The Half Moon Bay City Council has voted to approve a ground lease with the developer of an affordable housing facility for older farmworkers, marking a major step in moving the years-long project forward.
Councilmembers Robert Brownstone, Patric Jonsson, and Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose voted in favor of the lease agreement while Mayor Debbie Ruddock and Councilmember Paul Nagengast opposed it after hours of public comment and discussion that stretched into the late night.
“I am ready to go ahead and approve this resolution tonight,” Penrose said as discussion began around 11 p.m. Tuesday. “I’m hoping that we can get through this in a timely manner, get it approved and get home and go to bed.”
The council approved a $1 annual lease for 99 years with Mercy Housing, the developer of a five-story, 40-unit affordable housing complex that will be located on city property at 535 and 555 Kelly Ave.
The project, which includes 100% affordable housing for older farmworkers and their families, has been in the works for more than four years. Community opposition and hesitation from some council members have factored into the project being stalled.
“We’re at that end of the assembly line,” Jonsson said at the meeting. “It’s gone through the Planning Commission. It has gone through an appeal. It’s gone through everything that can be done.”
In January 2023, a mass shooting shook Half Moon Bay when Chunli Zhao, a Chinese migrant farmworker who was 66 years old at the time, allegedly shot and killed seven fellow migrant farmworkers at two mushroom farms.
The shooting exposed the living conditions of the farmworkers, which Penrose described as “appalling” and “horrendous” at Tuesday’s meeting. The poor conditions sparked greater pressure to establish quality affordable housing for this population.
Project represents ‘dignity, respect, and hope’
Around 30 residents and farmworkers spoke during public comment, including Ramon Sonoqui, a retired field worker who rolled up to the microphone in a wheelchair.
“I have been working under the sun, rain and cold to bring food to your table today,” said a Spanish translator who read Sonoqui’s statement. “Many of us, after a whole life working, we don’t have real place where we can rest. This project is not only a construction, it is dignity, respect, and it is hope.”
The council also approved a grant agreement of $2 million for the project, secured by state Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park. Joan Dentler, a representative from Becker’s office, spoke during public comment before the vote on behalf of Becker.
“This was done, of course, in the end of the tragic shooting of January of 2023 and the need for this housing for senior farm workers,” Dentler said. “He commends the City Council for your leadership to affordable housing, and he strongly encourages you to advance this Kelly project and adopt the ordinance this evening.”
Supporters of the project and members of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, or ALAS, listened eagerly as councilmembers each shared their thoughts before the vote. ALAS is a Half Moon Bay-based nonprofit that provides services and resources like food and counseling for Latino farmworkers and their families.
Ruddock recited a nearly 15-minute-long speech that went over the numerous specific issues she had with the agreement, including the language, funding model, and size of the development.
“Is this the right model for our publicly owned land and our small city with limited financial capacity?” she said. “There’s still a lot of vague language in these agreements.”
She also called out the state and media coverage for painting the council in a negative light regarding the lengthy process in moving the project forward.
In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom made a statement urging the city to approve the project, calling the delay “egregious” and blaming local officials for it. Earlier this year, Newsom again threatened to take legal action against Half Moon Bay for not being in compliance with its housing goals.
“The process has been full of bullying, shaming, subterfuge, false accusations, project advocate delays and internal failure to manage for a better, more transparent and accountable process.”
Mayor Debbie Ruddock
“We are all well aware of the bullying by state officials and the media blitz shaming the city and falsely blaming the city for project delays,” Ruddock said. “The process has been full of bullying, shaming, subterfuge, false accusations, project advocate delays and internal failure to manage for a better, more transparent and accountable process.”
Toward the end of her speech, Ruddock indicated her preference for the agreement to go to the voters in a ballot measure.
“To me, the answer is to allow all the voters of Half Moon Bay to weigh in with the ballot box,” she said.
Towering over the downtown
While Penrose and Brownstone made their support clear unequivocally, Jonsson had some concerns over the height of the building and traffic safety surrounding the site. The location is situated in downtown Half Moon Bay where many residents and tourists congregate.
“I’m worried about the height and precedence,” Jonsson said. “The proposal calls for a five-story building in a town where the ordinance has historically been four. Allowing these exceptions risks setting a precedent that could change the scale and character of the downtown.”
The tallest building near 555 Kelly Ave. is about 10 feet shorter than the proposed development. The project qualified for the state’s Density Bonus Law, which allows some 100% affordable housing developments to be exempt from height limits.
Jonsson ultimately voted to approve the lease with the hope that traffic safety measures would be added as needed and that the building would not start a precedent of constructing more, taller structures in the downtown area.
“I’m doing this right now for the love of my city, but I don’t want to hurt my city at the same time,” he said.
Families of farmworkers and members of ALAS celebrated the long-awaited decision with chanting, smiles, and a group prayer. Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, executive director of ALAS, hugged many of those in attendance.
“We’re just overwhelmed with gratitude,” she said in an interview. “We’re going to continue to move momentum forward for the good of the community.”
