the Broker & Owner of Century 21 Sunset Properties. He can be reached at 650-726-6346 or at www.century21sunset.com
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