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The fire station that serves a narrow, flood-prone rural area of southern San Mateo County will be replaced, because after a 5-0 vote of the San Mateo County Supervisors, was approved to award a design contract for a new fire station at 350-360 Butano Cutoff, adjacent to Pescadero Middle and High School.
The project will replace the current Fire Station 59, located in a flood zone approximately 1.5 miles away.
“We are proud to invest in this historic project that will provide much more than a typical fire station,” said Supervisor Ray Mueller, whose District 3 includes much of the rural coast.
The new station, which could begin construction in mid-2025, will provide barracks and garages/bays for additional devices and amenities, as well as provide drinking water for students and staff at Pescadero Middle and High School.
In December 2023, the California Coastal Commission voted to allow the county to move the current station to the new site, thereby extending a water line to the new station.
It also resolves an ongoing public health issue that has vexed the Pescadero community for years: the commission's approval means fresh water can be delivered to Pescadero Middle and High School, where students and staff now depend. of bottled water due to contaminated wells.
County officials said the new station is much needed.
Flooding in Butano Creek near the current station may force emergency personnel to wade through rising waters to reach downtown Pescadero and residents further east. The current station suffers from mold, cramped quarters (nine people can live there during fire season), and heavy use since its construction in 1957.
Thus, the supervisors awarded the design contract worth $1,619,326 to PBK Architects, based in California.
The new station will be designed to "have a useful life of 75 years and take into account the fault near San Gregorio," according to the contract.
The County's Capital Improvement Plan through the Measure K half-cent local sales tax has allocated approximately $20 million to relocate the new station.
In September 2023, the Board approved a 99-year lease for the 1.75-acre site with the La Honda Pescadero Unified School District.
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