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On Tuesday night, members of the Half Moon Bay City Council held a closed-door meeting regarding the 555 Kelly Project. However, council members noted that because a lease agreement is still being negotiated between the developer and the property developer, the council members did not agree to the 555 Kelly Project. Mercy Housing and the city, leaving no set date for an agreement that would finally allow elderly farmworkers to obtain affordable housing.
Thus, the project that was born in the wake of the 2023 shooting, where seven farmworkers died and one more was injured, seems to have no resolution on the horizon.
Among the council members was incoming Council member Patric Johnson, who said he was still learning about the 555 Kelly project and that since negotiations were still underway, he didn't feel comfortable speaking about it but would have more to say looking ahead to 2025.
A source who attended the closed-door meeting said the 555 Kelly project still has a long way to go before groundbreaking can be broken.
He added that the project still has to work on raising money to build and operate the building, as well as negotiating a lease that meets the needs of the community.
Less than a dozen people attended Tuesday's Half Moon Bay City Council meeting. After an hour, people began to leave, leaving the council chamber nearly empty and cold by the end.
The council meeting lasted about two hours and included updates on new laws such as SB 423 and SB 35, among others. Essentially, these laws require more affordable housing to be developed, while seeking to reduce the time frame for obtaining a building permit, and require the City Council to create a clear and specific rule on what structural designs are allowed.
These new laws will go into effect in less than 30 days. The City Council is concerned that developers with deep pockets will try to come into Half Moon Bay and build structures that do not fit the city's ambiance and charm. So the council agreed to meet again and approve a temporary rule on what the architecture and style should look like before the law goes into effect, and to review it in 2025.
In turn, Item 1E was withdrawn to discuss whether the city should continue its lease with Kathy Oler. Half Moon Bay has been leasing the 730 Mill Street parking lot since 1998 and wants to renew it for another 5 years.
However, Councilwoman Debrah Penrose said she wants the parking lot to become metered. She does not want the city to bear the cost of renting a parking lot because small businesses do not want to pay a fee to have these spaces for free for their customers.
Councilwoman Penrose is also concerned that the parking lot is primarily used by employees and not the public. However, City Manager Matthew Chidester said that at the time he asked local businesses to contribute a fee for this space, they were not in a position to do so.
Overall, the city agreed to allow City Manager Matthew Chidester to move forward with what he thought was best, with the proviso that he ask owner Kathy Oler if the city decides to add parking meters in the future.
The council ended the night with a budget update, which appeared to be on track, and approving the 2nd amendment to the city manager's employment agreement with Matthew Chidester to increase the annual base salary from $272,950 to $281,138.50.
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