Senior farmworker housing lease approved: Possibility of resident-driven ballot referendum in on project brewing in Half Moon Bay

Like the slew of public meetings that have been held in the four years since the project was introduced, discourse ensued on whether the five-story, 40-unit building at 555 Kelly Ave. designed to house senior coastside agricultural workers is appropriate for Half Moon Bay’s downtown. 

For Councilmember Robert Brownstone, offering safe, dignified housing for a vulnerable population is an asset to Half Moon Bay, he said. He acknowledged that the city’s residents have historically been anxious about change, but emphasized that the project’s scale was unlikely to become typical for the city. 

“At the end of the day, it is a strength of a community to take care of folks, and this is a beautifully designed and dignified community for seniors, who in this case happen to be farmworkers,” Brownstone said. 

But the two councilmembers that voted against the project, Mayor Debbie Ruddock and Councilmember Paul Nagengast, both broached concerns that the height and size of the development and the use of state density bonus credits to supersede local zoning regulations make it untenable for Half Moon Bay’s downtown. 

Ruddock, for her part, raised a bevy of misgivings around the development, from concerns that language in the lease agreement about who would reside in the apartments was vague to decisions around raising the height being made “outside of the view of the public.” 

“The process has been full of bullying, shaming, subterfuge, false accusations, project applicant delays and internal failure to manage for a better, more transparent and accountable process,” Ruddock said. 

As a result, she expressed support for a brewing effort to get a referendum on the November ballot allowing voters to decide whether it should proceed. The group Let Half Moon Bay Voters Decide is collecting signatures for the movement.

“What is the apparent antidote to this state of affairs? We have heard plenty from Mercy and the potential beneficiaries of the proposed project. Democracy and our deep tradition of resident engagement suggest to me the answer is to allow all the voters of Half Moon Bay to weigh in at the ballot box,” Ruddock said. 

At a prior meeting, the council did agree on some changes to the leasing agreement, including a stipulation that project financing should be finalized by Dec. 31, 2028, or the agreement could be terminated, with an option to extend that date.

Currently, Mercy Housing has obtained $20 million of the $43 million it says will be required to build the farmworker housing.