Council sends disputed 555 Kelly affordable‑housing ordinance to November ballot after certified referendum

The 0.5 Moon Bay City Council voted July 21 to submit Ordinance 2026‑01 — the suite of legal agreements with Mercy Housing California that enable the 555 Kelly Avenue affordable‑housing project — to the Nov. 3, 2026 municipal ballot after a referendum petition met the threshold for qualification.

City Clerk Maggie Rodriguez reviewed the administrative timeline: council originally adopted Ordinance 2026‑01 on May 5; opponents circulated an impartial summary, submitted a referendum petition, and the San Mateo County Elections Office verified 782 valid signatures of 1,092 submitted. Under California Elections Code §9241, staff told the council the ordinance is suspended and the legislative body must either repeal it or submit it to voters.

During public comment, speakers on both sides urged the council to either preserve the project’s forward momentum or to let voters decide. Kelly Hollywood of Mercy Housing California said the developer had worked for years with the city and community and ‘‘respectfully ask[ed] the council to select option 1 and place the ordinance … before the voters in November rather than repeal it tonight.’’ Lily Ray, board president of ALAS, urged the council to ‘‘think about the senior farm worker’’ who the project targets and said placing it on the ballot would keep the multi‑year effort alive.

Opponents and petition backers also spoke at length. Joaquin Jimenez criticized a newspaper photo of the petition delivery as ‘‘pure evil’’ and other speakers raised concerns about process, scale and outreach. Hale Bogner of the campaign HMB Voters Decide thanked the council for placing the measure on the ballot, saying more than one in eight city voters had signed the petition and that the campaign would seek clarifying edits to the ballot wording.

Council members spent substantial time negotiating the 75‑word impartial ballot question. After discussion, the council approved revised language that explicitly describes ‘‘a ground lease of real property for 99 years at a rate of $1 per year, which is customary,’’ and summarizes the project as a ‘‘senior affordable 40‑unit residential project for agricultural workers’’ at 535–555 Kelly Avenue. The city attorney’s office and clerk confirmed the revised wording met the 75‑word limit.

Councilmember Naggingast said she would vote to place the measure on the ballot, calling the referendum process ‘‘democracy at work.’’ After a roll‑call vote that recorded each member’s vote, the motion to submit the ordinance carried unanimously.

What happens next: the ordinance will be placed on the Nov. 3, 2026 general municipal election ballot unless the council reconsiders and repeals it prior to certification. If the measure is approved by a majority of voters, the ordinance will take effect; if it fails, the ordinance cannot be reenacted by council for one year.