Housing Element available for review

The plan is a blueprint for the city to meet its state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation. Half Moon Bay is aiming to permit 480 new units from 2023 to 2031, double the allotment from the previous eight-year cycle. Most of the increase is in the low- and very low-income categories. By definition, that would be housing considered affordable for those making up to 80 percent of San Mateo County’s Area Median Income. In 2022, the median household income for a family of four was $166,000.

Half Moon Bay is planning for 285 low-income units, which breaks down to 181 at very low income, or for those making less than 50 percent of AMI, and 104 at low income, which is between 50-80 percent of AMI. The city also wants 54 moderate-income units (80-120 percent of AMI), and 141 above-moderate-income units (more than 120 percent of AMI). 

The Housing Element was initially due Jan. 31 with a 120-day grace period. After the draft is reviewed and submitted to the HCD at the end of May, the state will have 90 days to make more comments.

Staff say Half Moon Bay should meet its allocation and have a buffer through a variety of 37 “pipeline projects,” 12 Housing Opportunity Sites, and 112 accessory dwelling units. The city is including two key projects that are very much works in progress — 40 units for low-income farmworkers proposed by Mercy Housing and Ayudando Latinos a Soñar on Kelly Avenue and up to 50 extremely low-income manufactured units near the corporation yard at Stone Pine Road, though the latter design is still conceptual. 

The plan outlines constraints and the city’s contention that Half Moon Bay needs more lower-income housing. Because the city is in the Coastal Zone and must adhere to its Local Coastal Program, it prioritizes certain land uses, including agriculture, public recreation, and a range of services to support coastal visitors. 

“These industries offer lower-wage jobs, which being set in the landscape of the very high-cost Greater Bay Area, makes it extremely challenging for employees of these industries to afford housing on the Coastside,” the document reads. 

According to the Housing Element, the typical monthly rent for an apartment in Half Moon Bay was $1,600 in 2019, and rental prices increased by 11.8 percent from 2009 to 2019. To rent a typical Half Moon Bay apartment without it being a “cost burden,” defined as when a household spends more than 30 percent of its monthly income on housing, one would need to earn $64,240 per year. According to the draft, more than 16 percent of households spend between 30-50 percent of their income on housing, while 15.6 percent of households are “severely cost-burdened” and use most of their income for housing.

This process doesn’t always go smoothly, even in the early stages. Earlier this month, the state of California sued the city of Huntington Beach after it alleged the city violated housing laws when the City Council rejected its Housing Element. The way each jurisdiction gets its allocation is a tiered process. First, the California Department of Housing and Community Development develops a statewide housing needs determination number based on projected housing needs across various income levels. The state then breaks that figure into regional assignments. Those numbers are then handled by each region’s coalition of governments. Half Moon Bay falls under the Association of Bay Area Governments.