Overview
- The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to place an ordinance that would authorize a five-story, 40-unit affordable supportive housing complex at 555/535 Kelly Ave. on the November ballot after opponents gathered enough petition signatures.
- Attorney General Rob Bonta has sued Half Moon Bay for missing Housing Element deadlines and is asking the court to force cities to finish compliant plans within 120 days with Half Moon Bay given until the end of the year to adopt a corrected element.
- Mercy Housing and local nonprofit Ayudando Latinos A Soñar are under a 99-year $1 lease to develop the project and Mercy says it has more than $21.6 million committed, including $13 million from the state Serna Farmworker Housing Program.
- City officials say delays stem from required rezonings, the city’s Measure D growth limits and lengthy reviews by the California Coastal Commission, and the city manager acknowledged the city is currently out of compliance while working on a state-approved timeline.
- The vote will decide immediate local approval but could also set a precedent on downtown height and density, affect how the city meets its target of roughly 480 homes in the Housing Element, and shape future legal and political fights over state enforcement.