↓
 

Pacifica Voice

Serving the Coastal Communities of Pacifica California

Pacifica Voice
  • Current Edition
  • Past Editions
    • 2023
      • January 2023 Edition
    • 2022
      • December 2022 Special Edition
      • November 2022 Edition
      • September 2022 Edition
      • August 2022 Edition
      • July 2022 Special Edition
      • June 2022 Edition
      • May 2022 Edition
      • April 2022 Edition
      • February 2022 Edition
    • 2021
      • December 2021 Edition
      • November 2021 Edition
      • September 2021 Edition
      • July 2021 Edition
      • June 2021 Edition
      • April 2021 Edition
      • March 2021 Edition
      • January 2021 Edition
    • 2020
      • December 2020 Edition
      • November 2020 Edition
      • October 2020 Edition
      • September 2020 Edition
      • August 2020 Edition
      • June 2020 Edition
      • May 2020 Edition
      • April 2020 Edition
      • March 2020 Edition
      • January 2020 Edition
    • 2019
      • November 2019 Edition
      • September 2019 Edition
      • July 2019 Edition
      • May 2019 Edition
      • March 2019
      • February 2019
      • January 2019
  • Subscribe
  • About

Category Archives: Press Release

Post navigation

1 2 >>
Pacifica Voice Posted on February 12, 2022 by pv_adminusFebruary 12, 2022

Take the Coastside Transportation Survey – Rick Nahass

Commute.org’s mission is to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by commuters to decrease congestion, improve the environment, and enhance quality of life. 

Spearheaded by commute.org Board Members Mike O’Neill, Pacifica, and Deborah Penrose, Half Moon Bay, the feedback from this four question survey will be used in conjunction with previous county outreach programs, such as Reimagine SamTrans, to determine next steps for better enabling people to use alternate transit methods.

The fourth question is intended for free form open comments. Please take the time to consider how you might answer this question:

“If you have any other comments or suggestions for how to support and encourage Coastside residents to use alternatives to driving alone, please use the space below to let us know.”

Take the survey (Click Here).

Help us Get the word out to get full representation from all coastside residents from Pescadero to Pacifica by forwarding survey link.

San Mateo County Libraries Expanding Service in Pacifica

Pacifica Voice Posted on August 14, 2021 by pv_adminusAugust 15, 2021

The San Mateo County Libraries are celebrating the expansion of library hours and services in Pacifica! Beginning in August 2 with increased access to library services and spaces by expanding hours. During new library open hours, we invite you to browse and check out items, pick up holds, and make use of meeting rooms and equipment. Our libraries are youth settings, so masks are still required for both vaccinated and unvaccinated patrons. The libraries will continue to monitor public health guidelines to ensure that everyone remains safe and healthy during this next phase of reopening.

These services are the next step forward in a careful and thoughtfully phased approach to reinstituting library offerings and access. Library staff has been awaiting this next step and are excited to offer more services and impactful experiences.

New Library hours:

We’re excited to welcome back our community members with increased access to library services, spaces, and expanded hours. Effective Monday, August 2, Library hours at most locations will be:

Pacifica’s two libraries will have adjusted hours:

Pacifica Sharp Park Library:
Monday 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Tuesday 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Thursday-Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Pacifica Sanchez Library:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Do you still prefer a convenient curbside experience? We will have updated Curbside Services for motor vehicles, which will be offered during open library hours at all locations. To use this service, simply pull into our designated curbside parking spot and give us a call or text and we will come outside to deliver your items to you by hand.

You can continue to get in touch with our friendly and helpful Customer Care team and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on our program offerings, online resources, and important news about our services.

San Mateo County Libraries are where you go for information assistance. Did you know there are public resources available for COVID-19 vaccinations and rent relief? Our staff can help you navigate the online process to register for a vaccination appointment (myturn.ca.gov) or apply for the state rent relief program (housing.ca.gov). Visit one of our local libraries – we’re here to help!

smcl.org

Coastside Missing from SamTrans Pandemic Recovery Bus Routes

Pacifica Voice Posted on April 29, 2021 by pv_adminusApril 30, 2021

Author Rick Nahass, Pacifica Climate Committee

SamTrans “Reimagine Program” is asking for public feedback on 2022 pandemic bus route alternatives (see below). Missing is the longstanding requirement for highway CA1 express bus service from Half Moon Bay to Daly City BART. Let SamTrans know this is the coastside requirement for fair and equitable recovery:

Please let SamTrans know that you want them to Expand the 118  express bus service from Half Moon Bay to Day City BART to run 7 days a week continuously from early morning to late evening. The benefits are:

Economic Development

  • Small businesses would have access to a greater workforce who would be more willing to take jobs if bus transit was more available and cost efficient.
  • Accessibility to jobs at coastside small merchants and farms for families that have one or no cars
  • Promotion and marketing (easy to take the bus instead of sitting in traffic) to out-of-town Visitors to drive tourism revenue
  • Realtor promotion of faster access to San Francisco connections to prospective home buyers

 

Mobility Equity

  • Greater access up and down the coast for senior citizens
  • Student access to schools, shortening or eliminating special school routes

 

Environmental Benefits

  • Reduce highway one road congestion 7 days a week, with proper economic development marketing
  • Reduces coastside carbon footprint by removing cars from the road

 

To comment:

Attend the Zoom meeting
Coastside Meeting (Pacifica, Montara, Moss Beach, Half Moon Bay)
Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Meeting Link: http://bit.ly/reimaginecoast
Call in Option: (669) 900-6833
Zoom Webinar ID: 990 1019 9651
Languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese

OR Send email to reimagine@samtrans.com

The following are the Coastside Reimagine Alternatives

Alternative 1 Key Changes – Direct, High-frequency Service within our County

  • Route 112 would be shortened to operate between Sharp Park and Serramonte. It would operate every 30 minutes on weekdays instead of hourly. Route 110 service would improve to every 30 minutes seven days a week.
  • Route 118 would run between Pacifica and Colma BART instead of continuing on to Daly City BART to be more reliable.
  • Route 294 would no longer serve College of San Mateo due to low ridership and would operate hourly during midday on weekdays instead of every two hours.

 

Alternative 2 Key Changes – Improved Connections to Rail and the Region

  • Route 112 would be shortened to operate between Sharp Park and Colma BART.
  • Two routes would serve the growing employment areas in Oyster Point.
  • Route 294 would no longer serve College of San Mateo due to low ridership, providing a faster trip for those traveling between the Bay and the Coastside.

 

Alternative 3 Key Changes – Retain Geographic Coverage

  • Route 112 would be deleted. Route 110 frequency would improve to every 30 minutes seven days a week. Riders wishing to travel to Serramonte or Colma BART would need to transfer.
  • Route 294 would improve midday weekday frequency to every 60 minutes, up from every 120 minutes.
  • A new on-demand service in Half Moon Bay would be implemented. A ride on a smaller vehicle, which could be reserved with a phone call or via an app, would provide service anywhere within the zone.

Organizations and Individuals who support the “Coastside Bus Corridor” Expansion of the SamTrans 118 express bus service from Half Moon Bay to Day City BART to run 7 days a week continuously from early morning to late evening:

  • Pacifica Climate Committee

 

To add you name to the list of supporters send email to ricknahass@coastcommute.org

Pacifica Voice Posted on April 3, 2021 by pv_adminusApril 3, 2021

LEARN and PARTICIPATE on PACIFICA’S HOUSING ELEMENT

PH4A invitation: Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 6:00 PM 7:30 PM.
Hosted by Let’s Talk About Housing, San Mateo, 21 Elements

21 Elements is an award-winning collaborative planning project that has been bringing together our unique communities to collaborate on housing policy since 2008. The effort is co-sponsored and coordinated by the San Mateo County Department of Housing (DOH) and the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG).

Join us! (Register Here) on April 14 at 6:00pm PST to learn about the Housing Element update – a once-in-a-decade chance to shape the future of housing in our communities.

The more people we hear from, the better our plans for the future of housing will reflect what is actually needed. Your voice—along with the voices of your neighbors, our workforce and our young people—are critical to ensure we have housing that meets all our needs. Join us to learn more about this process and how you can participate.

REGISTER

Pacifica Voice Posted on March 31, 2021 by pv_adminusMarch 31, 2021

April 1 – Pacific Beach Coalition Earth Month kickoff with Jackie Speier, Josh Becker, Kevin Mullin & David Canepa

  • Click Here to Register for free
  • Click Here for Facebook Event Page

 

Pacifica Voice Posted on March 15, 2021 by pv_adminusMarch 15, 2021

Civil Rights Organizations Sue Pacifica Over RV Parking Ban

Lawsuit Condemns City’s Effort to Banish the Unhoused
For Immediate Release: MAR 15, 2021

Today, on behalf of five Pacifica residents who reside in RVs, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, Disability Rights Advocates, and the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County filed a class action lawsuit against the city to strike down a law that bans RV parking within city limits.

READ MORE…

Pacifica Voice Posted on January 23, 2021 by pv_adminusJanuary 23, 2021

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.pacificavoice.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Press-Release_BLMDC-01_22_21.pdf” title=”Press Release_BLMDC 01_22_21″]

Virtual Chocolate Tasting Registration Closes Jan 22

Pacifica Voice Posted on January 12, 2021 by pv_adminusJanuary 12, 2021

. REGISTER HERE .

. REGISTER HERE .

CPUP Sues Pacifica for Land Use Violations in Monterey Road Development

Pacifica Voice Posted on December 23, 2020 by pv_adminusDecember 23, 2020

Pacificans Sue the City of Pacifica Over Violation of CEQA and California’s Planning and Land Use Laws.
Coalition of Pacificans for an Updated Plan and Responsible Planning (CPUP)

Note: See Pacifica Voice August 2020 Edition for the original article on “A LETTER ON DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Author Summer Lee” 

Pacifica, December 21st, 2020 — Kristin Cramer and the Coalition of Pacificans for an Updated Plan and Responsible Planning (CPUP)* filed litigation today against the City of Pacifica to force the City’s compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California’s Planning and Land Use Laws regarding the proposed Vista Mar development on Monterey Road. The plaintiffs are represented by the Law Offices of Brian Gaffney APC in conjunction with Lozeau | Drury LLP.

The development consists of 8 luxury condominiums on a 1.2 acre property with a 52% slope and a history of landslides. The project would require clearing 57 trees, paving over a probable wetland, and excavating 6,453 cubic yards of soil. At City Planning and City Council meetings, neighbors voiced concerns about environmental degradation, as well as increased risks of landslides and erosion on a hillside that already struggles with flooding on an annual basis.

Four experts from the fields of biology, hydrology, air quality and geology supplied testimony that provided substantial evidence of environmental consequences that are not adequately mitigated. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), such expert testimony requires an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to be performed before development can occur. Despite these laws, the City Council voted to approve the project at the appeal hearing on November 23rd.

“We are community members on a journey of unfortunate discovery. In the beginning we thought the City didn’t understand the problems of the Vista Mar project. We went to great lengths to research and present the technical problems with the site and to our surprise were faced with a City that wasn’t listening and was using a type-written document from 1980 to base its decision-making. We banded together with our collective resources to support what is our last-resort — a legal remedy to compel the city to keep its citizens safe,” said Summer Lee, an artist, who is co-founder of CPUP.

The lawsuit will also focus on the City’s failure to comply with their General Plan, which has not been comprehensively updated since 1980, making Pacifica’s one of the oldest in the state. The General Plan is the set of documents that detail the guiding standards on which a city must base its land use and development decisions. The lawsuit contends that as it stands, the document is legally inadequate, fatally out of date, and internally inconsistent. For example, the Safety Element of the General Plan was altered in 1983, after an El Niño event resulted in over 475 landslides in Pacifica, large-scale evacuations and the unfortunate loss of life. Despite this, the city’s landslide and erosion maps have not been updated to include the City’s most common type of landslide (“debris-flow” slides), which have been recorded on the Vista Mar property. Additionally, the Vista Mar project is inconsistent with numerous General Plan policies which promote protection of significant trees, creeks and riparian habitats, prohibit development on slopes over 40%, maintain natural open space between areas of development, and discourage mass grading and terracing.

“It is shocking to find that the City has not updated its General Plan Safety Element given the technical information in the reports that they themselves commissioned. We are genuinely concerned with neighborhood safety given the history of landslides and flooding on this hillside and we do not have adequate scientific information on which to base the planning review of the project. The 1980 General Plan calls for thorough geotechnical investigations and somehow the City has allowed the project to rely on only two shallow soil borings, neither of which were done where the buildings are proposed,” said Christine Boles, a neighbor and licensed architect.

In reaction to the events of the Vista Mar project approval, CPUP, an unincorporated organization, was formed to address a wider pattern of similar decision-making throughout the City. CPUP believes this state of affairs is enabled by a General Plan that has not been brought up to date to consider the current state of scientific data and the city’s infrastructure, and asserts that until the General Plan is updated, all other development that raises the same issues in regard to the General Plan should be put on hold.

*CPUP is a project of Pacifica’s Environmental Family, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports environmental stewardship and education in the City of Pacifica. For more information, go to www.CPUP.org

SMC Library Nature Journaling and Gifts

Pacifica Voice Posted on November 8, 2020 by pv_adminusNovember 8, 2020

SMC Libraries November Update
Author Paula Teixeria

Nature Journaling TUESDAY Nov 10th
REGISTER HERE

Deepen your experience in nature with nature journaling. Watercolor Nature Journal teacher Kristin Meuser loves sharing her love and connection to nature with others by giving workshops to participants of all levels with step-by-step guidance in the process of creating a memory of one’s time in the natural world. The emphasis of her workshops is on developing the ability to “see” through skill-building exercises including color mixing and matching and unique exercises that de-mystify the art and science of drawing, painting and writing. Kristin will give an introduction to her method of creating a journal page as well as a live demonstration. If you would like to follow along – bring your watercolors, a light blue pencil, a graphite pencil and paper or your journal. REGISTER HERE


Holiday Food and Gifts We are working with the San Mateo County Food Preservers too – We are making Holiday Food Gifts on THURSDAY Nov 12th
REGISTER HERE

Looking for tasty, easy DIY holiday gift ideas? Join San Mateo County Master Food Preservers for this fun and fast-paced “Holiday Gifts from the Kitchen” workshop. You’ll learn a variety of home food preservation techniques and we’ll show you how to put them to use with some simple recipes that will make unique holiday gifts. You’ll get plenty of recipes and ideas for making your gifts beautiful – as well as delicious! REGISTER HERE


We continue to add to our curbside services by offering  walk up service now. At Sharp Park you ring the doorbell and staff will be able to help you with your library needs. At Sanchez you can walk up to the front door and talk with staff. We ask that everyone is wearing a mask.  At curbside we are offering “Grab and Go Book” Just pick up a bundle of kids books, they are already checked out.  A few libraries are also offering bikes and sewing machines to check out.

Curbside Services | San Mateo County Libraries

It’s now easier than ever to pick up items and get access to our collection of books, movies, music, and more! Walk-Up Services. You’re invited to walk up anytime during Curbside Pickup hours and speak with a staff member to arrange a pickup of holds or a curated range of other items from our collection, including preselected book bundles, sewing machines. Select https://smcl.org/curbsideservices/

Please Follow SMC Libraries (@smclibraries) on:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Post navigation

1 2 >>
© 2022 Pacifica Voice, All Rights Reserved, Pacifica California USA - Email PacificaVoice All rights are reserved by Pacifica Voice. Content may not be copied, reproduced, transmitted, distributed, downloaded or transferred in any form or by any means without the Pacifica Voice editor’s prior written consent, and with express attribution to Pacifica Voice. This website DOES NOT track your web activity and DOES NOT use cookies Privacy Policy
↑
X