Letter From Half Moon Bay California Mayor Adam Eisen - August 4, 2020

Press release from the City of Half Moon Bay California:

August 4, 2020

Dear Half Moon Bay Community (Para ver esta carta en español, oprime aquí),

Another week, and more changes in how we are, as a community, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for your flexibility and patience as the regulations keep changing. I know it’s difficult for all of us, particularly the businesses directly affected.

COVID-19 Update:As you no doubt know, last week San Mateo County was added to the State’s monitoring list. We sent out a special enews on August 1, which I hope you saw. If not, I’d like to recap the renewed closures that affect businesses within our City.

Due to being on the monitoring list for more than three days, specific indoor businesses throughout San Mateo County must cease operations, unless they can be modified to operate outside or by pick-up. As of 12:01 a.m. last Sunday, the State’s order to close or move outside applies to the following businesses:

• Gyms and fitness centers
• Places of worship and cultural ceremonies, like weddings and funerals
• Offices for non-critical infrastructure sectors
• Personal care services, like nail salons and body waxing
• Hair salons and barbershops
• Shopping malls

Shops that offer tattoos, piercings, and electrolysis may not be operated outdoors (nor indoors) and must therefore close.

Unfortunately, the State has not offered information about when restrictions might be lifted, so we will all have to continue following the current guidelines until further notice.

I encourage local businesses to visit the state’s website at www.covid19.ca.gov for industry guidance, and additional information may be found on the state’s COVID-19 roadmap web page. Information about the County of San Mateo’s response to COVID-19 is at www.smcgov.org.

Sustainability Update - Half Moon Bay on EPA’s “Green Power Community Top 100” Lists:The Earth Year theme for August is Energy - and we’re very excited to let you know some great news about the City’s and the community’s ongoing efforts to increase green energy usage. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted their newest Green Power Community top 100 lists and Half Moon Bay made the cut! We ranked at #71 for total annual green power usage at 12,218,561 kWh, and #38 for percentage of green power at 21.8%.

A big thank you and congratulations to all our residents and business who are committed to helping our community achieve our clean energy goals!

We’re able to achieve this in large part because all Half Moon Bay energy customers have access to cleaner energy from Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE). As you know, everyone is automatically enrolled in PCE’s EcoPlus service, which generates energy from 50% renewable sources. If you’re interested in going even further, PCE can provide you with an even cleaner energy option at their Eco100 tier, which generates energy from 100% renewable sources. All of our City facilities have “opted-up” to the Eco 100 tier. If you want your home to be powered with 100% renewable sources, you can expect an average household to spend $4 - $5 more per month to gain that level of green power. Click here to learn more, and consider joining the City in "opting-up" to receive cleaner energy! And, for other ways to track and save energy, see our Earth Year web page.

PG&E Launches New Financial Assistance Pilot for Eligible Customers Installing Home Battery Storage Systems: Also under the Sustainability and Earth Year/Energy banner, I wanted to share this information about a new PG&E pilot program to support vulnerable customers who live in high-fire threat areas or have been impacted by Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

It’s a financial assistance pilot program for residential customers installing home battery storage systems through the statewide Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). Approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on July 16, 2020, the new pilot for the existing SGIP program allows eligible customers to install the technology at no cost to them.

Through SGIP, PG&E provides financial incentives for customers installing new, qualifying equipment for generating and storing energy for their homes. Typically, a customer who applies for SGIP receives the rebate once the project is complete, which requires the customer to pay the upfront costs for the project. This new program ensures eligible customers do not pay any costs for buying and installing a home battery storage system. PG&E is now accepting SGIP applications on a first-come, first-serve basis. PG&E customers can learn more at pge.com/batterypsps.

Library Update - ESL Class, Language Learning Resource, and Naturalization Test Prep Service:Here’s some information I thought many of you would find useful - San Mateo County Libraries has launched a new online ESL Class for Beginners (Clase de ESL Para Principiantes). It’s a free 6-week series with coaching from a formal instructor. ¡Comienze a aprender inglés en esta clase gratuita en línea! Please note that you need to register in advance.

They also have a new language-learning eResourceswith courses in 163 languages. This great new resource provides translations, interfaces, audio lessons, narrators, and virtual coaches to help you learn any language more easily. Additionally, the Libraries have another new online servicethat can help learners prepare for the civics, reading, and writing portions of the Naturalization Test in either English or Español.

Local Coastal Land Use Plan Update - Planning Commission Study Session on Final Draft LCLUP:The Half Moon Bay Planning Commission will hold another online study session on the final draft of the Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LUP) update. I encourage you to join the Commission online for this important study session:

When: Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Time: 6:00 PM (please note: meeting starts 1 hour earlier than usual)

The link to join the online study session will be posted soon at the PlanHMB web page, where you can also see the Chapters of the Draft LUP and other information.

The Study Session will include:

• Summary of the final draft LUP, highlighting major changes made to all chapters of the 2018-19 draft
• Opportunity for public comment
• Planning Commission discussion and direction
• Review of next steps

Comments can be emailed to: planhmb@hmbcity.com

For more information, please contact Brittney Cozzolino, Associate Planner at bcozzolino@hmbcity.com or Jill Ekas, Community Development Director at jekas@hmbcity.com.

As always, feel free to email me with any comments or concerns. And be sure to stay informed by visiting theCity’s COVID-19 Daily Updates webpage, and our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Nextdoor feeds.

Together in partnership,

Adam Eisen

Mayor

This press release was produced by the City of Half Moon Bay California. The views expressed here are the author’s own.