California sues Half Moon Bay over housing element compliance

Now, five of those cities — including Half Moon Bay — are being taken to court, with the state saying they’re over two and a half years behind in receiving certification.

The move is surprising and frustrating given that Half Moon Bay has been working with the Department of Housing and Community Development to get into compliance, City Manager Matthew Chidester said. He pushed back on being lumped in with cities that are refusing to complete their housing elements.

“We’ve been working with them and doing exactly what we all agreed to,” he said.

In a July 16 press release, Gov. Gavin Newsom called out Half Moon Bay alongside other California cities like Turlock, Ridgecrest, Calexico and Costa Mesa.

“California can’t solve the housing crisis while some cities sit on their hands and dare us to do something about it,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in the press release. “These five jurisdictions had every chance to follow the law and plan for their fair share of housing. They chose not to, so now they’ll answer for it in court.”

Per the legal complaint, the state is asking that a court declare Half Moon Bay substantially noncompliant with housing element law and mandate that it complete its rezoning in 120 days. It also asks for temporary relief including suspension of the city’s nonresidential permitting authority and “mandating the approval of certain residential developments.”

Chidester continually pointed to the city’s population growth cap, Measure D, and its unique location in the coastal zone — which means the city needs approval from the Coastal Commission, as well as HCD, to move forward — as unique barriers to fulfill the compliance requirements. Even with those challenges, the city is producing housing, he said.

“We have extenuating circumstances, because we’re in the coastal zone, because we have Measure D,” he said “I think what’s most important is production. We’ve produced 144 units of housing.”

Per a legal complaint filed by the California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Department of Housing and Community Development, a consultant for the city said that the rezoning and local coastal land use amendment required for the housing element would be completed by October 2026.

Chidester said, however, that the city was already planning to bring the rezoning to the City Council as early as Aug. 18, after which point it will go to the Coastal Commission and Half Moon Bay will not have authority over the timeline.

This isn’t the first time Measure D, the city’s housing element and its affordable housing production, raised questions within the community and the state. The Half Moon Bay Planning Commission debated the impacts of changing Measure D in 2024, and Newsom excoriated the city for failure to move forward with senior farmworker affordable housing that same year.

Locally, housing continues to be a topic of heated debate in the coastal city. Residents have been circulating a petition to issue a referendum against 555 Kelly Ave., the same housing project Newsom scolded the city for stalling. Voters will also decide on amending the Measure D maps this November.