The Half Moon Bay City Council voted Tuesday to approve a ground lease with the developer of an affordable housing facility for older farmworkers, marking a major step in moving the years-long project forward.
The council voted 3-2 to approve a one dollar annual lease for 99 years with Mercy Housing, the developer of a five-story, 40-unit affordable housing complex that will be located on city property at 535 and 555 Kelly Ave.
The project, which includes 100 percent affordable housing for older farmworkers and their families, has been in the works for more than four years. Community opposition and hesitation from some council members have factored into the project being stalled.
In January 2023, a mass shooting shook Half Moon Bay when Chunli Zhao, a Chinese migrant farmworker who was 66 years old at the time, allegedly shot and killed seven fellow migrant farmworkers at two mushroom farms.
The shooting exposed the living conditions of the farmworkers. The poor conditions sparked greater pressure to establish quality affordable housing for this population.
