Half Moon Bay planning panel recommends submitting draft Cycle 6 housing element to state despite Measure D guidance pending

The Half Moon Bay Planning Commission voted 4-0 on Feb. 11 to recommend that the City Council submit the city’s fourth draft of the 2023–2031 housing element (Cycle 6) to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) without waiting for pending guidance about the city’s residential dwelling unit allocation system (Measure D).

The housing element is one of seven general plan elements that California requires cities to maintain; it establishes goals, policies and “measurable, deliverable” actions for meeting regional housing needs, the city’s housing programs manager, Mike Noce, told the commission. Noce said HCD enforces certification and that the department “has ramped up” scrutiny in Cycle 6, prompting multiple rounds of review.

Why it matters: A certified housing element can be a precondition for certain state grants and infrastructure funding and is tied to other enforcement tools the state may use for noncompliance, commissioners and consultants said. HCD’s recent comments for Half Moon Bay focused largely on required program language and monitoring steps rather than removing or changing the city’s identified housing sites, Noce said.

Key details and debate - RHNA totals: Noce and staff described the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for Cycle 6 as 480 units; about 285 of those are targeted to very low-…