County Takes Aim for the Green at Sharp Park

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors teed up an opportunity to take a shot at the golf business Tuesday when they unanimously decided to begin negotiations for control of Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica.

Supervisors approved a proposal to enter into discussions regarding shared management of the course with the city and county of San Francisco, which currently owns and operates the links.

The 417-acre course located on the coast is unique for a variety of reasons. It is one of only two public golf courses in the county, and was designed by heralded golf architect Alister Mackenzie.

It is also home to the threatened red-legged frog and endangered San Francisco garter snake, and those inhabitants have been at the center of controversy.

Discussions about the future of Sharp Park will revolve around the best way to keep it functioning as a golf course while considering it as a habitat for the rare wildlife.

Board President Adrienne Tissier said she believed the focus of talks should be "how we can save the golf course, but make sure the endangered species can be taken care of."

Assistant County Manager David Holland said the idea is a reasonable expectation, but it may require redesigning portions of the course that interfere with some of the turf the frogs and snakes depend on.

Holland estimated such an effort could cost between $7 million to $10 million over the course of the coming years if the board approves moving forward with the restoration.

Tissier added that the approval granted Tuesday was not a binding agreement to control the course, but rather to begin preliminary discussions. She also noted that showing interest in the future of the course fell in line with the board's economic development targets, which included capitalizing on recreational activities.

Environmental advocates pleaded with supervisors to consider dedicating the golf course land as a wildlife preserve, but the board overruled that effort.

A decision by the board on another agenda item caused additional dismay to some in the audience.

Residents of the Stanford Weekend Acres community - an unincorporated region of the county near Portola Valley and Menlo Park - spoke out against the proposal by local property owner Ramin Shahidi to subdivide his parcel of land in the neighborhood and build two new homes.

Some community members accused Shahidi of being driven solely by the opportunity to sell the property, while resident Sidney Overland said she believed that the proposal flew in the face of the values and character of the local neighborhood.

But the board sided with Shahidi, who applied to build two separate 2,000 square-foot homes on his Bishop Lane property.

The most recent proposal by Shahidi is a significant reduction from his initial attempt to build a 7,000 square-foot home, which drew the ire of neighborhood residents and caused the county to re-draft its zoning regulations for the region.

As part of the new development, Shahidi has agreed to demolish an existing building on his property which hangs on the banks of San Francisquito Creek.

County administrators in the past had expressed concerns about the potential erosion threat posed by the structure, yet the county held no authority to have it removed without approving Shahidi's most recent proposal.

Supervisor Dave Pine reminded those present at the meeting that Shahidi maintains rights that must be recognized as a property owner, and said he appreciated the applicant's willingness to reconsider a more reasonable size and scope for his proposed development.

"The alternative may have been much worse," said Pine.

In other business, the board unanimously approved hiking garbage collection rates in some unincorporated areas of the county by 14.7% in 2012.

The new rate will cost customers $3.93 more per month for the collection of 32-gallon trash cans, according to a report generated by county staff.

The bump is necessary to cover increased costs new service provider Recology San Mateo has incurred due to changes in service, expense fluctuations in the market, worker compensation and equipment.

Public Works Director James Porter said the county's contract with Recology for trash, green waste and recycling collection service allows for rate adjustments in the first two years of the agreement.

But he said he expects the hikes to taper off over the course of the coming years.