Director’s report: Board adopts 'Get There Together'; staff updates commissioners on Plan Princeton and a Coastal Commission challenge

The planning director reported several items of countywide interest at the Feb. 26 Planning Commission meeting, including the Board of Supervisors’ unanimous adoption of the Coastside transportation demand management plan, updates on sea-level-rise planning for Princeton, and a pending challenge to a county determination on a Moss Beach home rebuild.

Director’s report: adoption of 'Get There Together' — The director said the Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted 'Get There Together,' the county’s transportation demand management plan for the Coastside, and that board members expressed interest in moving promptly to implementation. The director said staff anticipate additional items will come back to the planning commission to carry out plan components.

Moss Beach rebuild and Coastal Commission review — The director told commissioners that the department had determined a rebuild of a home destroyed by fire in Moss Beach was exempt from a coastal permit under provisions allowing replacement of structures destroyed by natural disasters. The environmental group Green Foothills challenged that determination, and the director said county staff notified California Coastal Commission staff; the matter is under consideration by Coastal Commission staff and could be scheduled for a hearing if staff disagree with the county.

Plan Princeton and sea-level-rise work — Planner Bharat Singh updated the commission on Plan Princeton, the county’s planning effort addressing sea-level rise on the Princeton shoreline. Singh said staff are developing two broad policy approaches: near-term development standards to reduce flood risk for properties used in the near future, and options for how to address parcels that may be underwater in the longer term. Singh said staff aim to release draft material for community review in March and anticipated more formal draft text or options by April. He told the commission the work will present options for the community and that staff are examining precedent and tools used along the California coast.

The director also said the department is working on housing-element work and related rezoning efforts; an RFP for rezoning consultants is in process and staff expect to present a work plan to the commission in April for the upcoming two-year cycle.