SMC Secures $5M To Build Housing For Farmworkers

REDWOOD CITY, CA — San Mateo County will use a $5 million grant from the state to build out housing for farmworkers, prioritizing units for people displaced by the January shootings that killed seven at two farms in Half Moon Bay.

The county and city will tap the funds to purchase 28 units, with 18 set aside for farmworkers and families displaced by the shootings. The remaining 10 will be available for agricultural workers earning up to 80 percent of the area median income, particularly those who have been displaced by "uninhabitable living conditions."

"I am so grateful to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state for this vital influx of resources that support our efforts to ensure that every farm working family in Half Moon Bay and San Mateo County is living with dignity in safe, healthy and affordable housing," said Ray Mueller, the District 3 Supervisor. "This significant step towards more farmworker housing would also not have been possible without the advocacy from state Sen. Josh Becker and Assemblymember Marc Berman and the commitment of the city of Half Moon Bay, its city council and City Manager Matthew Chidester who have supported this work from the very beginning and I thank them."

The grant is a key source of funding to support the county's broader effort to improve living conditions for farmers, including a task force that launched earlier this year to focus on housing agricultural workers. The county is working with Half Moon Bay to identify a site to place the 28 units.