RAMMB Update Email Sent to Caltrans Right of Way Project Manager–We need to be concerned:
Larry De Young 8:43 AM (0 minutes ago)
Mr. Jas Singh
Project Manager, Division of Right of Way
Caltrans District 4
Dear Mr. Singh,
Thanks for your call today. I would like to summarize our discussion in bullet points. Please let me know if I got anything wrong regarding your side of the discussion or your understanding of my side:
CALTRANS
Fuel cleanup on the ground will be focused on residential neighborhoods; at this time, there is no plan to clean up the entire 100-acre ROW.
Caltrans is waiting for a report from the fire marshal to determine the extent of the tree-clearing work that needs to be done.
There are environmental considerations that may stop Caltrans from removing trees and underbrush.
It is doubtful that your district has the budget to cover the entire scope of work that needs to be performed.
Caltrans is not prepared to divulge the name(s) of CalFire people working with Caltrans.
Caltrans may or may not provide a copy of the fire marshal’s report.
Caltrans does not have a timeline for this project.
Jeneane Crawford is our primary contact for this project.
RAMMB
We do not want to see the San Mateo County Midcoast becoming the next Pacific Palisades or Lahaina.
We want to know the exact areas of the intended ground fuel mitigation phase.
Governor Newsom has rescinded CEQA and Coastal Commission Review of fire mitigation projects. How does that affect the environmentally sensitive area restrictions you cited?
We need to build trust, and what you told me was inconsistent with what Jeneane told us. Specifically, in her March 14, 2025 email to me, she stated: “Second, our Property Management team is preparing a vegetation management plan to share with CalFire for their review. Like you, their primary concern is the safety of structures located within 100 feet of any trees. We anticipate completing the report by mid-April. Once the plan is reviewed and approved, we can proceed with the necessary actions based on the recommendations.” This is inconsistent with our conversation where you said you were waiting for a report from CalFire Fire Marshals before making a plan, and Caltrans had no timeline for the project.
The 100-foot defensible space is not enough. The ROW was not a fire hazard before Caltrans’s acquisition, and we do not want to be concerned about defending against any fire hazard in the ROW.
We want Caltrans to commit to making the ROW fire safe (not just 100 feet of defensible space), all plans to be transparent, and RAMMB to have a seat at the table.
Mr. Singh, the State of California cannot shift the responsibility of fire safety to private homeowners in Montara and Moss Beach before it takes responsibility for clearing the State-caused fire hazard. At a time when the State will require homeowners to spend 10s of thousands of dollars to comply with the Zone 0 initiative, we will not tolerate the state hiding behind limited funds as an excuse for delay or inaction. I hope we can sort this out together.
Here is a link to our slide presentation. It is best viewed using Google Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1V8TRcIe5u-4EK3o3RbeizrsRdUECk5vAkYKYaPNfNSM/edit?usp=sharing
