State wants Half Moon Bay to update its rules on housing growth

Measure D, originally passed by voters in 1999 and certified by the Coastal Commission in 2009, requires development certification to be allocated based on the city’s number of individuals per household. The measure imposes a 1% to 1.5% annual population growth limit in Half Moon Bay by allocating a limited number of new housing certificates, including for ADUs and junior accessory dwelling units. 

Not promising a future ballot initiative to eliminate Measure D means the state is unlikely to certify Half Moon Bay’s housing element, City Manager Matthew Chidester said. Cities without housing elements are vulnerable to builder’s remedy, which allows affordable housing developers to bypass local zoning and height limits on development. 

“HCD doesn’t have any right to command us to do anything,” Councilmember Deborah Penrose said. “I’m willing to take that risk.” 

Measure D has thus far escaped state requirements to eliminate ADUs and JADUs from growth management programs because of Half Moon Bay’s coastal proximity. The California Coastal Commission’s Local Coastal Program sets its own standards for land use and zoning in coastal areas, but these standards have incurred increasing tension with the state’s housing element standards, which mandate the amount of new housing each California city must plan for construction. 

Half Moon Bay has found itself in the crosshairs of that tension in recent years, with the Planning Commission debating the impacts of changing Measure D in 2024. It has faced other issues with its housing element, as well, with community members pushing back on the proposal of a church lot for affordable housing. 

Now, HCD is formally asking the city take action on eliminating Measure D, first through a Local Coastal Land Use Plan amendment that will shrink the number of allocations ADUs and JADUs require, which will require approval by the Coastal Commission. HCD is also asking that, by 2028, the city will propose a ballot measure that would allow residents to vote on eliminating the dwellings from the population growth measure entirely. 

Jeremy Levine, policy manager at the Housing Leadership Council, told councilmembers during public comment that it was the organization’s belief Measure D as a whole is out of compliance with state housing law and encouraged the city to make the necessary changes. 

“Measure D is a pretty strong constraint to housing,” he said. “We think that measure D is not enforceable under state housing law.” 

Without a valid housing element, Half Moon Bay will continue to stymie affordable housing development and also make itself vulnerable to construction of large-scale buildings that will be even less well-received by the community, former Mayor Joaquin Jimenez warned during public comment. 

“We are in a predicament,” he said. “Is Half Moon Bay ready to provide housing by 2031? We are waiting for housing for our community.” 

Still, councilmembers chafed at the state’s ballot measure request, with many viewing it as overstepping the role of local government. 

“I can’t comprehend why HCD is demanding us to put something on the ballot,” Councilmember Paul Nagengast said.