September 22, 2025
The City of Half Moon Bay is planning to hold a public meeting on October 16 as part of their process of preparing to lease the 555 Kelly and Adcock Center parking lot to Mercy Housing, to enable building the first 5 story building in the City.
During the summer of 2024, over 1,000 citizens signed a petition to require that this project be placed before Half Moon Bay's voters. This is a major policy decision which could open the door to the possibility of many more buildings in town far larger than the current 3 story height limit, which are the tallest buildings currently allowed in our city’s zoning laws.
The City Attorney denied our demand to place this decision before the voters, claiming that it was only an "administrative approval" and thus not subject to referendum. We disagreed with their refusal, but rather than argue in court, we knew that eventually the City would negotiate and offer a lease, and that is a City Council action which will definitely be subject to referendum.
We will be calling on our team of volunteers and petition signers, like you, to attempt again to bring this very important matter to the ballot, so HMB voters can decide.
We also have exciting news to share! We have a generous donor willing to match the first $2,000 we raise to help cover the costs of attorney fees, printing costs, and other administrative costs our all-volunteer committee has incurred. We will also need additional funds for the upcoming drive to gather signatures again. Will you chip in $20 to help us? Every dollar you chip in will double thanks to our matching offer!
DONATE TO LET HMB VOTERS DECIDE
July 4, 2024
The City of Half Moon Bay has tentatively approved the first 5 story building to appear near the center of town, which opens the door to the possibility of many more buildings in town far larger than the current 3 story height limit, which are the tallest buildings currently allowed in our city’s zoning laws.
This and related questions have not been discussed broadly in the community. We are seeking to place this question on the November 5 ballot to allow time for the citizens of Half Moon Bay to discuss, become well informed, and to weigh in on what will be one of the largest policy decisions for the future of our city.
There are multiple components to the proposed 555 Kelly Ave building, some of which relate to the location and size of the project, which is currently being planned for a very small city-owned property, and some of which relate to whether conditions exist here on the Coastside that invalidate local control over conformance to local codes, possibly opening the door to a flood of tall, super dense, affordable housing to be built throughout the city.
Citizens are entitled to vote on such city decisions, as we did to save the Main Street Bridge, and to keep CalFire. We are collecting signatures on a petition to place a referendum on the decision before the Voters of Half Moon Bay. From now through July 31, we invite you to join us, to place this on the ballot and Let HMB Voters Decide.
