Cypress Point Sewer Deal Squeaks Through 3-2 as Board Splits on Risk

The Montara Water and Sanitary District board on Feb. 5 approved a sewer main extension for the 71-unit Cypress Point affordable housing project after a marathon debate that exposed deep divisions over how much financial risk ratepayers should bear when a developer hands over new infrastructure. Separately, the board unanimously ratified a $35,000 emergency roof repair on an aging water tank and received word that $1.588 million in FEMA disaster funds have now flowed to the coastside through the district's books.

• 71-unit Cypress Point sewer extension approved 3-2 after staff and counsel beat back calls for a longer warranty and insurance bonding

• $35,000 Portola tank roof repair ratified unanimously after storm damage; longer-term fix still under study

• $1.588 million in FEMA funds channeled through MWSD to the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside for flood-zone electrical building relocation

• Caltrans provisionally approves ~$1.9 million for wildfire mitigation on the bypass — but no scope of work has been shared

• Mid-year budget tracking on target at 50% spent halfway through FY 2025-26

• Consent agenda passes 4-1 as board member challenges meeting minutes over leadership rotation question

Why it matters: The resolution clears one of the last infrastructure hurdles for MidPen Housing's Cypress Point , a 71-unit affordable housing development on Carlos Street — the largest new housing project the Montara district has processed in years. Once a one-year warranty period expires, the district's roughly 3,300 ratepayers will own and maintain a new gravity sewer main running from 16th Street up Carlos Street to the property line.