Coyote Point Promenade

The San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation is spearheading an effort to raise the money needed to install the temporary ramps needed to restore reasonable access at Coyote Point Park. While these "temporary" ramps are to be made out of sand bags, they have been carefully engineered to be stable(view design) and are expected to serve as the access way during the 2-3 years that it will take for San Mateo County Parks to complete the design, approval, and installation of an improved and stable shoreline. The long term fix will be at a cost of over $1 million and may include a sandy beach area.

San Mateo County Parks has obtained permits that will allow for the temporary ramps to be installed starting April 15th if funding is available. San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation has already raised $25,000 and needs another $10,000 to cover the costs of this much needed project. Even if you don't sail at Coyote Point Park, please think globally and help your spiritual brothers and sisters get their chance to ride the wind.

The SFBA has created a $1,000 matching fund for the Temporary Repairs at Coyote Point. Every dollar donated by an individual for the repair will be matched with SFBA funds up to $1,000. Hopefully the donations will more than exceed that limit.

Donate:

If you donate directly to San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation, your donation will be tax deductible. Please add the text "Coyote Point Promenade (SFBA)" in the space for Billing Address Line 2 to assure that your donation goes toward the Coyote Project.

San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation: Donation page

You may also donate through SFBA directly at our special donations page, but those donations may not be tax deductible because SFBA is a 501(c)7 organization (as opposed to a 501(c)3).

Please strongly consider giving to San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation and similar organizations when you are considering charitable giving. The parks in San Mateo County and elsewhere have been under funded for a long time and have great difficulty fund improvements let alone staffing and maintenance. When you see a new park or playground, it is usually funded by outside foundations or agencies. With the current budget problems, the funding for our favorite parks is only going to get tighter.

The promenade at Coyote Point has suffered additional damage (TeamCoyote has some images) over the winter and parts of the access are fenced off. Below is an update I sent out recently and an update from Sam Herzberg, the planner with San Mateo County Parks. There is no standing fund to pay for repairs, so a full fix will involve a long planning process and a fundraising process. As Sam points out, there was a measure on the last ballot that would have create a standing fund for repairs and maintenance, but it was voted down. If people think such a fund should exist, then they should consider supporting such a measure when it comes up again. The parks peopel and planners are taking a lot of flak. Everyone I have talked to is eager to help, but they have to work within a system and compete for funds to move things along. I think that anyone who is willing to work with these people will find that a cooperative approach will work best.

Peter Thorner
San Francisco Boardsailing Association >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I just talked with Dave Moore, the San Mateo County Parks Superintendent. They are concerned about the windsurfing use and also are getting pressure from the kayakers to make repairs so that the annual Paddlefest can happen at Coyote Point. They are seriously looking at the possibility of doing some kind of sandbagging and fence realignment. County Parks has hired a consultant, PWA, to address the long term solution and has said that the consultant will also be tasked with looking at the possibility of a interim fix. Maureen and I are going to meet with David Brew of PWA and hopefully the head ranger on Monday to walk them through the site and how it is used and explore the options. Sandbagging requires a permit from the Bay Conservation & Development Commission (BCDC) which is normally a major process. I have talked with staff at the Bay Conservation & Development Commission and it sounds like there could be a willingness to streamline things if the Park is on board with temporary repairs. It is very difficult for a park to allow user repairs because of liability and permitting issues and the area in question is under a lot of focus, so any unofficial repairs won't go under the radar. I'm not sure if the park could or would allow a work party to help on a repair they manage, but I'm sure that an offer would be appreciated.

We are lucky that foundation money was advanced for the analysis and design of a new or repaired promenade. The likely sources for the big repair project are state agencies - the Department of Boating (DBW) and Waterways and the Coastal Conservancy. If the promenade is improved as part of the Bay Trail, then it will open up additional funding that is earmarked for the Bay Trail. SFBA worked to get people to respond to a survey by DBW about how state money should be spent and hopefully we will have a workshop with DBW in April where people can tell them again where funds are needed. The site is also likely to be designated as a launch on the new Bay Water Trail which would also likely open up funding options.

We might have to work hard to lobby so that funds come sooner than later, but the official request for funds can't come until the design and approval process is well advanced. We should probably put together a team to work on this issue since it will require a significant ongoing effort for 2-3 years to deal with both the near term and long term solution. There will be multiple public meetings on design and environmental impacts and the design will have to go to the Parks Commission. The ideal team would have people who can build a relationship and partnership with the players at the County rather than being critical and demanding. The people at the County didn't design all the rules and regulations that limit the process and they would love to have an existing budget to address problems like this. They also want to make sure that repairs and improvements work well for windsurfers and other users, so continuous input and communication is key.

I've been reading some complaints about how money was spent on other projects and asking why there isn't money on hand for this one. People worked and lobbied very long and hard to get money for the playground (starting before anyone knew how bad the promenade was degrading) and windsurfers will sound selfish to the average person (or Park Commissioner) if they imply that our use is more important than a playground for the kids even if there are a lot more playgrounds around than good launches. Other projects like Seal Point Park were in the works for a long time and there was momentum to fund the park because it was otherwise going to be a giant mound of dirt on top of a sealed landfill dump. I think that there are good people in the County Parks system that we can work well with and we need a few people that want to stay on top of this process over the long haul who can work cooperatively even if pressure may be needed at some point.

Peter Thorner SFBA

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My name is Sam Herzberg and I'm the Senior Park Planner with San Mateo County Parks Department. Your question regarding the status of the promenade that has been falling into disreapir was forwarded to me by Dave Holland the Director of San Mateo County Parks. The promenade has been falling into disrepair in the past few years, particularly unprotected areas to the south where the promenade has been collapsing, and to the north where the armor flex in the windsurfing area has been collapsing.

Due to generous donations of private funds raised through the County Park Foundation County Parks is able to prepare Design Plans and Specifications to repair the promenade. Phil Williams and Associates has been hired to prepare Design Plans. This will be a two phase effort. The first phase will involve gathering the background data, meeting with City of San Mateo who may be interested in developing a project that also meets their flood control needs, identifying a number of alternatives, meeting with the public about alternatives and selecting a preferred alternative. The consultant will also evaluate potential "temporary" fixes, which will require plans, environmental review and permits from agencies such as the Bay Conservation and Development Commission as well as potentially others. I have conveyed your interest in seeing a temporary fix to David Brew who works for Phil Williams and Associates. The second phase of the project will involve more detailed geotechnical analysis, Final Design Plans and Specifications, environmental review and permitting. Essentially getting the project to be ready to be funded and constructed. There is currently no funding available to make any of the improvements, although we have already had discussions with both the CA Department of Boating and Waterways and CA Coastal Conservancy as well as the City of San Mateo Flood Control who may be interested in participating in funding the final repair.

County Parks has no funding for capital improvements, which was why Measure A was attempted this past November (and failed) to raise money to fund these types of proejcts. Measure A is going to be attempted again, and will need the public's support. If you'd like more information please contact Julia Bott at the County Park Foundation at 650/321-5812.

There will be no immediate "easy" fixes, so your patience is appreciated. I'd like to add you and any others you suggest to the mailing list to keep you informed as this project moves forward, so please send me mailing addresses of interested parties. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me at 650/363-1823. Thanks!

Sam