Half Moon Bay Residents Chart Budget Priorities: Housing, Seniors, Traffic and Downtown

The Half Moon Bay City Council gathered for a community listening session on Jan. 29, 2026, offering residents a rare open mic to shape the city's fiscal year 2026–27 spending priorities. With no votes or deliberations—per Brown Act rules—the evening became a snapshot of what's on the Coastside's mind: affordable housing momentum, age-friendly investments, traffic headaches on Highway 92, and keeping Main Street quirky.

• Residents rally to preserve Measure D growth controls while pushing forward the 555 Kelly affordable housing project for senior farmworkers.

• Senior Coastsiders frames aging services as "core community infrastructure" requiring stable, predictable funding.

• Downtown business owner proposes formula business ordinance to protect small shops from chain-driven rent hikes.

• Highway 92 congestion and parking visibility hazards draw calls for operational fixes—not more lanes.

• Community requests public access to the district pool, with nonprofit lifeguards ready to step in.

• Concerns surface over Flock license plate reader data security and potential federal agency access.

Why it matters: Half Moon Bay's housing debate remains a flashpoint, balancing state-mandated production goals against infrastructure limits codified in Measure D. Speakers made clear they want both—affordable units for farmworkers and seniors, plus the guardrails that prevent growth from outpacing roads, water, and sewer.