Dark Sky Fight, $70M Budget Hole and a Teen's Death Shape Coastside Agenda

The Midcoast Community Council's Feb. 11 meeting revealed a coastside community pulled in multiple directions at once — fighting to protect its night skies, bracing for deep county budget cuts, mourning a teenager killed on Highway 1 and scrambling to fill two empty council seats before it loses quorum. Supervisor Ray Mueller delivered a sweeping quarterly update that touched nearly every pressure point facing unincorporated San Mateo County's coast, from offshore oil drilling permits to collapsing telecom service.

• Council to push for darker skies ahead of March 24 Board of Supervisors hearing on new design review ordinance, challenging county staff's preferred lighting standard

• County faces ~$70M budget shortfall after state claws back vehicle license fee revenue, threatening homelessness services, affordable housing and Highway 1 improvements

• Model e-bike and e-motorcycle ordinance in development across all jurisdictions following the death of a 16-year-old rider on Highway 1

• Residents urge Cypress Point senior housing designation, citing data that 63% of county residents below the poverty line are 55 and older

• Over 700 PG&E hardening projects improve coastside resilience, but north El Granada still lost power for days during recent windstorms

• Offshore oil drilling permits scheduled for 2027 include San Mateo County's coastline; county building legal record

• Two vacant council seats to be filled by appointment; decision-tree process approved unanimously