California urges Half Moon Bay to advance senior farmworker housing project

The city’s housing element was conditionally certified in February, City Manager Matthew Chidester said, and attributed that delay in final certification to zoning changes that will be sent to the California Coastal Commission for review. 

Now, however, the state is expressing concerns around the stalled 555 Kelly project, writing in an April 9 letter that delayed action or failure to approve the lease on the development could result in a violation of state housing law and “delay achieving a substantially compliant housing element.” 

“We should be proud to be doing the right thing and to stand up for farmworker communities, and be one of the first examples of a community that is building farmworker housing in our downtown urban area, and not hiding them out of sight,” Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, executive director of cultural nonprofit Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, said. “Instead, the state is watching us say no.” 

The development was introduced four years ago, ​​months before a deadly shooting at a mushroom farm in Half Moon Bay took the lives of seven farmworkers and a subsequent investigation revealed squalid and untenable farmworker living conditions in the area. 

Since then, ALAS, which is a partner on the proposed 40-unit project, housing advocates and even Gov. Gavin Newsom have voiced mounting frustration that 555 Kelly has yet to move forward. Currently, the city remains in negotiations with the developer, Mercy Housing, around the lease and affordable housing agreements. 

The purpose of the state’s letter was to share concern that without the 555 Kelly project, Half Moon Bay would not be able to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation, Chidester said.

He noted that even if the development doesn’t move forward, the city does not believe they would have to change its housing element, however, Half Moon Bay is not approaching the dialogue with the assumption that the project won’t go through. 

“We’re not approaching any of this with the assumption 555 Kelly won’t move forward. We don’t know until we move forward with the remainder of the process,” he said. “I can understand why people are frustrated. I think the challenge from the council perspective is, it’s a 99-year agreement, that’s the longest commitment the city will make for anything … the council is just being really, really prudent and careful.” 

The City Council is slated to have a special meeting April 28 when it will potentially take action on the lease and affordable housing agreements, Chidester said. 

Half Moon Bay Mayor Debbie Ruddock pushed back on the state’s approach to dealing with the city’s housing development. 

“The city is working hard on housing, and yet the state continues to try and make a negative example of us,” she said. “We feel like we’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got, and we’re committed to certification.” 

While it’s true that Half Moon Bay’s unique proximity to the coast and subsequent Coastal Commission requirements can cause slowdowns in other development areas, that’s not the case with 555 Kelly, said Jeremy Levine, Housing Leadership Council policy manager. 

“Multiple things are true,” he said. “The city needs to finish its rezoning. They do need to do that. It’s true … but in the strongest letter HCD has yet sent to a city I have seen, HCD is making clear that just zoning isn’t enough. Cities actually need to approve real housing for people who need it when it’s in front of them.” 

It’s long past time for 555 Kelly to move forward and support one of the city’s most vulnerable populations, Hernandez-Arriaga said. 

“This has been four years. How come it’s taking us this long, and why are we still in these holding patterns, and why are we still not making a decision to expedite this?” she said.