3 Half Moon Bay farmworker homes delivered

By June, those families — currently living in temporary housing paid for by the city of Half Moon Bay — will be able to move into permanent, long-term houses. Forty-six homes will be available for farmworkers and their families, and one will be allocated for an on-property manager. 

Mueller lauded the upcoming completion of the project as a successful example of government partnership. The county provided $11.5 million for construction work and allocated $6 million to buy and install the manufactured homes, and financial support from the state’s Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant will help families eventually own their homes. 

“This really is a celebratory moment for the entire community,” Mueller said. “It’s an example of the state, county and city of Half Moon Bay coming together and reaching a solution that’s compassionate, that strengthens our agricultural economy.” 

The first three homes, which come fully manufactured from Santa Cruz, will be put in place to ensure the rest can be safely established on the property, Mueller said. 

While the Stone Pine housing development has faced delays — original move-in dates were estimated for March or April — the project is still on a quicker turnaround timeline than many housing projects in the area. 

But the work of the county to help provide adequate housing and living conditions for farmworkers is far from finished, Mueller said. He plans to introduce a proposal to offer a $2 million loan program for rehabbing and redeveloping existing farmworker housing in San Mateo County within the next month. 

“While it’s a tremendous accomplishment to build a neighborhood this quickly, there are many of those who won’t be served by these homes,” Mueller said.

The upcoming proposal is meant to include existing farmers, ranchers and housing developers in plans to better farmworker housing countywide.

“In these tough economic times, if they can get ahold of these types of loans, they can use them to improve living conditions,” Mueller said. 

Recent actions from the Trump administration and federal government — including threats of mass deportation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids — have created fear in immigrant communities across the country, including in Half Moon Bay. Given that virulent political landscape, it’s more important than ever for local governments to support the essential work of local immigrant communities, Mueller said. 

“When there’s so much frightening rhetoric … this tells farmworkers we value them, we appreciate them, and we need them as an important and diverse part of our community,” he said.