Zoning hearing officer approves creek-bank restoration at 301 Redwood Avenue

San Mateo County Zoning Hearing Officer Joe LeClaire approved a coastal and grading permit June 5 to allow restoration and revegetation of the banks of Yukon Oak Creek at 301 Redwood Avenue (File PLN2025-00026), subject to modified findings and conditions of approval.

The project aims to stabilize an eroding bank immediately adjacent to a residence at 301 Redwood Avenue using engineered rock slope protection, anchored root-ball structures and replanting with native riparian vegetation. Staff and the applicant said the work is intended to reduce sediment delivery downstream and improve habitat for native fish and wildlife, including steelhead and coho salmon.

Planner Mike Schaller of the San Mateo County Planning and Building Department told the hearing that staff recommended a categorical exemption from CEQA under the CEQA Guidelines for small habitat restoration projects (class 33) and noted that resource agencies have reviewed the proposal. He also described two minor edits to conditions of approval: that biological survey results be submitted to the County of San Mateo and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and that water held in containers for captured salamanders be drawn only from the creek rather than from tap water. "The results be submitted to the county of San Mateo and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife," Schaller said.

Applicant John Maloney said the property has experienced long-term channel incision and erosion that threatens the house’s foundation. "The purpose of our project then is to improve the habitat for our native fish, plants, and wildlife through the addition of woody debris and an extensive vegetation plan," Maloney told the hearing, describing a design that adds log structures, root balls and planted rock to create fish refuge and reduce bank loss.

Consultant Kelly Camara of Camara Environmental Consulting said the project team evaluated alternatives and coordinated with permitting agencies. "Engineered rock is not always our first choice, but given the site constraints, that is the best alternative that we have," Camara said, adding that vegetation will provide long-term stability and that programmatic permits from state and federal agencies are being used for this voluntary restoration effort.

A member of the local water company, Casey Dunn, told the hearing she supported the proposal while reiterating written concerns about downstream impacts and liability. "We're generally in support. We just have concerns as we outlined in our mails," Dunn said. County staff and the applicant said downstream hydrology was reviewed by the county’s floodplain administrator and by resource agencies; staff noted a hydrologic study in the record and said the floodplain manager concurred with its conclusions. The applicant and consultants also described an adaptive-management approach and a five-year monitoring requirement included in project conditions.

Schaller said the county received two emails raising related questions about legal recourse and liability insurance. County counsel told staff that the county does not have authority to require liability insurance or to create private legal remedies; affected property owners’ remedies, if any, would be through civil court, Schaller said.

Project specifics in the staff presentation included: a reconstructed rock slope with lower boulders (28 placed boulders around 24 inches in diameter keyed to about 6 feet below existing channel grade), smaller boulders upslope (average diameter about 18 inches), three root-log structures at the top of the slope, additional regrading on the opposite bank to widen the channel and expand floodplain area, a 230-foot linear diversion and dewatering system for in-channel work, and replanting with native riparian species including willows, dogwood, maples and thimbleberry. The staff report identifies the site as APN O89-042-060 and describes the residence as originally constructed in the early 1900s.

During the hearing, staff recommended two small edits to the draft conditions: (1) add language specifying that the qualified biologist’s survey results be submitted to the County of San Mateo and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; and (2) clarify that water used to hold captured salamanders must be drawn from the creek and not from treated tap water. The record also includes a five-year monitoring requirement for the civil engineer and the restoration vegetation plan.

After public comment and applicant presentation, LeClaire announced his decision. "I'm going to approve this project, pursuant to the findings and subject to the conditions of approval as modified, in attachment A," he said. He also directed that any appeal must be filed with the Planning and Building Department by June 20 at 5 p.m. and be accompanied by an appeal fee of $1,962.

Work is planned to begin in late summer or early fall, according to the applicant and staff. County staff and multiple state and federal resource agencies will continue permit review and oversight as the project moves into implementation.