After mass shootings that killed farmworkers, Gov. Newsom urges Half Moon Bay to stop delaying its housing project

More than a year after the tragic mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling on city officials to stop delaying a plan to build housing for older farmworkers in a beach town where farmworkers have lived in “deplorable” conditions for years.

The plan, currently under review by the city’s Planning Commission, calls for 40 low-income housing units in a five-story building for retired and aging farm workers, with a resource center in downtown Half Moon Bay.

But two recent marathon public meetings and changes to the project have raised concerns among labor advocates about the project’s future and whether the wealthy coastal city that has rallied behind low-income workers in the wake of the mass shooting will support their housing needs.

On Thursday, Newsom called on 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, a 40-unit complex for low-income seniors is being blocked by local officials,” Newsom said in a statement. “This delay is egregious and endangers the well-being of Californians.”

Read more: Workers are suing mushroom farm over mass shooting in 2023 that left seven people dead

Newsom added that the state’s Housing Accountability Unit, a regulatory agency that enforces housing laws, is reviewing the city’s actions and “will take all necessary steps to hold Half Moon Bay accountable if the project does not move forward as expected.” State law requires it.”

According to prosecutors, seven people were killed in the mass shooting on January 23, 2023, after 67-year-old Chunli Zhao picked up a pistol and began shooting at his colleagues. Officials said the shooting stemmed from a $100 fine Zhao faced after a piece of equipment was damaged.

But the shooting at two mushroom farms also highlighted the living conditions of farm workers in the wealthy enclave.

Some of the workers and their families were apparently living in shipping containers that had been converted into apartments. A county leader said the victims of the mass shooting lived in “deplorable, heartbreaking living conditions.”

The proposal would be the first major project the city undertakes to provide housing for farm workers.

But after two lengthy meetings that included hours of mostly supportive public comments, no decision has been made on the project.

Half Moon Bay Mayor Joaquin Jimenez, a farm worker activist, rejected the idea that the commission was delaying a decision, but instead said the meeting was delayed because of the large number of people who came to comment. had been continued.

“A lot of time was spent listening to the community,” Jimenez said.

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The city commission discussed the project on April 23 and then held a special meeting on April 30. She plans to meet again on May 14th.

Jimenez has long advocated for low-income housing in the city and resources for the farmworker community, but declined to comment directly on the current project so as not to influence 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 and respect the Planning Commission process,” he said.

One reason the project hasn’t moved forward yet, Jimenez said, is because changes were recently made that converted the project from a four-story building to a five-story building. The 40 units that were originally studios now include one- and two-bedroom units.

“When you change the plan, there are more questions, there are more concerns about the location that need to be asked,” he said. “That is what is delaying the decision. The commission is taking its time and allowing the process to proceed.”

But others fear the commissioners were slow to make their decision and reneged on their promises to the community’s farm workers.

“We’re confused as to why this isn’t going through,” said Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, founder and executive director of Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, a nonprofit farmworker advocacy group that proposed the project along with Mercy Housing, a nonprofit that works Providing housing for low-income earners. “We were really surprised to see the backlash.”

Read more: The Half Moon Bay suspect lived on a mushroom farm where shootings occurred

Part of the concern is that without local approval, the project’s developers could miss the deadline to apply for federal affordable housing tax credits to finance the project, potentially delaying it even further.

After the Planning Commission votes, a member of the community can appeal the decision. That objection, he said, would then be presented to the City Council for a vote.

But some locals also expressed concerns that the five-story building, which sits next to a Catholic church, would clash with the small-town appeal that many in the affluent seaside town hope to maintain.

“This proposal doesn’t say this is a gateway to a small town — help me understand how this is a gateway to a small town,” Commissioner Rick Hernandez asked developers during one of the meetings, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “How does the building shape the character of Half Moon Bay? That is the fundamental issue that the community is objecting to.”

Commissioners also questioned the height of the building and asked whether that 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 they going to say no to housing for older farmworkers who are over 9 feet tall?”

Farmworker advocates like Hernandez-Arriaga fear that the support that officials have supported will fade and promises will be broken.

“I thought (the Jan. 23, 2023 shooting) would be the wake-up call for us to finally come together and provide resources to (farmworkers),” East Palo Alto Mayor Antonio Lopez said in an Instagram post of support of the project. “We are here to house people, and not only that: people who literally turn their backs to give us products, to give us food to put on the table.”

For Hernandez-Arriaga, approving the project would not only provide housing for the community’s aging farmworkers, but would also represent change in the community.

For years, farmworkers have lived in the shadows, away from upscale restaurants and multimillion-dollar homes.

The proposed apartments would be located downtown in a commercial area and house farm workers in the center of the city.

“We want our farmworkers to come out of the shadows,” she said. “The farmworkers are the community.”

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.