Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to Hold Workshop on Future Uses for Driscoll Ranch Event Center

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board of Directors will hold a public workshop on Tuesday, September 10 from 4-6pm at Elkus Ranch Conference Center located at 1500 Purisima Creek Road in Half Moon Bay. The purpose of the workshop is to discuss pre-existing uses and potential future uses of the Driscoll Ranch Event Center. Riparian buffers for San Gregorio Creek, which flows through the property, will also be discussed. The 11-acre Event Center property is located adjacent to the 5,760-acre La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve and along Highway 84 in La Honda.

The Event Center property is not owned by Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (District), nor does the District have any management control or responsibility at this time.  However, the District’s Board of Directors are currently considering the possibility of entering into a Lease and Management Agreement with the current landowner, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), who purchased the property in December 2012 from a private landowner.

Many members of the public have come forth to express their strong desire for continued access to this property and to stress the importance of the Event Center to the coastal ranching and equestrian community.  

Ahead of making a decision on whether to enter into a lease and management agreement, the District’s Board of Directors have asked staff to gather additional information about pre-existing uses that have occurred at the Event Center to learn more about its history and its role on the San Mateo Coast.  At this workshop, the Board will review all of the different types of uses that have occurred on the property and consider which uses the District may reasonably permit given the District’s mission and current staff and management capacity should the District decide to pursue management responsibility of this property.  

The public is invited to attend, and the District encourages participation and asks for RSVPs to driscoll@openspace.org. An agenda and more information can be found athttp://www.openspace.org/plans_projects/driscoll_ranch.asp or by calling Mike Williams at650-691-1200