COMMITTEE TO SAVE FISH AND BOWL

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Originally CSFB was formed as a grassroots neighborhood group but eventually expanded to include supporters from other parts of town. The “Fish and Bowl”, so named due to parcels shaped like an inverted bowl and a fish, is the green corridor stretching from the Northern Dunes (now under protection of GGNRA) up to the Hwy 1 freeway. Due to geological and hydological features allowing for several wetland areas, it is a difficult to build on and has remained a now prized open space. This while the surrounding area was covered by residential sprawl. Due to a density swap years ago the 4.3 acre Bowl portion was up-zoned from (probably) agricultural to 'medium density residential' which allows for up to 10 units per acre, a much higher density than the surrounding neighborhood. This made the area very attractive to developers of high end multi-unit  housing. The first major project proposed, a 43 unit complex in the Bowl parcel, was stopped when the Coastal Commission refused to grant a Coastal Development Permit due to its proximity to wetlands. The developer N. Pacifica LLC had a penchants for ligation which led to a spate of law suits none of which were successful.

Not until 2015 did developers again turn their attention to the area. This time two local developers purchased the less than ½ acre southwest piece of the Bowl with its generous medium density zoning. They proposed four detached units with "green" appealing small floor plans with garden-top roofs (which the fire district later nixed). Knowing that any development there would be the proverbial "foot in the door" inviting other larger projects, CSFB 2.0 was formed. We appealed the Planning Commission's approval first to the City Council and then to the Coastal Commission on. The Coastal Commission found we did in fact raise 'substantive' issues and held up the project. But unfortunately the CC eventually approved an even less appealing redesign of a single large 3-story structure at the extreme the north end of their lot so as to allowed for a minimum buffer of a nearby wetland. It will probably require removal of the large iconic Monterey Cypress that can be seen from Palmetto Ave. The original approved permitted parcel was later sold to another developer who now has an application before the Planning Department.

In 2019 in addition to the apartment building a large well heeled corporation, Warmington Residential, began seeking approval to build a much larger 20 unit project in the Bowl itself. But to our advantage circumstances may have changed. The Coastal Commission seems now more inclined to discourage further problematic development in the coastal zone now that sea level rise driven erosion is threatening coastal communities up and down the coast - and especially Pacifica. Studies show that the entire area where both projects are sited is  in of danger of erosion in the years to come. Furthermore there is a ravine that is only 10 ft from Palmetto Avenue. With these two projects facing us we regrouped to form CSFB 2.1.