Affordable housing for the community’s senior farmworkers will move forward, the Half Moon Bay City Council decided this week, rejecting efforts to delay the project.
Councilmembers listened to the arguments of applicants, appellants and the public for nearly three hours before deliberating, and eventually voted unanimously on Wednesday to back the project.
The January 2023 shooting in Half Moon Bay, where a farmworker allegedly shot and killed seven coworkers at Mountain Mushroom Farm revealed its substandard living conditions. The tragedy prompted the city to begin plans to develop affordable housing for its agricultural workers at 555 Kelly Ave. in the city’s downtown.
“Right after the horrendous shooting, light was flooded over the city of Half Moon Bay and brought the living conditions of the farmworkers into the open,” said Lilli Rey, president of the board of Ayuando Latinos A Soñar. The nonprofit provides resources and outreach to families and those in need in California’s coastal communities. They are going to provide services directly to residents of the 555 Kelly Ave. low-income housing in a Farmworker Resource Center.
Multiple appeals were filed raising concerns about the location, size of the building and the lack of a comprehensive parking plan in the project. Several members of the public also reiterated the same uncertainties during public comment.
“I have one issue with this project and that is how it has changed since you originally approved it. It’s changed from four stories to five stories,” said David Gorn, a member of the Half Moon Bay Planning Commission. “It’s changed from studio apartments to bigger apartments. When you change, you’re adding almost twice as many people as you originally approved.”
The project began as a four-story building with 40 studio apartment units. Developers then changed the units to a combination of 26 one-bedrooms, eight two-bedrooms and six studios while adding another floor.
Mercy Housing is leading the development of 555 Kelly Ave. They’re an organization that creates and manages low-income housing across the country.
Mercy made a compromise to community concern regarding the building height by reducing the floor-to-ceiling heights on each level so that the resulting building height increase is just five feet above four stories, said Ramie Dare, real estate director of Mercy Housing California.
Opponents of the project said that emotions were getting in the way and that the council should use logic to evaluate their decision and wait to ensure a more carefully planned project.
But there has also been pressure from above since California Governor Gavin Newsom harshly criticized Half Moon Bay for the lag in a statement released in May.
“This delay is egregious and jeopardizes the well-being of Californians. The state’s Housing Accountability Unit is reviewing the city’s actions and will take all necessary steps to hold Half Moon Bay accountable if the project does not move forward as state law requires,” Newsom said.
Urgency over parking woes
Councilmembers had mixed thoughts about the project during deliberations. Robert Brownstone and Harvey Rarback supported for the plan. Rarback had an issue with the limited parking spaces but suggested negotiating with Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church next door to the project site, which has a lot of parking spaces.
“If people are waiting for a comprehensive downtown parking solution, they’re going to be waiting for awhile and I don’t think this project can wait for awhile,” Rarback said.
Councilmember Deborah Penrose said she came to the meeting expecting to propose a motion rejecting the project and requesting to return the plan of the original four floors and 40 studio units. But hours of public comment and hearing the dire needs of this housing from the community led Penrose to move forward with the new plan.
“If people are waiting for a comprehensive downtown parking solution, they’re going to be waiting for awhile and I don’t think this project can wait for awhile.”
Councilmember Harvey Rarback
“I have to go with my heart and not my head,” Penrose said. “It may end up hurting a lot of people because of traffic conditions and parking conditions and the rest of the community’s needs. Then I’ve made a mistake. But I’m willing to make the mistake because it’s what my heart tells me to do.”
All councilmembers ultimately sided with the project’s supporters, demonstrating their priority to get senior farmworkers into improved housing instead of waiting longer to create a perfect plan.
“We can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” Rarback said.
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