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VIDEO. From the Half Moon Bay City Council meeting on Wednesday, September, 3rd, 2024 at 7:00pm, as a hybrid meeting.
Letter read at public comment to the Mid-Coast Council, August 28, 2024, and provided to appear in their minutes:
On behalf of the Let HMB Voters Decide committee, I wish to address the Midcoast Council to correct Half Moon Bay city council vice-mayor Harvey Rarback’s assertion at the August 14 MCC meeting, that Half Moon Bay’s city attorney told the city council that the petition to referend the denial of three appeals against the City’s approval of a five-story building at 555 Kelly Avenue was illegal and had to be denied was, at a minimum, misleading, and to make certain that his suggestion that MCC members were thus possibly acting improperly be dismissed.
The attorney asserted that the subject of the petition was an “administrative” act and not a “legislative” act, and thus the city council had no obligation to accept it as a matter of law. As we warned the city council by letter on August 5, this is a position that not all of the city’s planning commissioners agree with; however, ultimately, it is a question that could be taken to a judge, and it turns out that there will be little reason to spend time and money litigating, for a simple and more democratic reason, which I will explain.
In fact, after extensive public comment, council member Debbie Ruddock made a motion to set a further special meeting two days later to give the council the option of respecting the expressed wishes of 1,000+ Half Moon Bay voters who signed the petition in just over three weeks and placing the referendum on the November 5ballot. The city attorney did not intervene. Sadly, the motion died for lack of a second, and as a result, the committee to Let HMB Voters Decide will gather signatures a second time when the city completes their negotiations to lease the city-owned property to the non-profit developer – an indisputably “legislative” act – and the city will face having to schedule a special election some months or so later.
Please share this letter with your fellow MCC members and enter it into the record so as to correct this effort to deflect responsibility from a city council which chooses to ignore and ride roughshod over their own electorate, with only one member respecting the voters’ right to weigh in on a major decision for the people of Half Moon May.
On behalf of the committee, thanks to each of you who serve here, for your tireless work to ensure that the voices of the citizens of the coastside are heard, and for helping us set the record straight, and for that purpose, please include this statement in the minutes of this meeting.
Sincerely,
Hal Bogner
Let HMB Voters Decide
www.LetHMBVotersDecide.com
After City of Half Moon Bay Rejects Referendum Petition with 1179 Signatures, “Let HMB Voters Decide” asks the City to Agendize the 555 Kelly Referendum Petition; August 6, 2024
More on 555 Kelly Farmworker Affordable Housing Project on Coastside Buzz
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Half Moon Bay City Council Meetings ~ 1st & 3rd Tuesdays @ 7:00pm
The Half Moon Bay City Council typically meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month starting at 7pm at the Ted Adcock Community Center, 535 Kelly Avenue. The meeting is also remote by Zoom, Facebook and PCTV. Regular meeting agendas are posted 72 hours in advance. Special meeting agendas are posted 24 hours in advance.
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HMB City Council Agendas and Zoom Links
HMB City Council Meeting Videos on PCTV
The City Council of Half Moon Bay is the City’s governing body, and consists of five elected members. The Council sets priorities and policies, makes final decisions on all major City matters, adopts ordinances and resolutions, appoints the City Manager and City Attorney, and approves the annual budget.
The City of Half Moon Bay holds district-based elections for its five city council seats. Each Councilmember is elected to a 4 year term. There are no term limits in Half Moon Bay. The City Council selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and one to serve as Vice Mayor, on an annual basis.
The Half Moon Bay City Council typically meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month starting at 7 pm at the Ted Adcock Community Center, 535 Kelly Avenue.
The meetings will be:
- streamed live on Comcast Channel 27 and Pacific Coast TV website
- and on Facebook Live
- one in English (City of Half Moon Bay FB Page)
- one in Spanish (City of Half Moon Bay Recreation FB Page)
Members or the public are welcome to submit comments (in accordance with the three-minute per speaker limit) via email to [email protected] prior to or during the meeting, via Facebook live during the meeting, and via two phone lines during the meeting – (650) 477-4963 (English) and (650) 445-3090 (Spanish). The City Clerk will read all comments into the record.
Please visit our “Commenting at a City Council Meeting” information page. You can also learn about City Council Procedures and Decorum.
The City Council develops Strategic Elements to help focus the City’s actions and work plans on its key priorities.
Contact Us
Phone: (650) 726-8250 (leave message with Clerk’s office)
- Mayor Joaquin Jimenez, District 3, 2024 ElectionJoaquin Jimenez at [email protected]
- Vice Mayor Harvey Rarback, District 2, 2024 ElectionHarvey Rarback at [email protected]
- Councilmember Robert Brownstone, District 1, 2026 ElectionRobert Brownstone at [email protected]
- Councilmember Deborah Penrose, District 5, 2026 ElectionDeborah Penrose at [email protected]
- Councilmember Debbie Ruddock, District 4, 2026 ElectionDebbie Ruddock at [email protected]
City of Half Moon Bay District-based Elections Map for 2024
Map 503b Adopted 3.15.2022
From left to right 2024 Half Moon Bay Councilmembers: Robert Brownstone, Vice Mayor Harvey Rarback, Mayor Joaquin Jimenez, Deborah Penrose and Debbie Ruddock.
Author: Coastside Buzz
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