Midcoast Building Permit Cap: What Moss Beach Buyers Should Know

A Moss Beach listing that promises "room for an ADU" describes something no one can apply to build right now. San Mateo County is not accepting new building permit applications for new residential units in the urban Midcoast. That covers new single-family homes, accessory dwelling units and junior ADUs in Moss Beach, Montara, El Granada, Miramar and Princeton. The pause lasts until 2028 unless an amendment to the Local Coastal Program takes effect first.

For anyone comparing Coastside towns with an eye on what they could add later, that changes the math. A vacant lot or an ADU plan here now depends on two things. One is when a planning approval was granted. The other is when a state agency acts on a county vote.

How a Single Year of Permits Filled the Bucket

The Midcoast has capped growth since 2012. Under Local Coastal Program Policy 1.23, the urban Midcoast can add up to 40 new dwelling units per calendar year. That count includes new single-family homes, units in multifamily and mixed-use projects, caretaker quarters, affordable units and second dwelling units. The count goes by the year a building permit is issued, not the year an application is filed.

In 2025 the County issued 102 permits in the urban Midcoast. Seventy-one were for Cypress Point, the 100 percent affordable development in Moss Beach. The other 31 were 18 ADUs, one JADU and 12 other units. The policy let affordable units go past the 40-unit limit as long as the average over three years stayed at 40 or below. Because of the Cypress Point overage, only 18 units were left for 2026 and 2027 combined. A County email update on June 18 reported five of those permits issued and 13 left.

Those 102 permits in a single year added up to roughly two and a half years of capacity under a 40-unit cap. Under the averaging rule in place at the time, that left the County no room to accept new applications for homes or ADUs anywhere in the urban Midcoast until the window resets.

What Still Moves, and the Order It Moves In

Projects keep moving at the planning stage. Per the County's permit cap page, planning permit applications for residential projects are still being accepted and processed. Only building permit applications for new residential units are paused. ADUs and JADUs usually don't need a planning permit. For those, the County encourages applicants to seek a Formal Coastal Development Permit Exemption, called a Formal CDX, so they can get on the waitlist.

The waitlist is ordered by date. Approved planning cases are ranked by planning approval date, and Formal CDX cases by CDX approval date. The County's June 30 community meeting presentation set out this priority order for when the cap lifts:

1. Building permit applications that were canceled and are eligible to be reactivated
2. Approved planning cases, including new single-family homes with ADUs or JADUs
3. ADU and JADU cases with a Formal CDX
4. New building permit applications

Three details in the rules can catch buyers off guard. First, building applications with no activity for more than six months were canceled. Eligible applicants have to send a written request to reactivate them and clear any remaining comments or missing items within three months after the cap lifts. Second, once the cap lifts, the County will take applications from outside the waitlist only if the waitlist holds fewer units than are available at that point. Third, a spot near the front of the line doesn't guarantee a permit. Issuance also waits until every reviewing agency has signed off, including the water and sewer clearances. In Moss Beach, the Montara Water and Sanitary District's July 2026 new-service packet says applications are subject to district review. MWSD sets the conditions for serving a parcel only after an engineering review.

Additions to existing homes appear to fall outside the cap. According to Midcoast Community Council draft minutes from May 27, County staff answered a resident's question by saying additions don't count. The sources we reviewed don't say how a full replacement home is treated. That one should go to the Planning and Building Department for each specific property.

The Fix Has Passed Everyone but the Coastal Commission

The County's proposed fix keeps the 40-unit cap and changes how the average is calculated. The current three-year window would be replaced by an average that runs from January 1, 2013, through the year a permit is issued. The staff report to the Board of Supervisors notes that the Midcoast has more than 166 permits that went unused under the cap since it began. The staff report says spreading the 62 units above the cap from the Cypress Point project across the years since 2013 brings the average for that period to 28.5 units a year. That would let the County issue up to 40 new residences in 2026 and every year after, counting permits already issued.

There was also pressure from Sacramento. The County's Housing Element includes Policy 11.6, which the state required after reviewing the existing growth limit. If the limit is reached during the 2023 to 2031 Housing Element period, the County has to draft amendments that raise it by at least 50 percent and present them to the Coastal Commission within a year. That explains how the Midcoast Community Council's position shifted. Its June 29 letter opposed the amendment and pointed to infrastructure limits. Its August 12 letter gave "qualified support," calling the banking of unused permits since 2013 the least-bad option compared with a possible cap increase driven by the state.

The August 25 Board minutes list Planning and Building Director Steve Monowitz and District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller as speakers on the item. The staff report says Coastal Commission staff gave preliminary support and that the change might be handled as a minor, or "de minimus," amendment, the fastest route available. We found no filing date or hearing month. As of October 12, 2026, the cap and the pause on applications remain in effect.

Earlier this year, Coastside News reported that County planners worried about a rush of applications once the pause ends and a backlog that could last until 2031. That forecast was made before the Board vote. Still, it shows why queue order matters even if the amendment is certified.

What the Q3 Numbers Do and Don't Show

The latest market reports cover existing homes, and the cap doesn't stop anyone from buying or selling one. Here is the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS® third-quarter 2026 single-family report for the three Midcoast towns:

Moss Beach had the lowest median of the three in Q3 2026. With eight sales, though, a single house can move the number a lot. In September 2026 alone, the monthly report shows two Moss Beach sales, a $1,577,500 median and an average of 79 days on market. These reports cover single-family homes only and include no vacant land sales. That leaves no published local data showing how the pause has affected lot prices. A buyer pricing a parcel or an ADU plan here has to work out the permit status property by property, because the market averages don't include it.

Questions Worth Answering Before an Offer

The permit status of a specific property decides how much its "potential" is worth. A few things to confirm:

• Does the property have an approved planning case or Formal CDX, and on what date was it approved?
• Was there ever a building permit application that got canceled for inactivity and might qualify for reactivation?
• Has MWSD or the relevant water district finished an engineering review and stated its conditions of service?
• Is the planned work an addition to an existing home, or a new unit that counts toward the cap?
• Has the Coastal Commission scheduled the Policy 1.23 amendment since this post was published?

This post is general information about how the County's process works, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm the details for a specific parcel with the County Planning and Building Department and a qualified professional.

FAQ

Can I still buy a house in Moss Beach with ADU plans? Yes. Buying and selling existing homes isn't affected. What's paused is filing a building permit application for a new unit, ADUs included, until 2028 or until a certified amendment takes effect.

If the Coastal Commission certifies the amendment, does the waitlist go away? The County's materials describe the waitlist being processed strictly in queue order once the cap lifts, and new applications come after the waitlisted categories.

Does the cap apply to Half Moon Bay? The County cap covers the unincorporated urban Midcoast. The Board memo notes that the City of Half Moon Bay has its own growth quota and faced similar Housing Element requirements.

If you own a Moss Beach home with a planning approval or a place on the waitlist, that status belongs in how the home is priced and marketed. The Serdy Team can walk you through how buyers are weighing it right now. Request a complimentary home valuation, and we'll include your property's permit status in the conversation.