City of Half Moon Bay violated Coastal Act
Mark Noack
Half Moon Bay Review
11/10/2011
Actions taken by the city of Half Moon Bay in 2009 to clear out the Kehoe drainage ditch were a violation of the California Coastal Act, according to a San Mateo County Superior Court ruling released on Thursday afternoon.
The project to clear out vegetation from Kehoe ditch was a "knowing and intentional" violation, wrote Superior Court Judge Julie Conger. She noted, however, that the actual damage to the environment was not substantial.
The city will be fined $1,000 for each day of the violation, which the judge described as a minimal penalty. The total fine was not immediately clear.
Half Moon Bay resident and former Planning Commissioner James Benjamin filed the civil suit last year, alleging the city had damaged a sensitive habitat when it sent in workers to clear vegetation from the watershed.
The city maintains that nearby Kehoe residents had implored the city to take immediate action to clean out the drainage ditch to prevent flooding that was spilling into backyards. Plants and debris along the creek bed were reportedly creating a logjam.
