Frequently Asked Questions

California law requires that each county and city in the state develop and adopt a General Plan. The General Plan consists of a statement of development policies and includes a diagram or diagrams and text setting forth objectives, principles standards, and plan proposals. It is a comprehensive long-term plan for the physical development of the county or city. In this sense, it is a "blueprint" for development.

The General Plan must contain seven state-mandated elements. It may also contain any other elements that the legislative body of the county or city wishes to adopt. The seven (7) mandated elements are: Land Use, Open Space, Conservation, Housing, Circulation, Noise, and Safety. The General Plan may be adopted in any form deemed appropriate or convenient by the legislative body of the county or city, including the combining of elements.

Your parcel’s Zoning Designation can be determined by staff. Please contact the Planning Division at 650-726-8270. When you call, please have your address and/or the assessor parcel number (APN) readily available.

Setbacks are the required minimum distances between a building and the related front, side, exterior side (the street side of a corner lot), or rear property line. These distances determine the distance that construction must be set back from the property line. If you have any questions regarding setbacks, please contact the Planning Division at 650-726-8270, or visit City Hall at 501 Main Street. Please be prepared with the address or APN of the subject site.

Generally, the answer is yes. However, the addition must not: 1) encroach into any required setbacks, 2) extend more than 28 feet in height, comply with Maximum Building Envelope Requirements, Lot Coverage, Floor Area Ratio, and all other development standards for the underlying Zoning District. For a more detailed response, please contact the Planning Division at 650-726-8270 or visit the Planning Counter at City Hall, 501 Main Street.

The type of development allowed for your site depends on many issues. Any development requires compliance with the Development Standards of the underlying Zoning District, Zoning Code (Title 18 of the Municipal Code), the Local Coastal Program/General Plan, Subdivision Map Act, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). If you know the zoning of your property, please refer to the appropriate section of the Municipal Code on our website page.

If you’re unable to access the Municipal Code, please contact the Planning Division at 650-726-8270. Again, you should have your address and/or APN prior to contact the Planning Department.

The City of Half Moon Bay Planning Division is located at City Hall, 501 Main Street. You may contact the Planning Division by calling 650-726-8270 or via email to inquire about property within Half Moon Bay, including zoning, property usage and development standards. The Planning Counter is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

The Planning Division has a current list of projects that are either approved or in the planning stages. Please refer to the Planning Division at 650-726-8270 or contact the Building Department 650-712-5835 for projects currently under construction.

According to Section 18.06.025 of the Municipal Code, a maximum of two domestic foul may be permitted in the Single-Family and R-2 Zoning District at any one time. Three or more domestic foul are permitted in a Single-Family Zoning District upon securing a Use Permit. Roosters are strictly prohibited in all Residential Districts. If your property is not within a single-family residential district, please contact the Planning Division at 650-726-8270.

“Domestic fowl” means chickens, ducks, geese, pea fowl, pigeons, turkeys and other fowl typically used for food or food products, which may create a disturbance to the peace within residential districts.

Contact the Planning Division at 650-726-8270 or download an agenda from the Calendars and Agenda link. Complimentary copies are available at each meeting.

Entitlement processing requires payment of a fee or deposit, please  refer to the adopted City Fee Schedule. Please note, a deposit is a  retainer and not a fee. The deposit will set up an account which shall  be charged at a set hourly rate for all staff processing time. If  expenditures exceed 70% of the deposit amount required by the Cost  Recovery Fee Program, additional deposits will be requested.

If  the final costs are less, the unused portion of the deposit will be  returned to me at the conclusion of the process or final inspection of  the completed project, whichever occurs later (the necessary staff time  will vary according to the complexity of the application and the  project). Master Fee Schedule

The maximum height of a solid fence, wall or hedge shall be as follows:

- Front Limited Height. Fences, walls, and hedges located within a required front yard setback area or within the site distance area as defined herein shall be limited to a maximum height of three feet.

- Rear Limited Height. Fences, walls, and hedges located to the rear of the required front yard setback area shall be limited to a maximum height of six feet, unless this area is also within the site distance area as defined herein, in which case the maximum height shall not exceed three feet in the site distance area.

- Trellis or Rails. An additional one foot of fence or wall height is permitted on front yard, rear yard and interior side yard fences, only if the added fencing has openings comprising at least fifty percent of the added area (such as lath trellis or rails).

- If your property is on a corner or within 100-feet of a waterway (creek, ditch, etc) or sensitive habitat area, please contact the Planning Division prior to installing any fence, staff may be contacted at 650-726-8270.