Half Moon Bay: Housing urgent for farmworkers

“We’re facing our second emergency with these 19 families in a year’s time,” City Manager Matthew Chidester said. “If this project is delayed further, we’re going to be looking for another million dollars in a years’ time to keep these families housed, because there is not affordable housing available.”

The Stone Pine project aims to create 46 new units of affordable, very low-income housing for farmworkers and one manager’s unit. Twenty-eight ownership units will be funded by the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Grant, and the city and county — co-applicants for the development — are still looking for funding options for the other 16. The site, off State Route 92, was purchased by the city in 2020 to complete the corporation yard, but was not used for that purpose.

San Mateo County officials are currently trying to fund various temporary housing situations for the displaced farmworker families, removed from their living situations after farmworker Chunli Zhao killed seven co-workers and their families at two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms Jan. 23, 2023. In the wake of the shooting, probes uncovered squalid and unpermitted living situations for employees.

While the county has aimed to keep these families housed through a “hodgepodge” of hotels, Airbnbs and community support, funding for this endeavor will run dry in April, Assistant City Manager John Doughty warned.

After the Coastal Commission approved the emergency coastal development permit Dec. 11, an application for follow-up coastal development permit will be filed in the next 60 days and subject to a public hearing with the Planning Commission, Jill Ekas, Community Development director, said. The development team expects the project to come in front of the Planning Commission again by late spring of 2024.

Planning Commissioner David Gorn wanted to know if future farmworkers designated to be living in unsafe conditions will no longer be financially assisted by the county, which is currently evaluating farmworker housing.

“And when the county decides to declare there’s unsafe housing conditions for new families, the county’s not taking responsibility for finding housing for them, they’re just saying it’s the city’s problem?” he asked.

Doughty rejected the idea that the county would leave the city “in the lurch” to deal with the issue, reiterating throughout the presentation the county is committed to purchasing the Stone Pine property from the city by 2024 and taking on costs along with finding funding sources for temporary housing. The problems Half Moon Bay is dealing with are affecting workers and communities across the state, he added, and need to be addressed.

“Farmworker housing is a challenge is a problem for that state. It is a statewide critical issue,” Doughty said.

Neighbor concerns

The development team is continuing to manage project feedback, particularly from the nearby Cypress Cove townhome neighborhood, by holding four public meetings.

Concerns included potential traffic issues, which have been addressed through a traffic study and a proposal for westerly end flashing beacons, improved crosswalk areas and road restriping to create a compressed driving section. Noise concerns from a proposed basketball court on the 5-acre property were handled by removing the potential court altogether, Doughty said. Nearby resident Kristen O’Brien asked for awareness with large construction vehicles and bikes on the same road.

“We feel like we’ve worked really hard to be transparent with that neighborhood given their proximity to the project. Obviously that doesn’t mean they’re happy with everything they’re doing, but they can say we provided information on a timely basis and kept them aware of the process,” Chidester said.

The project will maintain a community garden for residents, a community park for the Half Moon Bay community, and open space, Doughty said. The units will each have two parking spaces and a storage shed.

Emergency status

To meet the standards for the emergency coastal development project, the proposal must establish an emergency is present, provide public comment forums and maintain consistency with local coastal programs, Ekas said. The city met public comment requirements through community meetings and as farmworker housing. The project was technically designated for agricultural land use and officials had worked to meet environmental and conservation corridor constraints, she added.

Ekas also emphasized that the housing crisis, particularly for low-income and very-low-income residents, is undoubtedly an ongoing emergency, which the shooting tragedy intensified.

“Without it, we would expect significantly intensified overcrowding and homelessness, which is a threat to life and health,” she said.

Doughty said that two interconnected emergencies were present: one, the shooting, subsequent displacement and discovery of unlivable housing conditions, and two, the potential that affected families and individuals could once again face homelessness.

“This is a continuation of the emergency that is discussed in the [Coastal Development Permit],” he said. “The fact that they were once faced with homelessness and placed in a hotel was one piece of this equation … we are now faced with the similar situation we were at the time of the shooting, which they are now facing homelessness once again and we are now trying to find a way to make sure that doesn’t occur.”