How Can We Keep the Homegrown Pump Track In East Mirada Open?

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MCC Meeting 1/8/2020 ~ Pump Track General Comment

Pump Track Example

Coastal Windage — “The talk of the Coast”

Friday morning at 9:00 AM on KHMB. 100.9 FM, AM 1710, and streaming live on KHMBradio.com. Podcasts of past shows also available at http://www.khmbradio.com/show-podcasts. Call in and let the County know what you want. Coastal Windage: www.KHMBradio.com/our-shows/coastal-windage. Call-in number: 650.560.9851.

Topic this week: The East Mirada/Quarry Park PUMP TRACK!

Update 1/9/2020

Pump track demo on a 3 week hold. 🐝😜

Supervisor Horsley will walk the track to understand what the heck is a pump track?!🤨🤙🐝

Stay Tuned!

~ Michelle Dragony

Please Mr., Don’t Destroy Our Pump Track!

Thanks Matthew Haugen, of Haugen Group, for the video of last night’s (1/8/2020) Midcoast Community Council meeting.

EG Pump Track // “You can’t ride here”

Dom Padua strikes again! What a fab vid on getting the Pump Track reprieve. 😜🥰😊🐝

EG Pump Track // “You can’t ride here” from Dom Padua on Vimeo.

Mavericks “A New Perspective” Video Series By Dom Padua

GCSD Parks and Recs Public Comment to MCC 1/8/2020.

Supervisor Don Horsley and Sam Mateo County Parks Director, Nick Caldone, were in attendance.

Problem / Solution

Problem: No local control.

Solution: Negotiate a use permit, maybe for a 2 year period as a pilot or until Master Plan is complete for Pump Track area of Mirada Surf East to GCSD (Granada Community Services District) Parks and Recs. We managed to successfully move the Jetty Skate Ramp from CalTrans to the GCSD property. CalTrans, MCC and GCSD worked in concert with each other to support this popular community recreation.

According to the last QP Master Plan draft we’ve seen, the Pump Track will become part of the larger QP Park plan that you are working on. GCSD has formed a Pump Track task force to help accelerate design and build a community volunteer group (they are now applying for non-profit status) to build and maintain it. GCSD has also offered to provide funding, and we have approached SMC Parks Foundation as well. If GCSD takes over the current track on a use permit GCSD will acquire insurance and safety signage for the Pump Track, as we did for the Skate Ramp.

Problem: Environmental impact.

Solution: This area has been a working area for the El Granada fire suppression project. There’s tons of eucalyptus branch and leaf fall. The Pump Track was built with hand tools, mindful of the environment. The County was going to use a bulldozer blade (see picture below) to remove the the Pump Track. I hope you see the irony. The County also said they did not have to pull a permit. That is hypocrisy. The same Neg Dec “less than significant” approach is used by other agencies on the Coastside, like for the EIRs for Grey Whale Cove, the Midcoast Crosswalks, and SFPUC Montara Mountain North Peak closure. That is just this year. There is no environmental impact at the Pump Track site.

Problem: The Pump Track was built without County permits.

Solution: Permit after-the-fact, via the use permit negotiation with GCSD. Keep it closed and in tact, until signage and insurance can be put in place by GCSD, as we did with the Skate Ramp.

Problem: Wetlands (see below map).

Solution: There are no wetlands at the Pump Track site. There is quite a bit of wetland at the west end of the Mirada Surf East. Santiago and Moro are on raised ground at the eastern tip of property. It is a eucalyptus grove.

Problem: Drainage.

Solution: The Pump Track is in a eucalyptus forest with lots of duff. The Pump Track (PT) Team design avoids puddling. The PT Team will maintain the area, working with the county who owns the western part of the Mirada Surf East property.

Problem: Liability.

Solution: Liability argument is false, as public agencies are immune from liability on recreational trail use. For the Jetty Skate Ramp GCSD’s lawyer and insurance company approved the liability sign. (text below)

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV&sectionNum=831.4

Problem: Trash and maintenance.

Solution: Team Pump Track removed six bags of garbage over the holidays. They have every motivation to maintain the track. GCSD Recreation can sponsor and promote regular site clean up days, and could explore placement of public trash cans as part of our Recology contract.

Problem: Kids are growing up faster than the county can respond to their recreation needs.

Solution: Let GCSD Parks and Recs take care of getting the current Pump Track permitted and maintained. They will also work with the GCSD Pump Track Task force to accelerate development of a permanent pump track in the most appropriate location in the park

Problem: Coastside communication with the County is not very good. I believe that later on tonight’s agenda is a hopeful presentation from a consultant on how to improve County to Coastside communication.

Solution: Let GCSD Parks and Recs communicate, respond and act locally.

Problem: Kids Health.

Solution: There is very little fun kids stuff to do on the coast. As 3% of the San Mateo County population, we get little attention, and poor communication. Kids outgrow the playgrounds at around 8 years old, and there is little for the 9-14 crowd to do unsupervised. The skate ramp and a pump track are fantastic fits for this key age group and both are low cost and low maintenance, and have an energetic group of local community volunteers, including the kids themselves!.

The Ask

Do not destroy the Pump Track. Keep in signed and closed, as we did the Jetty Skate Ramp.
Start a conversation over the above problem/solutions with the GCSD Parks and Recs Pump Track committee.
Put Pump Track on next MCC and GCSD agendas
Lease Pump Track to GCSD.
Allow GCSD to sign, insure and manage the Pump Track.

Not a Wetland

2014 Mirada East map created for mowing.

Map of Mirada Surf East – Mowing Site Visit – May 13, 2014 – DRAFT

Attendees: Lennie Roberts, Scott Lombardi, Kevin Scott, and Ramona Arechiga
This is a brief report will outline new mowing strategies for Mirada Surf East Park. New mowing
strategies will avoid sensitive wetland habitat areas occurring through portions of Mirada Surf East
based on Figure 3.8-1 from the 1998 Mirada Surf Residential Development Draft EIR and site visit.
Additionally the new mowing strategy will continue to maintain adequate fuel reductions to protect El
Granada Elementary School and access for CAL FIRE fire-fighting equipment on the fire road to the
south.

School Area: The fence line along the El Granada Elementary will continue to be treated for an adequate
fuel break. Approximately 30’ (or three flail-mower attachment widths) are allowed from the area
nearest the intersection of Columbus St. and Santiago Ave. to the toe slope to the west. The entire toe
slope will be mowed or string-cut to reduce fuel loads dependent on equipment limitations. Dead limbs
and trees (Monterey pine (Pinus radiata)) will be removed.

Meadow Area: The only meadow area to be cut is adjacent to the eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus)
stand approximately 200’ out to where wetland indicator plants begin to occur. The wetland indicator
plants such as bulrush (Bolboschoenus robustus) were used to delineate wetland boundaries in order to
inform mowing boundaries. Boundaries to the west and north were identified with Ranger Kevin Scott in
order to inform staff of new mowing strategy in this area. Additional fuel reductions concerning small
diameter eucalyptus removal may also occur so as to prevent eucalyptus encroachment on the meadow
area.

Fire Road: The access fire road will be maintained as a fuel break but special attention will be paid to the wetland indicator plants such as the coastal sedge (Carex obnupta) to minimize damage. The north side of the road will use the coastal sedge community as a boundary and on the southern side the drainage ditch will serve as a boundary. Dead material will be removed from Arroyo willows (Salix lasiolepis) adjacent to the road and live branches will only be trimmed as is necessary to provide clearance for standard CAL FIRE fire-fighting equipment. At the Monterey pine, where the Arroyo willow community ends, standard fuel reduction will be implemented to achieve a shaded fuel break.

***Prior to any shaded fuel break treatments Ramona Arechiga, SMC Parks Natural Resource Manager,
will survey the Arroyo willow community for Dusky woodrat nests and flag these areas and provide
appropriate buffers and precautions are taken.

PHOTO-ESSAY. Posted Tuesday, 11/7/2020.

San Mateo County Parks Director, Nick Calderon, came out to the coast to walk the pump track. Nick listened patiently to a few people, including, myself, ex-Midcoast Community Council person, Chris Johnson, (currentl

Displaying image.png — Taken from the CoastsideMTB Instagram page. Ordinance link http://smc-ca.elaws.us/code/coor_title3_ch3.68_sec3.68.080

y on the SMCo Dog Committee), biking parent Brad Holmes and local videographer Dom Padua.

We asked Nick if he could hold off demolishing the track today, so that we could show up at the MCC meeting (tomorrow 1/8/20) to demonstrate our love and community for the track to Supervisor Horsely, who is agendized for an item already.

Nick made a couple calls and it was agreed they would not demolish the track today.

At the meeting, we are asking that the county retroactively approve it, like GCSD did with the skate ramp.

Or lease this area to GCSD and we manage it like we do the skate ramp. (disclosure: I’m on the GCSD Parks and Recs Pump Track Committee).

It is in a great spot, and the design makes my old bones jealous. A community built pump track assures the pump track will always be maintained. We’d be doing the county a favor!

For now, the county has closed the pump track with signage and physical barriers, like logs across the path.

The county said they would be keeping an eye on the place.

We ask that you respect this request from them. They are, currently, providing an avenue of communication.

From GCSD Board Member Barbara Dye:

The first regular agenda item at Wednesday’s Midcoast Community Council meeting (1/8/2020, 7:00pm; Granada Community Services District, 504 Ave Alhambra, 3rd Floor, El Granada) is Don Horsley talking about planning for the Coastside, and a report from the County’s consultants about how the County can interact better with the Coastside.

I went to the last MCC meeting and asked MCC to encourage completion of the Quarry Park Master Plan, but it takes more than one person to get action. They properly did not respond to my request because it was not on the agenda.

I recently heard from a good source that even when the master plan is done the County will not be implementing anything in the plan for several years because of “deferred maintenance.” That means that there has been no progress and nothing will happen for several more years. I told the person that GCSD was willing to pay for and maintain a pump track, but the response was still negative.

So, if people care about this topic, they need to show up and speak tomorrow night on agenda item 4a.

Barbara Dye

Midcoast Community Council Agenda for 1/8/2020)

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.coastsidebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-01-08-MCC-agenda.pdf”]

Dear Mr. DelCarlo (SMCO Parks Lead Ranger),
I am writing to you in response to the removal of the grassroots community pump track in El Granada. I recognize it was not built following the extensive

permitting process required however I think the incredible community support should not be ignored. Something like this hand-created in less than two weeks with an impressive gathering of local families (young kids and their parents) shows how much we need a space like this for our families.

I am a local business professional with three kids at El Granada Elementary. Our children have used shovels and rakes alongside local families to help create a healthy fun space for us to gather. This following years of the community advocating for the development of a track like this.

We strongly support having a space for our children to work and grow something they love and believe in.

Thank you for your time,
Rhonda Figone
Mother/ Local Business Professional / advocate for heathy children and communities

I waited for hours at the track before the crews came and spoke to a dozen people, all who absolutely loved what these coastside families did with their kids over the holiday. (Build and play pictures and videos to come!). ~ Michelle Dragony