by Supervisor Don Horsley, reprinted from HMB Review 6/1/2016:
For the last few months I have been asked to comment on the proposed sale of a Moss Beach parcel, owned by the California School Employees Association, to MidPen Housing, and any subsequent potential development by MidPen of that site. I have been told repeatedly that more affordable housing is vital so local employers can recruit and retain Midcoast employees. I have also been asked to pre-emptively rezone this specific parcel so it can never be used for housing.
I have been asked by individuals how they can get on a list to live there while others insist that housing for these people should be in Half Moon Bay. I have been told there are no jobs in the vicinity of the parcel, while at the same time being informed that there are 1,364 jobs on the Midcoast, with 964 of the jobs paying low wages of $40,000 or less.
The reality of the housing crisis that we face shows up in the headlines throughout the Bay Area, in San Mateo County, and on our Coastside. Homeowners who bought their houses years ago are considered lucky. Current high-income homebuyers can also afford to live here — if they stretch.
Regular folks are finding it harder to make ends meet, homeownership is out of reach, affordable rentals are rare, and rents are skyrocketing and unpredictable. We have to accept that it is unlikely that our kids will be able to afford to live in the communities in which they grew up. Cabrillo Unified School District reports that new teachers try to find a room to rent as that is all their salary allows if they want to be close to their school. In some cases, teachers accept jobs, look for housing locally, and then come back and turn the jobs down.
So what do we do to address this very real problem?
