Do You Think Princeton-by-the-Sea Needs Improvement?

San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley thinks the Princeton neighborhood needs some “tender loving care.” 

In an opinion piece posted on the Half Moon Bay Review, Horsley lays out the collaborative effort to map out a future for this area. He and other county officials want to update the land use plan in order to improve the Princeton neighborhood. The project, called Plan Princeton, will focus on the area west of and including Highway 1, between Pillar Point Harbor and Moss Beach.

The effort represents the county’s intent to create a program that will help the community achieve its vision for everything from positive development and coastal access enhancement to a more dependable infrastructure, writes Horsley.

“It’s a fascinating conglomeration of homes, storage areas, marina-type businesses and even some eccentric oddities that are a bit difficult to describe. … No one wants Princeton to become a miniature Marina del Rey. That is not our goal. I’m not hoping to reinvent Princeton and create something completely different. Instead, I believe that together we will be able to help Princeton evolve into a more vibrant and dynamic mixed-use neighborhood,” writes Horsley in the Review article.

Horsley encourages everyone with a personal or professional interest in Princeton-by-the-Sea to attend a meeting Thursday, Sept. 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Oceano Hotel and Spa at 280 Capistrano Road in Princeton.

“We sincerely want to hear your views,” he writes in the Review article. “ … I’m looking forward to helping bring a vision of a more robust Princeton into focus.”

A survey soliciting input from Coastside residents was sent out last month to help county officials shape the community's vision of the Princeton Planning Area and map out a "unified, successful future for this area" to ensure that future development reflects the expectations of local residents.

Questions such as “How important would each of the following types of improvements be to enhance coastal access and general circulation in the Princeton area?” and “What is the most important thing that should be done to improve Princeton?” were asked in the survey. 

The survey also asked residents to indicate their level of support for the following types of development in the Princeton waterfront/industrial area: restaurants, shops and amenities, industrial and/or warehouse uses, office uses, and fishing, boating, and marine research uses. 

You can visit the Plan Princeton website and take the online survey. 

What do you think the priority should be for Princeton’s future? To promote business development and employment growth and tourism, enhance harbor-related activities, make the community more attractive and appealing, preserve environmental resources and open space, offer better coastal access with biking and hiking trails, spruce up the streetscape or just keep it the way it is?

The working harbor community uses the land for boat storage and repair, fishing equipment, and parts sales. The area also provides low-cost housing. Still, some may want to see streetscape improvements, including sidewalks, street trees, landscape strips, pedestrian amenities, and on-street parking as noted in the survey.

Tell your neighbors if you think Princeton needs improvement in the comments section below and if so, how?