Half Moon Bay, California – Nearly a year and a half after mass shooting claimed the lives of seven farmworkers in the town of Half Moon Bay, California, a new project seeks to address the poor living conditions of many farmworkers in the area.
On Tuesday, the city’s Planning Commission approved a proposal for a 40-unit building that will serve as housing for elderly farm workers, some of whom continue to work into their 70s or 80s because of low wages and the cost of exorbitant life.
The decision comes after the 2023 shooting sparked outcry over the dilapidated housing available to Half Moon Bay residents. farmers.
Politicians in the aftermath of the bloodshed, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, noted that some farmworkers were even living in shipping containers.
“After the shooting, all eyes were on Half Moon Bay, and politicians and the community were rallying around our farmworkers,” said Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, founder of the group Ayudando Latinos A Sonar (ALAS), which provides a support and services for local farmworkers. .
But before being adopted this week, plans for the five-story building faced backlash from city planners who questioned whether the structure would fit the style and character of the surrounding area.
The setback dampened optimism that the shooting, carried out by a 67-year-old former farm worker, could lead to much-needed help for the farmworker community.
Migrants make up the vast majority of California’s agricultural workers, and they often receive minimum wage for hard workdespite the fact that the state leads the country in the value of crops sold.
According to the California government, agriculture is a $54 billion industry in the state, with an additional $100 billion in associated commerce.
Facing the possibility of rejection, the housing proposal was moved forward only after intense media scrutiny and pressure from the governor’s office.
Governor Newsom, who has taken a tough stance against cities hindering housing construction efforts during the state’s crisis. housing crisishinted at possible legal action against Half Moon Bay due to the delay.
In a press release last week, Newsom called the project’s delay “egregious” and said the state would take “all necessary actions” if it was not approved.
Some local officials, however, have been angered by what they see as undue interference in local planning decisions.
“It felt like an attack on our planning commission and our community development process,” Joaquin Jimenez, the city’s mayor and former farmworker advocate, told Al Jazeera, adding that the project was being approved with the community participation.
Jimenez also said he felt the issue had been unfairly portrayed in media coverage.
But affordable housing advocates say the incident illustrates the many obstacles to building new residences in a state where landlords and planning boards often argue over issues such as building height and parking.
“The fact that the governor had to get involved to get this passed is shocking,” said Ned Resnikoff, political director of the organization California YIMBY.
His group’s name is an acronym for its mission: “Yes in My Backyard” (YIMBY) is a popular rallying cry for housing advocates who reject a restrictive approach to building, sometimes called “not in my back yard.” or NIMBY.
Resnikoff pointed to the stalled Half Moon Bay project — and Gov. Newsom’s response — as indicative of a broader trend in the state. “This is a perfect illustration of why the state is getting more involved in local land use decisions.”
Local farmworker advocates like Arriaga also welcomed the intervention.
“After the shooting, Governor Newsom met with farmworkers and told them he would stand up for them and work to solve this problem,” she said. “He keeps his promise and does not attack the city.”
Essential workers
Over the past several years, farmworkers in and around Half Moon Bay have faced a series of tragedies and challenges for their livelihoods.
Many workers helped keep the state’s agricultural sector running at the start of the crisis. COVID-19, continuing to work while other industries closed their doors. Because many of them were undocumented, they faced the economic consequences of the pandemic and had less access to assistance programs.
Forest fires and flood in the region have also caused disruption to their work or loss of housing.
“There were things like the fires and the floods that were mentally and emotionally draining, and then there was this mass shooting,” Arriaga said. “There was a lot of trauma in the community. »
The median hourly wage for a California farm worker is approximately $20 per houraccording to the Department of State Employee Development.
In some counties, however, that figure is closer to $15 an hour, and advocates are quick to point out that many workers’ undocumented status makes them vulnerable to wage theft, when employees pay workers less. a rate lower than their official salary.
A 2022 report (PDF) by the University of California, Merced (UC Merced) found that nearly one in five California farmworkers reported not receiving the wages they earned.
California is also home to some of the most expensive real estate markets in the United States, with costs exceeding salaries. According to the California government, rents have increased by 20 percent or more in some parts of the state since 2020.
In order to cope with high rental costs, farmers they often crowd into cramped, dilapidated housing in an attempt to save money.
“It is extremely common for farmworkers to live with multiple people in an apartment, with some sharing bedrooms and others finding a place in the living room,” said Lucas Zucker, co-executive director of the group Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE). , which works with farmworker communities in California’s Central Coast region.
He notes that the UC Merced study found that about 25 percent of the state’s farmworkers reported sleeping in a room with three or more people, and nearly 40 percent reported difficulty sleeping. keep their home cool during periods of hot weather.
“Imagine spending your day doing that arduous work in the fields and coming home, exhausted, to a house where you have no space for yourself, or being a child trying to study and do your homework. homework.”
Arriaga hopes the 40-unit building, which will include an office to help connect residents to services such as medical care, can offer other cities a model for supporting farmworkers.
“We spoke to a man who has worked in the fields for 30 years and has never had a medical appointment,” she said. “We must stop and consider this community that deserves dignified and humane housing that honors them. »
