18-Acre Farm in Half Moon Bay Protected

POST Protects 18-Acre Farm in Half Moon Bay

Historic farm to remain in family production

(Palo Alto, Calif.)—Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced today the purchase of an 18.53-acre property along Kelly Avenue west of Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay. The property is one of the last remaining farms operating within the city limits.

POST purchased the property for $3.95 million from a family trust. Dino and Terry Andreotti, long time farmers of the property, have signed an agreement to purchase the farmland from POST subject to an affirmative agricultural easement. In the near term, they will lease the property from POST, continue to operate their farmstand, and will be planting the fields for harvest this fall.

“The coast has a long history of agriculture but finding a farm within the Half Moon Bay City limits, like this one, is now very rare. This project allows a legacy of farming to continue not only for Andreotti family but for the community. This is exactly why we started our Farmland Futures Initiative–to ensure farming continues to be part of the coastal character and way of life.” said Walter. T. Moore, POST President.

The protections provided by the easement will ensure that the land will permanently remain in agricultural production. Without the protections provided by the POST purchase, this farmland likely would have been converted to luxury home sites. Combined, the agreements between the Andreottis and POST will also protect over 1,500 feet of Pilarcitos Creek.

“The Andreottis and this farm have been a cornerstone of this community for decades,” said Jo Chamberlain, Executive Director, Coastside Land Trust. “We are thrilled that POST has been able to protect this open space in the middle of Half Moon Bay as well as to keep this farm in production. It is important to the rural character of our town.”

Farmed by the Andreotti family since the 1920s, the property’s prime soils produce a wide variety of vegetables. Beans are still harvested using farm equipment from the 1930s and measured by a hanging scale from the Bay Area’s first farmers market.

“This land is why we are here. My goal in life is to keep this farm going and the legacy of my dad alive. It is my hope that it never leaves the family” said Dino Andreotti when asked what this land means to him. “Everything around here is getting built up, but we want to continue to tend this land the way we have been doing it all our lives. This farm isn’t just for us, it is for all of us to enjoy. If it wasn’t for POST this would never have happened,” added on Terry Andreotti.

Andreotti produce is available for purchase at the family’s farm stand at 329 Kelly Avenue. A favorite of beachgoers, it has operated for 50 years out of their barn built in the late 1800’s.  Their produce can also be found at farmer’s markets in Belmont, San Mateo, Montclair and Sunnyvale.

This purchase is part of POST’s Farmland Futures Initiative, which aims to protect half of the remaining farmland on the San Mateo Coast by 2030. Since the campaign launch in Spring 2015, over 178 acres have been protected and over  $1.1 million in infrastructure investments have been made on POST-protected farms to make coastal farms more viable in the future.

About the Peninsula Open Space Trust

POST is a leading private, nonprofit land trust that protects and cares for open space, farms and parkland in and around Silicon Valley. Since its founding in 1977, POST has been responsible for saving more than 75,500 acres as permanent open space and parkland in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. Visit openspacetrust.org for more information.