More than a year after the tragic mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging city officials to stop delaying a plan to build housing for elderly farmworkers in a coastal town where farmworkers have lived. in “deplorable” conditions for years.
The plan, currently under review by the city's planning commission, would result in 40 low-income units in a five-story building for retired farmworkers and seniors, with a resource center in downtown Half Moon Bay.
But two recent marathon public meetings and changes to the project have raised concerns among worker advocates about the future of the project, and whether the wealthy coastal city that supported low-income workers after the mass shooting will support their housing need.
On Thursday, Newsom asked the Half Moon Bay Planning Commission to move forward with a decision on the project.
“Instead of doing the right thing and approving much-needed housing for the workers who feed us, local officials are stalling a 40-unit complex for low-income seniors,” Newsom said in a statement. “This delay is egregious and endangers the well-being of Californians.”
Newsom added that the state's Housing Accountability Unit, a regulatory agency that enforces housing laws, is reviewing the city's actions and would “take all necessary steps to hold Half Moon Bay accountable if the project does not move forward as expected.” required by state law.”
Seven people died during the mass shooting on Jan. 23, 2023, after Chunli Zhao, 67, grabbed a gun and started shooting at his co-workers, according to prosecutors. Authorities said the shooting stemmed from a $100 fine Zhao faced after a piece of equipment was damaged.
But the shooting, which occurred at two mushroom farms, also highlighted the living conditions of farm workers in the wealthy enclave.
Some of the workers and their families appeared to live in shipping containers that had been converted into homes. A county supervisor said the victims of the mass shooting lived in “deplorable and heartbreaking living conditions.”
The proposal would be the first major project the city has undertaken to provide housing for farmworkers.
But after two long meetings that included hours of mostly supportive public comments, no decision has been made on the project.
Half Moon Bay Mayor Joaquin Jimenez, a farmworker activist, rejected the idea that the commission was delaying a decision but instead said the meeting continued because of the number of people who had come to comment.
“A lot of time has been spent listening to the community,” Jiménez said.
The city commission discussed the project on April 23 and then held a special meeting on April 30. He plans to meet again on May 14.
Jimenez has long advocated for low-income housing in the city and resources for his farmworker community, but he declined to comment directly on the current project to avoid influencing the planning commission's decision.
Jimenez said he welcomed the governor's support for farmworker housing, but said he hoped Newsom's statement would not divide the community.
“He needs to understand, he needs to respect the planning commission process,” she said.
Part of the reason the project has not yet moved forward, Jimenez said, is that changes were recently made that converted the project from a four-story building to a five-story building. The 40 units, which were originally studios, now also include one- and two-bedroom units.
“When the plan is changed, there are more questions, there are more concerns about the site that have to be raised,” he said. “That's what's been delaying the decision. “The commission is taking its time and allowing the process.”
But others are concerned that commissioners have dragged their feet in making a decision and have not kept promises that had been made to the community's farmworkers.
“We are confused as to why this is not approved,” said Belinda Hernández-Arriaga, founder and executive director of Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, a nonprofit advocacy group for farmworkers, which proposed the project with Mercy Housing. , a nonprofit organization that works to provide housing for low-income people. “We were very surprised to see the pushback.”
Part of the concern has been that without local approval, the project's developers could miss the deadline to apply for federal affordable housing tax credits that will finance the project, possibly delaying it even further.
After the planning commission votes, a community member can appeal the decision. That appeal, she said, would then go to the city council for a vote.
But some locals also expressed concern that the five-story building, located next to a Catholic church, would clash with the small-town appeal that many in the wealthy coastal city hope to maintain.
“This design doesn't say it's a gateway to a small city; help me understand what a gateway to a small city looks like,” Commissioner Rick Hernandez asked developers during one of the meetings, according to the San Francisco Chronicle . “How does the building influence the character of Half Moon Bay? That is the fundamental issue that the community opposes.”
Commissioners have also questioned the height of the building and whether it could be reduced by eliminating the resident resource center.
In its current design, the building would be 9 feet taller than the city's current tallest building.
“They're actually complaining about 9 feet,” Hernandez-Arriaga said. “Are you going to say no to senior farmworker housing taller than 9 feet?”
Farmworker advocates like Hernández-Arriaga worry that support from officials is waning and promises are being broken.
“I thought [the Jan. 23, 2023, shooting] was going to be the wake-up call for us to finally get together and give [farmworkers] resources,” Antonio López, mayor of East Palo Alto, said in an Instagram post in support of the project. “We are here to house people and, not only that, to house people who literally bend their backs to give us products, to give us food to put on the table.”
For Hernández-Arriaga, approval of the project would not only provide housing for the community's elderly farmworkers, he said, but it would also show a change in the community.
For years, farmworkers have lived in the shadows, far from the city's fancy restaurants and multimillion-dollar homes.
The proposed housing would be located in the center of the city, in a commercial area and would place agricultural workers in the center of the city.
“We want our farmworkers to come out of the shadows,” he said. “Farmworkers are the community.”
