Half Moon Bay, California
Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 2020 census. Immediately north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the unincorporated community of Princeton-by-the-Sea. Half Moon Bay is known for Mavericks, a big-wave surf location. It is called Half Moon Bay because of its crescent shape.
Originally an agricultural outpost to Mission San Francisco de Asís, the town was founded in the 1840s first as San Benito, and then as its Anglo fishing community grew, it was renamed Spanishtown. In 1874, it was again renamed Half Moon Bay. After rail and road connections in the early 1900s, the town grew. The foggy weather of the coast made the town a popular destination for booze-running during Prohibition.
The city's infrastructure is heavily integrated with the coast, including the Pillar Point Harbor, major roads, and the fire department. The economy of Half Moon Bay is dominated by a few businesses, the biggest of which is the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. Because of this geography, found that the city had over 123 buildings vulnerable to sea level rise.
History
Half Moon Bay began as a rural agricultural area, primarily used by Mission San Francisco de Asís for grazing cattle, horses, and oxen. After the Mission's secularization, Tiburcio Vásquez received the Rancho Corral de Tierra Mexican land grant in 1839 and Candelario Miramontes was granted Rancho Miramontes in 1841.The community began to develop in the 1840s as San Mateo County's first real town. Originally, San Benito, the town was renamed Spanishtown and attracted a thriving fishing industry in addition to its continued importance to coastal agriculture. Spanishtown became a racially diverse community, settled by Canadians, Chinese, English, Germans, Irish, Mexicans, Italians, Scots, Portuguese, and Pacific Islanders. Regular stagecoach service was established with San Mateo; coaches also served Purissima, Lobitos, and San Gregorio. Levy Brothers opened a department store downtown. Spanishtown was officially renamed Half Moon Bay in 1874.
The area grew very slowly, even after the Ocean Shore Railroad began serving the community in 1907. The construction of Pedro Mountain Road in 1914 provided better access to San Francisco and probably contributed to the railroad's demise by 1920. The USS DeLong ran aground at Half Moon Bay on December 1, 1921. During Prohibition "rum runners" took advantage of dense fog and hidden coves in the area to serve several roadhouses and inns, some of which operate today as restaurants. Real growth in the area came after World War II with the construction of numerous subdivisions, eventually leading to Half Moon Bay's incorporation in 1959. The city preserves a historic downtown district that has buildings dating as far back as 1869.
2008 economic downturn and subsequent recovery
In 2008, financial setbacks endangered the city's viability. The economic crisis severely affected tourism, which generates the most revenue, and just when the city had finalized an $18million settlement over a property lawsuit. As the municipal budget was typically $14million or less, city fathers had issued bonds with annual payments of approximately $1 million over 25years. As a result of these obstacles, the threat of bankruptcy was very real. Dozens of meetings were held to decide where to cut the budget and finally, 75percent of municipal employees were laid off and replaced with contract workers. Employee contributions toward retirement benefits were also raised. The city council sought to regain the money paid in the settlement, believing that it should have been paid by the city's insurers. A lawsuit against the insurers was decided in 2013 and the insurer was ordered to pay the city more than $13million; the Association of Bay Area Governments partially covered the costs of the lawsuit.As of the publication of the Fiscal Year 201516 Budget the General Fund budget was balanced and had a structural surplus of $4million.
2023 mass shootings
On January 23, 2023, mass shootings occurred in Half Moon Bay. A spree killer opened fire at two farms with a semi-automatic pistol, killing seven people and critically injuring an eighth person. A 66-year-old suspect was taken into custody after he arrived in his SUV at the parking lot of the sheriff's office substation.2024 blocking of affordable housing
In 2024, Half Moon Bay politicians were criticized by California Governor Gavin Newsom for repeatedly delaying approval of a 40-unit apartment building for senior farmworkers. Newsom threatened to take legal steps against the city if they continued stalling on the housing. Half Moon Bay Commissioner Rick Hernandez said that they were resistant to approving the senior farmworker housing because "we love the character of our small-town community" claiming that once this proposal is approved, it will trigger more requests for other constructions.Geography
Half Moon Bay is approximately south of San Francisco, west of San Mateo, and north of Santa Cruz. Neighboring towns include El Granada, Princeton-by-the-Sea, Moss Beach, and Montara to the north and Purissima, San Gregorio, and Pescadero to the south.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, of it is land and of it is water. The town is situated on a bay of the same name. Major local industries include agriculture, fishing, and tourism. Historically, Half Moon Bay had been known as San Benito and Spanishtown. A 2022 study of the effects of sea level rise, found that both major tourism attractions, and other infrastructure would be under threat from projected Sea level rise caused by global warming. The study found at least 123 buildings, including the Ritz Carlton, Pigeon Point Lighthouse and the Pescadero Cal Fire Station would be seriously threatened by erosion if sea level were to rise by.
A popular spot at Half Moon Bay is the 'Jetty,' or as it is sometimes called, 'The Breakwater.' This is a man-made break with unusual waves shaped by reflections from the breakwater at Pillar Point Harbor. Creeks in Half Moon Bay include Frenchmans, Pilarcitos and Naples.
Montara State Marine Reserve & Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area extend offshore from Montara, just north of Half Moon Bay. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.
Climate
Half Moon Bay usually has mild weather throughout the year. Under the Köppen climate classification, it has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. Hot weather is rare; the average annual days with highs of or higher is only 0.4days. Cold weather is also rare with an annual average of 2.5days with lows of or lower. Typical of Northern California, most of the rain falls from November to April. The normal annual precipitation is. Snowfall along the coast in Half Moon Bay has never been measurable; however, snow flurries were observed on December 12, 1972, February 5, 1976, and February 23, 2023. There is often fog and overcast during the night and morning hours, usually clearing offshore during the afternoon. Persistent sea breezes help to moderate the climate along the coast; farther from the ocean, in places such as Pilarcitos Creek, days are often warmer and nights cooler than on the coast. For the 37th parallel north, the mild summer temperatures of Half Moon Bay are unmatched across the board. Relatively nearby inland cities see significantly warmer temperatures at the same time. Despite the low latitude and strong maritime influence, nights remain very cool, even in the summer.January is the coolest month with an average high of and an average low of. September is the warmest month with an average high of and an average low of.
The most rainfall recorded in Half Moon Bay in one month was in February 1998. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall was on January 4, 1982. There is an average of 86days with measurable rainfall.
Demographics
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Half Moon Bay had a population of 11,795. The population density was. The racial makeup of Half Moon Bay was 62.5% White, 0.7% African American, 0.8% Native American, 6.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 14.1% from other races, and 15.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.7% of the population.The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households, 58 people lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 4,569 households, out of which 26.8% included children under the age of 18, 53.9% were married-couple households, 4.3% were cohabiting couple households, 27.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.4% had a male householder with no partner present. 27.6% of households were one person, and 18.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57. There were 3,040 families.
The age distribution was 18.8% under the age of 18, 6.7% aged 18 to 24, 21.3% aged 25 to 44, 29.3% aged 45 to 64, and 23.9% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 47.6years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males.
There were 4,833 housing units at an average density of, of which 4,569 were occupied. Of these, 68.7% were owner-occupied, and 31.3% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 20.8% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 67.4% spoke only English at home, 26.0% spoke Spanish, 3.8% spoke other Indo-European languages, 2.3% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.4% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 91.3% were high school graduates and 53.2% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income in 2023 was $153,199, and the per capita income was $81,034. About 2.3% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line.