Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay is a city of 13,000 on San Mateo County's rugged Pacific Coast — a charming agricultural and surf town famous for its pumpkin festival and the legendary big-wave surf break at Mavericks. Incorporated 1959, governed by a five-member Council, the coast's only incorporated city.

CivicCause organizes issues, meetings, elections, and public activity around Half Moon Bay so you can see what is happening locally and how it connects to broader county decisions.

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Daily Summary

2026-08-15

Coach arrested for alleged sex with former student in Half Moon Bay

A former Cabrillo Unified School District student has accused her former coach, Paul A. Farnsworth, 61, of sexually assaulting her 18 years ago. Farnsworth was arrested by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office on these allegations, which have drawn local attention to the case and the district.

Separately, San Mateo County is moving forward with a $1 million grant agreement from the California State Coastal Conservancy to support the clean closure and climate resilience restoration of the Half Moon Bay landfill. Residents following city governance may note that the Half Moon Bay City Council last met on July 21, with no new meetings scheduled soon. The community continues to monitor these developments alongside ongoing housing and growth control issues that remain active in the background.

News: Coach arrested for alleged sex with former student in Half Moon Bay News: Half Moon Bay coach, teacher accused of child sex crimes News: San Mateo County to Execute California State Coastal Conservancy $1M Grant Agreement for the Half Moon Bay Landfill Cle…Meeting: Half Moon Bay City Council • Half Moon Bay City Council

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Measure D — A 1999 Growth Control Law Colliding with 2026 State Mandates

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Created by CivicCause

Half Moon Bay's most fundamental housing constraint is a voter-approved growth control law that has been on the books for 27 years. Measure D, passed by Half Moon Bay voters in 1999, limits annual population growth to between 1% and 1.5% b…

Farmworker Housing — A 555 Kelly Avenue Project Three Years in the Making

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Created by CivicCause

The 555 Kelly Avenue senior farmworker housing project is simultaneously Half Moon Bay's most important affordable housing action and its most politically painful civic saga. Born from the shock of the January 2023 mass shooting that kille…

Governor Newsom's "Final Warning" — Housing Compliance on the Brink

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Created by CivicCause

Half Moon Bay is the only Bay Area city named in Governor Newsom's March 2026 housing enforcement action — a distinction that carries serious legal consequences. Newsom gave Half Moon Bay and 14 other cities 30 days to respond to notices b…

Sheriff's Office Aftermath — Rebuilding Accountability & Trust

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Created by CivicCause

San Mateo County is still working through the fallout of one of the most dramatic law enforcement governance crises in the Bay Area in recent memory. In May 2025, an independent investigation found evidence of conflicts of interest, misuse…

The VLF Funding Crisis — A $157 Million Injustice

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Created by CivicCause

San Mateo County is fighting one of the most consequential — and least publicized — fiscal injustices in California. The dispute centers on "in-lieu VLF" replacement funding that counties and cities receive tied to a vehicle license fee re…