Half Moon Bay needs new leadership to manage change
The Coastside is changing because:
- Costs of housing and rents are escalating
- Traffic congestion is getting worse weekday and weekend
- Streets, bridges, trails and other public works are poorly maintained
- Lack of local jobs
- Our youth our leaving the area and our community is ageing
- Inadequate community spaces including parks and increasing pressure to develop our coastal open space and agricultural lands
- Lack of affordable commercial space and commercially zoned land
- Demographic changes: new people with advanced educations, higher incomes, and high expectations and a growing, underserved Latino population
- Increasing revenues and budgets that expand with revenues
- State and regional targets for reduced greenhouse gas emissions and sea level rise
The City's financial picture appears much stronger than five years ago. Now is the time to lay a strong foundation for a healthy, vibrant future for our town, but the council apparently has no vision or plan to manage the changes we face.
My Vision
I believe we need to focus first on repair and upkeep of our streets, bridges, parks, trails, and open spaces and keep on top of the trash problem. A clean, well-maintained city will add to the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike, increase property values, and make it attractive to businesses.
We need well-crafted policies and careful planning that balance preservation of our small-town character, our Main Street, and scenic coastal open spaces with the need to accommodate some new housing and create a thriving local economy. We need to recognize that our problems of land use and traffic are linked and address them together. While road widening might accommodate more cars, we will effectively reduce congestion in our limited transportation network primarily by (1) getting people out of their cars, and (2) properly locating new residential and commercial development.
I would prioritize new residential development within or close to existing office and retail centers and highway corridors. We need a mix of housing types for young adults, families, and seniors. To reduce out-of-town trips we need to create local jobs, provide live/work housing and supportive technology, and encourage car sharing with additional park and ride locations and van pooling. To reduce in-town congestion we should work with the school district to reintroduce school busing; provide shuttle service for residents and visitors; and make our town more bike and pedestrian friendly. We should support local independent businesses, oppose big box retail stores, and make sure any new development fully mitigates its traffic impacts through support of alternative methods of transportation.
I support vibrant, diverse and connected neighborhoods with easy access to parks, trails, community gardens, dog-walking areas, and traffic calming as needed. Neighborhood planning will encourage neighbors to meet, share, and build something together. We need more quality community public spaces in general, including an improved library, as our budget allows and tap grant funding to help meet our goals.
I would like city development standards to encourage low-impact, water and energy-efficient building and design and support use of electric vehicles.
I want our city to become more self-sufficient and strong + by diversifying our economic base, developing local water sources, support local food production, and encourage homegrown businesses that can meet a variety of local needs.
We need business-friendly policies supporting a vibrant Main Street, and we need to keep City Hall downtown. We are fortunate to have a downtown business district with a strong identity, and we need to work closely with business and property owners to reduce vacancies.
I want City Hall to become more open and inclusive. With the exception of certain privileged information, citizens should have easy access to the same information our city council has. I would want to investigate technology solutions supporting interactive communications with the public. The City Web site needs more robust content and communication channels for facilitating participation and access to services, including links to meeting videos. I would support city council rotating its meetings through the neighborhoods and Spanish translation of meetings. Being open and inclusive obviates the need for spin doctors.
One of my top priorities will be to help the best ideas rise to the top regardless of source. We should reach out to the many talented, innovative people who call Half Moon Bay and the Coastside home instead of reflexively calling on high-priced out-of-town consultants to provide off-the-shelf solutions.
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