Half Moon Bay slowly moving forward with farmworker housing 

Since then, housing and farmworker advocates — and at one point, Gov. Gavin Newsom — have asked that the development move forward, citing a dire and obvious need for more farmworker housing, even as some residents voice anger and frustration that the project’s scope may cause traffic and safety problems downtown. 

Mercy Housing has made some changes to the project since it was last publicly debated in the summer of 2024, when the Planning Commission reluctantly approved the project and the City Council rejected three appeals to it moving forward. 

The affordable housing developer previously took off a half-story of height — now, one part of the building is four stories, and another five — and, at a special City Council meeting Oct. 16, announced that a planned farmworker resource center on the first floor of the building would be changed to a community resource center. 

“We developed a more flexible plan for the ground floor, to better support community needs,” Mercy Associate Director Kelly Hollywood said. 

The plan would also decrease the number of two-bedroom units at the development and  formally prioritize Half Moon Bay senior farmworkers for residency at 555 Kelly — a previous point of contention among residents concerned that nonresidents would take up the housing — with secondary preference for coastside farmworkers and last preference for San Mateo County farmworkers. 

But still, concerns around the amount of parking — 18 spaces on-site and 28 more available at the adjacent Ted Adcock Center — took up the lion’s share of public comment and City Council debate. 

Given the fact that a completed traffic study found little material impact from the new development, particularly because seniors are less likely to drive, and because of the project’s important purpose, Councilmember Deborah Penrose said plainly that she wasn’t buying it. 

“I can’t buy this argument as something that will stop a necessary project for so many people that deserve it,” she said. “We’re not talking about people who are going to abuse our city. They are our city. Their needs are the same as yours are. They want parking spots as well.” 

Even though the City Council agreed that the city and Mercy Housing could move forward on drafting a lease agreement on some of the development’s less-contentious points, like who would reside in the building, Penrose’s parking opinions were not shared by other councilmembers. 

The parking issue could potentially be a major problem in an already over trafficked downtown, Vice Mayor Debbie Ruddock argued, particularly with increased use from the community center, and the city should evaluate solutions — like potentially including spaces from the old post office building lot — before moving forward. 

“I think we have time to look at the parking, and I think we should,” she said. “I think it’s solvable with some creative thinking, but I think we need to do that.” 

Ruddock also asked for more information on the funding aspects of the $42 million project, including an operational budget and an analysis of how Trump administration tariffs and federal housing policy could impact the development’s economics. 

Currently, more than $21 million has been committed from federal, state and county sources, with an additional commitment of $13.5 million from the state-run Joe Serna farmworker housing grant program. Mercy Housing plans to apply for low-income housing tax credits during the upcoming cycle to pay for the remainder of the project, it said. 

Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, a Latino cultural arts and programming organization that is a co-applicant on the project, will run residential social services on the first floor of the building. It has also obtained independent federal grant funding for community resources at 555 Kelly. 

Dr. Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, founder and executive director of ALAS, offered an emotional plea during the meeting that councilmembers continue to commit to the mission of 555 Kelly — offering senior farmworkers a safe, justified place to live. 

“Putting all politics aside, I really want you to look at our farmworkers here tonight, to see their eyes, to see their hands, to see the hard labor they’ve toiled with,” she said. “They have dreams and hopes, just like all of us, and time and time again they shared with me their hopes to live in a warm, safe home here in Half Moon Bay, in a place they love.” 

That could include farmworkers like Ramon Sonoqui, who shared through a translator that he has worked in the fields for 40 years and now shares a home with his wife and adult children. 

“I would love to live at 555 Kelly, because there, I can spend my retirement in a home that is mine, give my children space to live their own lives, and feel I finally have dignified conditions,” he said. 

Still, some residents, like Jennifer Moore, argued that the project in its current iteration would be a traffic and safety hazard for many downtown residents, and solutions to those traffic problems were unclear. 

“I want what’s best for everyone — not just a small population, but everyone,” she said. “We need to know the truth of all of it. It’s just too many unanswered questions.” 

An updated lease agreement draft will be brought to the City Council at a later meeting, likely sometime in November. The future of the project at large, however, could potentially face another hurdle — a theoretically legal public referendum on the development. 

The city shot down a previous attempt by residents to send a vote on the project to voters, saying the issue upon which they’d petitioned was improper because it was an administrative action. A vote on the lease agreement, however, could be eligible for referendum, City Attorney Catherine Engberg said. 

“I am inclined to believe that it is legislative, and therefore referendable, given this would be the first time council would be making a policy decision about the use of this property,” she said.