The Board of Supervisors of the San Mateo County allocated $1 million on Tuesday to an expansion effort to build affordable housing for local farmworkers.
“We are 100 percent committed to this effort,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, whose District 3 includes most of the county’s agricultural land. “This $1 million represents the start-up costs needed to move forward quickly.”
The funds, from the half-cent sales tax on Measure K, the city said in a statement, will help cover costs for planning, project management and other work.
He also said he is seeking $5 million in state funding from the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program as part of an overall effort to improve living conditions for coastal farmworkers.
The action gained urgency after the tragic shooting on January 23, 2023 at two coastal farms that killed seven people and seriously injured one.
The mass shooting drew attention to farmworkers living in overcrowded conditions in unlicensed facilities, a situation that numerous local officials called unacceptable.
The County is currently working with the City of Half Moon Bay to identify and develop a potential site that could house 45 to 50 units of manufactured housing for low-income farmworker families.
Mueller said he also hopes to receive state grants to build affordable housing for local farmworkers.
“All of our farmworker families deserve a safe and healthy place to live. If we are going to ensure we maintain a thriving agricultural community on our coast, what we need more than anything is affordable housing for our farmworkers and their families.”
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