Private property owner dreams systematically mangled, Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay Review/Ester Hahn, 5/21/15. "Wavecrest property violates city, county codes. Improper use draws criticism, hefty fines." 

450 Wavecrest Road

.... "The address has brought public interest in the past while under the ownership of Don Heinz, a founding member of the Half Moon Bay Open Space Trust and a former member of the city's Planning Commission. “I bought that property in 1980 or ’81, and I was going to put up a barn and farm,” Heinz said in a phone interview from his current home in Massachusetts. “The city stopped that and wanted to put it into eminent domain.”

Local voters thwarted plans to develop the land in 1995, and a consequential Environmental Impact Report effectively limited the area’s development by private landowners, as well. In 2007, the city forced Heinz to vacate his land after he attempted to live there without sewage. He also violated zoning codes by allegedly repairing automobiles on the property zoned for agriculture.

Heinz leased out the land to Steve Melo and his local landscaping business. Melo recently purchased the land in November 2014, according to Heinz, although public records show that the land was purchased by a limited liability company. Heinz claimed that Melo used the land to store broken down vehicles since the lease began.  .... Environmental Health issued a notice of violation to the property owner on April 2, for violating state hazardous materials storage and disposal regulations.  .... Environmental Health officials say they believe that the property owner is addressing the violations and that the issues will be resolved in the next few weeks."  Read article.

Next door, 460 Wavecrest Road

Reference, 450 Wavecrest Road, Half Moon Bay.  Sphinxaur.com, Heinz Auto Service map (Between Highway 1 and the Pacific Ocean, Half Moon Bay south, across the street from Wavecrest Open Space.  Google, street view.  Spokeo, property value $80,000.

Related article - Coastsider 8/16/07, "POST is buying Wavecrest." "Wavecrest has been planned for development since 1947, but the current era began in 1995 [timeline] and picked up steam when the school district decided to build a new middle school on the site. The site was the center of wrangling between pro-development and slow-growth forces until November 2005, when the district finally acknowledged that it couldn't afford to build there. However, the real blow to Wavecrest came a year earlier in August 2004 when the site was determined by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to be California red-legged frog habitat. The project became mired in the federal endangered species habitat process. It became clear that the site was a long way from being developable, regardless of what happened in Half Moon Bay." 

Related land area description - Realtor.com,"Off of Wavecrest." Property details, 1.5 acres, $105,000. Beautiful parcel of land near protected open space land closeby Wavecrest. The parcel may not be buildable at this time. Contact Half Moon Bay Building Department regarding use and variances. The land is level with some trees. This maybe the perfect place to fly a kite or picnic. Enjoy walking and hiking trails that are nearby in the Wavecrest area that Peninsula Open Space Trust cares for. The fresh ocean air lifts your senses while the scenery is breath taking. Seller financing is available."

Note photographs. 450 Wavecrest Road by Dean Coppola from the Half Moon Bay article. 460 Wavecrest Road, face page to Walk Score.

Posted by Kathy Meeh