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Half Moon Bay panel ratifies Measure D rankings, awards partial allocation to 544 Filbert
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Summary
The Planning Commission approved staff’s Measure D scoring for 2026, awarding five ADU allocations and a partial allocation to 544 Filbert, and recommended the City Council consider shortening the September reallocation window to 30–60 days.
The Half Moon Bay Planning Commission on March 10 approved staff’s 2026 Measure D scoring and awarded a partial allocation for 544 Filbert, a decision commissioners said balances existing code constraints with applicants’ need to advance project design.
Staff told the commission the city had 70 allocations available this cycle (47 downtown, 23 outside downtown). A council-approved phasing agreement reserved 17 allocations for an affordable housing project at 940 Main Street (17 this year and 17 next), which reduced the number available outside downtown to six. “The 70 units is based on persons per household, as well as the total population in Half Moon Bay,” staff said, adding the calculation uses recent census data and becomes less reliable the farther it is from the census year.
The staff recommendation was to award five ADU allocations now and to have the commission choose how to award the final outside-downtown allocation between two applicants; staff recommended giving the ADU allocation for 544 Filbert and leaving the single-family allocation to a later transfer or application. Commissioner discussion focused on whether awarding only an ADU now unduly delays a development’s entitlement work. Staff said an applicant with only the ADU allocation cannot obtain coastal or building permits until the required allocations are secured, though they may pursue preliminary design review. “You could apply for preliminary review of the project,” staff said, “but you wouldn’t be able to submit for an actual entitlement permit like a coastal development permit or building permit.”
Public commenters included Amy Miller, an applicant from the Miramar neighborhood who said her family applied for an ADU allocation to bring aging parents into her household, and David Beaumont of the Cary Trusts, who urged the commission to reconcile Measure D practice with state guidance on ADUs. Beaumont said state HCD informed the city in October 2024 that ADUs should not be counted in local growth-control ordinances, and questioned why ADUs still receive full points: “The state legislation is absolutely crystal clear. It says, local growth control ordinances notwithstanding, ADUs are not to be counted,” he said.
Vice Chair Hernandez moved to approve the rankings, to grant a partial allocation to 544 Filbert, and to recommend the City Council consider shortening the reallocation/transfer window from Sept. 1 to a 30–60 day timeframe if administratively feasible. Commissioner Bridal seconded. Roll call: Commissioner Del Nago — yes; Vice Chair Hernandez — yes; Chair Gorn — yes. Motion approved.
The commission’s action ratifies staff scoring; the decision can be appealed to City Council. Staff and commissioners noted that any change to shorten the transfer/reallocation timetable would require code amendments and Local Coastal Program (LCP) changes and thus Coastal Commission review before it could be implemented.
