OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Half Moon Bay City Council Regular Meeting - April 21, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, April 21, 2026
BodyHalf Moon Bay, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:39:59

Transcript — Verbatim
2:54

Of April twenty first, twenty twenty six.

2:57

As a reminder, if you are joining this meeting via Zoom, you can still make public comment.

3:10

If joining by phone, use star nine to raise your hand and star six to mute and unmute.

5:00

Vice Mayor Penrose.

5:00

Here.

5:01

Mayor Radek.

5:02

We have a quorum.

5:04

All rise for Pledge of Allegiance.

5:29

Okay.

5:30

So the next item is to uh approve the tonight's agenda.

5:34

Um could I have a motion to approve the agenda?

5:41

Could I have a motion to approve the agenda, please?

5:44

So moved.

5:45

Can I have a second?

5:48

I'll second.

5:49

Uh all in favor say aye.

5:51

Aye.

5:52

Aye.

5:52

Any opposed?

5:54

Motion carries unanimously.

5:57

We're moving on to proclamations and presentations.

6:01

And um it seems tonight we have a um presentation by um Mid Coast Community Council, an update.

6:09

Thank you for coming.

6:10

You're welcome.

6:11

So uh thanks for inviting me.

6:13

I'm Sword Woolinger from the Mid Coast Community Council.

6:15

That's way up north in the unincorporated region of Half Moon Bay slash San Mateo County.

6:22

And uh I feel like I owe you guys an update on what's happening at Sype our Cypress Point Housing Project.

6:28

So on December 3rd, the people in the community received a flyer saying that construction is gonna begin soon.

6:37

So by the third week in December, construction on that housing project was underway.

6:43

Um and as as you drive by or look at it, you can see they're in full swing working on on that housing project.

6:49

Now I I wanted to bring a couple things to your attention um regarding that and a final statement about some about that also.

6:57

Um it's recently they discovered asbestos on the site, so they had to do an asbestos abatement, and that's in the progress of being cleaned up right now.

7:06

The second thing that was located on the site was a tank full of something, and the contents of the tank are being investigated to what they are and what its mitigation would look like in the future.

7:17

So um with that saying that uh Cypress Point was approved was exempt from CEGO.

7:25

And I think probably there is a lesson to be taken in there somewhere.

7:30

So that's that's all with uh Cypress Point.

7:33

Um I'd also like to say that the Mid Coast is grateful that the sewer force main project is underway and that this and that the ISMD I had to read that is up for approval on October sev on on the 17th.

7:52

Not October 17th, but this 17th.

7:55

They also one other thing I'd like to mention about up there in Monterra is there's a Caltran bypass property that's pretty overgrown with trees.

8:03

And we're working on getting fire mitigation and some fuel load reduction to improve the fire safety of that part of weight in the back of Monterra.

8:15

Uh finally, I'd like to let you know what's happening at our next meeting.

8:19

So at our next meeting, uh the sheriff and the department of emergency management will be giving a talk to us about um emergency evacuation plans.

8:30

And uh what's also interesting about this is they're gonna use the Laddris software, they use the Laddress software in the process of planning this.

8:38

So I know people are very interested in ladder software, and it will be an opportunity to learn what that is.

8:45

Um that's my update for today, and I'm willing to field any questions that are easy.

8:51

So I have one.

8:52

So is it the the meeting tomorrow night where they're going to be discussing the emergency management?

8:57

Yes, that's correct.

8:58

Okay, great.

8:59

Um Council Vice Mayor Penrose, will you be uh attending that meeting as our liaison?

9:05

I attend them all, yeah.

9:07

Okay.

9:07

Great.

9:08

Thank you.

9:09

Thank you for having me.

9:10

Thank you for reporting out.

9:13

Um is there anyone in the audience or on Zoom that would like to comment on this item on the report from Mid Coast Community Council.

9:23

I don't see anyone in the room.

9:25

Is there anyone online?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
City Council Priorities███████████████████████23%
Parks and Recreation████████████████████20%
Affordable Housing███████████████15%
Housing██████████10%
Community Engagement████████8%
Procedural██████6%
Housing - Infrastructure███3%
Public Engagement███3%
Environmental Protection██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Half Moon Bay City Council Regular Meeting - April 21, 2026

The Half Moon Bay City Council met on April 21, 2026 at 3:00 PM. The meeting included updates on the Cypress Point Housing Project, discussions on tenant support strategies, and a proposed LED screen for Carter Park. The council also introduced an ordinance to repeal rent stabilization and rental registration, and directed staff to explore new tenant assistance programs.

Consent Calendar

  • Unanimously approved items including minutes of April 7, 2026 meetings, warrants for March 2026, final acceptance of the pavement management project, and legislative letters.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Joaquin Jimenez, candidate for county supervisor, spoke about food security and supporting local farmers, noting that 1 in 6 residents of San Mateo County are on the SNAP program.
  • Taylor Tong, intern at Pacific Coast Television, announced the Co-Side Live community event to be held on April 30, 2026 at 7 PM.
  • Judy Taylor urged the council to form a task force of stakeholders (landlords, tenants, designers) to deeply explore tenant issues, referencing past successful processes.
  • Nancy Fontana cautioned against overly strict regulations that could discourage landlords and suggested creative programs like those seen in Idaho.
  • Rocío Abila Garcia (translated) expressed strong support for rental assistance and legal services, emphasizing that access to these is a necessity for vulnerable residents.
  • Evelyn D'Souza (online) encouraged expanding existing rental assistance and legal services programs rather than creating new ones.

Discussion Items

  • Mid Coast Community Council Update: Sword Woolinger reported that construction of the Cypress Point Housing Project is underway. Asbestos was discovered on site, requiring abatement, and a tank of unknown contents is being investigated. The project was exempt from CEQA. Also noted the sewer force main project and fire mitigation efforts in Monterra.
  • Planning Commission Update: Mayor reported that the planning commission conditionally approved a Verizon cell phone tower permit on April 14, 2026. Coastside Land Trust CEO Sarah Polgar gave a presentation on coastal access and raptor habitat, which the council may invite for a future presentation.
  • Republic Services Presentation: Sonia highlighted community events supported in the past year (Night of Lights, Earth Day, biannual recycling days, compost giveaway) and upcoming events. The city also announced Earth Day beach cleanup on April 22 and community recycling day on April 25.
  • Hotel Business Improvement District (BID): Public hearing held with no protests. Council unanimously adopted a resolution to continue the $2 per room per night assessment for FY 2026-27.
  • Repeal of Rent Stabilization and Rental Registration: Interim City Attorney Denise Fazano presented the ordinance to repeal Chapters 6.04 and 6.06 of the municipal code. After a brief public comment from Vice Mayor Penrose expressing sadness, the council voted 3-2 to introduce the ordinance (Councilmembers Brownstone and Penrose dissenting).
  • Tenant Support Strategies: Staff presented three options: emergency rental assistance, rental inspection program, and legal services partnership with CLESPA. Council discussed:
    • Rental assistance: Strong support for partnering with Coastside Hope, with potential funding of $100,000 from the city's housing fund (currently $2.1 million unallocated).
    • Legal services: Support for a $40,000 partnership with CLESPA and Coastside Hope to expand tenant legal clinics.
    • Rental inspection: Mixed views. Some council members favored a voluntary program, while others argued it would not address the most vulnerable. Council directed staff to gather data from service providers (Coastside Hope, CLESPA, ALAS) on the scope of habitability issues before proceeding further.
  • LED Screen for Carter Park: City Manager proposed purchasing 8 portable LED panels ($25,000) for daytime and nighttime events, including World Cup watch parties starting June 2026. Council members requested more information on insurance, warranties, customer feedback, storage, security, and a trial demonstration before making a decision. The item was tabled.
  • Council Priorities Work Plan: Discussion on the document listing ongoing projects and new priorities. Council found it confusing and decided to form an ad hoc committee (Councilmembers Nagengast and Brownstone) to work with the city manager to refine the document into a clearer format, separating ongoing work from new council priorities. This will be brought back to a future meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent calendar approved unanimously.
  • Hotel BID resolution adopted unanimously.
  • Ordinance to repeal rent stabilization and rental registration introduced on first reading (3-2 vote).
  • Council directed staff to return with detailed proposals for emergency rental assistance (potential $100,000) and legal services partnership ($40,000) with Coastside Hope and CLESPA.
  • Rental inspection program tabled pending further data from community partners.
  • LED screen purchase for Carter Park tabled pending additional due diligence on insurance, warranties, and customer feedback.
  • Ad hoc committee formed to refine council priorities work plan, with a report expected at a future council meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Of April twenty first, twenty twenty six. As a reminder, if you are joining this meeting via Zoom, you can still make public comment. If joining by phone, use star nine to raise your hand and star six to mute and unmute. Vice Mayor Penrose. Here. Mayor Radek. We have a quorum. All rise for Pledge of Allegiance. Okay. So the next item is to uh approve the tonight's agenda. Um could I have a motion to approve the agenda? Could I have a motion to approve the agenda, please? So moved. Can I have a second? I'll second. Uh all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. We're moving on to proclamations and presentations. And um it seems tonight we have a um presentation by um Mid Coast Community Council, an update. Thank you for coming. You're welcome. So uh thanks for inviting me. I'm Sword Woolinger from the Mid Coast Community Council. That's way up north in the unincorporated region of Half Moon Bay slash San Mateo County. And uh I feel like I owe you guys an update on what's happening at Sype our Cypress Point Housing Project. So on December 3rd, the people in the community received a flyer saying that construction is gonna begin soon. So by the third week in December, construction on that housing project was underway. Um and as as you drive by or look at it, you can see they're in full swing working on on that housing project. Now I I wanted to bring a couple things to your attention um regarding that and a final statement about some about that also. Um it's recently they discovered asbestos on the site, so they had to do an asbestos abatement, and that's in the progress of being cleaned up right now. The second thing that was located on the site was a tank full of something, and the contents of the tank are being investigated to what they are and what its mitigation would look like in the future. So um with that saying that uh Cypress Point was approved was exempt from CEGO. And I think probably there is a lesson to be taken in there somewhere. So that's that's all with uh Cypress Point. Um I'd also like to say that the Mid Coast is grateful that the sewer force main project is underway and that this and that the ISMD I had to read that is up for approval on October sev on on the 17th. Not October 17th, but this 17th. They also one other thing I'd like to mention about up there in Monterra is there's a Caltran bypass property that's pretty overgrown with trees. And we're working on getting fire mitigation and some fuel load reduction to improve the fire safety of that part of weight in the back of Monterra. Uh finally, I'd like to let you know what's happening at our next meeting. So at our next meeting, uh the sheriff and the department of emergency management will be giving a talk to us about um emergency evacuation plans. And uh what's also interesting about this is they're gonna use the Laddris software, they use the Laddress software in the process of planning this. So I know people are very interested in ladder software, and it will be an opportunity to learn what that is. Um that's my update for today, and I'm willing to field any questions that are easy. So I have one. So is it the the meeting tomorrow night where they're going to be discussing the emergency management? Yes, that's correct. Okay, great.

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