• Water system extension: a 1.2-mile extension of the CSA-11 water system to Pescadero Middle/High School at 350-360 Butano Cutoff for potable water;
• New fire station: construction of a new 12,000-sq.ft. Pescadero Fire Station 59 on school property next to the school building; and
• Changes to existing fire station: following completion of the new fire station, partial demolition and remodel of the existing Pescadero Fire Station at 1200 Pescadero Creek Road to serve as an emergency backup facility.

Pescadero Middle/High School lacks safe drinking water and relies on bottled water. Pesticides have contaminated the school’s groundwater, which has elevated levels of nitrates and coliform.  

The existing Pescadero Fire Station 59 is located in a floodplain, regularly experiences flooding from Butano Creek, and as a result, has degraded conditions, including mold and plumbing backups inside the station. Seasonal flooding separates the station from the center of Pescadero, delaying incident response times to the east of Butano Creek.   

The Pescadero High School CSA-11 waterline extension is funded by a grant from the State Water Resources Control Board. 

The replacement fire station is funded by the County using Measure K (a half-cent, countywide sales tax passed by County voters in 2016. For more information on Measure K visit this website).

A Fire Station Steering Committee composed of local residents and stakeholders evaluated 13 potential locations for the new fire station, based on factors such as location, size, prime agricultural soils, flood zones, tsunami zones, and slope. Although all the sites considered had challenges, the sites located in tsunami or flood zones, or with steep slopes, were eliminated from further consideration.  

In 2016, the Steering Committee recommended the school site at 350-360 Butano Cutoff as the preferred location for the new fire station. 

Yes. A prior architect developed conceptual designs and programming for the fire station in 2023-24. The County partnered with InterEthnica to conduct two community meetings in spring 2024 (at Pescadero Middle/High School and at a Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council meeting) to gather input on the conceptual designs from residents and CalFire personnel. Community input was used to refine some features of the design, but did not alter the key features of the design, such as building size, layout, or placement.

A prior architect developed conceptual designs and programming for the fire station in 2023-24. The County identified specific challenges due to the rural location of the fire station that require specialized civil engineering expertise to keep the project on budget and schedule. Earlier this year, the County brought on a new architect, Perkins + Will to complete the design process. The switch to the new architect does not fundamentally change the project design or configuration, and will not delay the project’s progress. The project is still on schedule to begin construction as originally anticipated in Spring 2026.

No. The extension is solely designed to connect to the school and replacement fire station to the CSA-11 system. No additional connections are allowed through this project. Due to restrictions in the Local Coastal Program and limited water supplies in the CSA-11, the project would only achieve necessary approvals from the California Coastal Commission by limiting new connections to essential public facilities.

The project required a lengthy approvals process through numerous County departments and external agencies, and several public hearings. Key steps included: 

• Water modeling of school and fire station impacts on CSA-11  

• Environmental review under CEQA and wetland delineation study 

• Local Coastal Program amendments to allow for the two new connections 

• Coastal Development Permits, Resource Management permit, and use permit  

• Sphere of Influence amendment and annexation of the project site to CSA-11 boundaries 

• Grant from the State Water Resource Control Board for the design and construction of the waterline extension  

These analyses and approvals were all based on the project adding only two connections—the school and fire station. No additional service connections are allowable under the current approvals and permits. 

Additional system expansions to CSA-11 to private land uses would be difficult, costly, and unlikely to succeed. At a minimum, the following approvals would be needed: 

• Water modeling of impacts of additional users to the CSA-11 system 

• Design and engineering to identify waterline path and cost estimate 

• Environmental review 

• Amendments to the Local Coastal Program, and certification by the California Coastal Commission 

• Annexation of new properties to the CSA-11 boundaries, and if not already in the CSA-11 sphere of influence, a Sphere of Influence amendment, approved by the San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) 

• Coastal Development Permit, approved by the County Planning Commission and appealable to the Coastal Commission 

• Pescadero High School CSA-11 waterline extension: construction began in August 2025 and expected to be complete by March 2026 

• Replacement fire station: construction anticipated to begin in Spring 2026 and conclude in 2028. 

• Existing fire station: partial demolition and renovation will begin after completion of the new fire station. 

CSA-11, as operated by Department of Public Works, is responsible for maintaining CSA-11 infrastructure within the right of way and delivering water to CSA-11 customers. CSA-11 monitors and reports on water quality. Once the extension is complete, the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District will own and be responsible for maintaining the water distribution equipment located on school property, and ensuring proper maintenance, repair, and replacement.

No. The school and fire station will have separate water meters and each pay for their own water and their share of maintenance. The construction, maintenance, and operations cost of the extension is not paid by CSA-11 rate payers.  

Although CSA-11 water rates may be increased in the future, any future increases would be necessary even without this project. As in other water districts, water rates need to be increased periodically to cover the increasing costs of service and maintenance.