Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: 4/5ths
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Jonathan Gervais, Parks Director
Subject: Funding for Tunitas Creek Beach and Capital Projects Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt resolutions authorizing:
A) An amendment to Master Salary Resolution No. 075338 to add three positions; and
B) An Appropriation Transfer Request (ATR) transferring $204,092 from Non-Departmental ERAF Reserves to Salaries and Benefits, Other Charges, Capital Assets, and Services and Supplies in the Parks Department.
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BACKGROUND:
Tunitas Creek Beach, eight miles south of Half Moon Bay in unincorporated San Mateo County, is a remarkable 57.5-acre beach property with views of 150-foot iconic bluffs, open ocean along nearly a mile of sandy beach, and diverse natural resources, including a third of a mile of riparian habitat on Tunitas Creek. Historically, a fisherman's footpath along the creek and social trails over the steep hillside from Highway 1 enabled local access to area residents. A private beach for decades, no government entity has jurisdiction for management of this remote beach. As California State Parks is financially unable to accept new lands, San Mateo County and Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) are responding to public concern over huge increases in unmanaged public use of this beach and consequent impacts to natural resources, public health, and safety.
Social media promotion of unregulated raves, camping, and use of an illegally graded trail through Tunitas Creek has resulted in overwhelmingly negative impacts with extensive garbage, human waste, and crab poaching in the past four years. California Fish and Wildlife and San Mateo County Sheriff's Office staff confirm estimates as high as 1,500 people camping overnight on Tunitas Creek Beach in 2017. First responders have seen increased calls to respond to violence, fatal accidents, and significant injuries- some that required helicopter evacu...
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