Half Moon Bay's $750K Demand Threatens Solar Project as District Celebrates Pension Milestone

The Montara Water and Sanitary District board navigated a packed agenda May 7, celebrating a pension plan that hit full funding for the first time, fast-tracking well repairs before summer, and setting its first-ever district-based election — but the meeting's sharpest exchanges centered on an escalating standoff with the city of Half Moon Bay over an expired property easement that now jeopardizes a federally funded clean energy project.

• Half Moon Bay demands up to $750,000 for an infiltration study as the price for extending an expired SAM easement, putting a solar project's federal funding at risk

• District pension plan surpasses 100% funding for the first time, eliminating unfunded liability payments

• Board sets November 2026 election for three district-based seats; Division 5 currently has no resident director

• Two key wells awarded $60,000 sole-source rehab contract ahead of peak summer demand

• Montara and Moss Beach left out of SamTrans Ride Plus on-demand transit service

• Emergency officials offer no concrete evacuation plan for coastside communities with limited highway exits

Why it matters: The Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) is caught between an imminent federal funding deadline for a solar and battery installation and a city that discovered its leverage — an easement that quietly expired during the pandemic. If the solar project stalls, SAM loses significant long-term energy savings, and ratepayers across three member agencies absorb the cost.