Half Moon Bay approves up to $300K for temporary farmworker housing

County officials are working together with the city of Half Moon Bay on the development, with the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approving an $11.5 million contract for construction work and allocating $6 million to buy and install the manufactured homes. 

Originally, the homes were designated to be finished by spring, but varying construction delays and “a variety of circumstances,” according to a staff report, have pushed that opening time back and necessitated additional funding. 

A total of $764,000 was raised in 2024 to ensure that the displaced farmworker households — in total, 40 individuals of all ages — remained housed, Community Services Manager Julissa Acosta said. Of that total, $300,000 was given from Half Moon Bay’s affordable housing fund and $464,000 was donated from philanthropic sources. 

As the delay for permanent housing continues, the city is looking to other philanthropic partners to fill the funding gap. Staff has a promising lead on a $100,000 grant from the Sobrato Foundation, Acosta said, and will hear back by the end of the month. 

In the interim, the city is hoping to spend no more than $150,000 on temporary housing, City Manager Matthew Chidester said, though the City Council approved up to $300,000 if other philanthropic resources are not secured. 

“We’re hopeful we can continue to provide housing and not displace any families again,” Acosta said. “Right now, they’re at risk of being homeless.” 

Once the families move into Stone Pine Cove, the city’s financial obligations to them will cease, Chidester said. 

“The whole purpose of this work that’s been done to keep them housed over the last two years has been in anticipation of getting them moved into Stone Pine Cove,” he said. “The community support to these families would not go beyond the opening.” 

Coastside Hope Executive Director Judith Guerrero emphasized the importance of the project and ensuring families have dignified housing while they wait for its opening. 

“There’s a lot of excitement,” she said. “What I will tell you, this is probably the only opportunity many of them are going to have to be homeowners in our community.”