Half Moon Bay Measure Q: Voters Decide the Fate of 555 Kelly Senior Farmworker Housing

Half Moon Bay voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether a five-story affordable apartment building for senior farmworkers goes forward downtown. Measure Q is a referendum on the city ordinance that approved the 555 Kelly Ave. project.

What a yes or no vote means

A yes vote upholds Ordinance No. 2026-01, which approves agreements with Mercy Housing California to build and run 40 affordable apartments for senior agricultural workers at 535-555 Kelly Ave., with about 2,650 square feet of community space. The city would lease the land for 99 years at $1 a year, according to the ballot question and KQED's voter guide. A no vote repeals the ordinance and cancels the deal. The measure needs a simple majority.

How it got to the ballot

The City Council approved the project 3-2, the San Mateo Daily Journal reported. Resident Hal Bogner then led a signature drive to force a public vote, and the city clerk certified the referendum petition on July 21, according to Ballotpedia.

Voters will not see a written argument against Measure Q in their ballot materials. The city found Bogner submitted it too late, and San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Nicole Healy denied his bid to include it after a one-day trial, Coastside News reported.

The arguments

Supporters say the project houses one of the Coastside's most vulnerable groups without taxpayers paying for construction or operations, and helps the city meet state housing requirements. The state housing department has sued Half Moon Bay over its housing element, and supporters warn that rejecting the project could invite more litigation and builder's remedy projects that cut local control.

Opponents argue the building is too big for downtown, would be the city's first five-story building, and could set a precedent. They cite traffic and parking and object that the plan grew from four stories to five. San Mateo County Farm Bureau President BJ Burns told the Daily Journal he worries about how the site would be managed.

The debate has played out against the 2023 mass shooting that killed seven farmworkers and drew attention to farmworker living conditions on the coast.