Woodside Reverses Course On Denying Housing Due To Mountain Lions

WOODSIDE, CA — The town of Woodside will no longer deny new affordable housing projects under Senate Bill 9 by claiming that the entire town is a protected habitat for mountain lions.

The town council held a closed session special meeting on Sunday following national attention about the ordinance and a warning from California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Woodside will begin accepting applications for SB 9 projects on Monday, according to a subsequent news release by the town. Senate Bill 9 took effect last month and allows single-family lots to be divided up for four individual units at the most.

Woodside is one of the wealthiest communities in the country, with average home prices exceeding $5 million.

Town officials claimed that the town “paused” acceptance of SB 9 applications following a council meeting on Jan. 25, when community members raised the possibility that the California Department of Fish and Game Commission listing the mountain lion as a threatened species in the Woodside area would allow the town to deny applications.

The department has since informed Woodside that the entire town, which is nearly 12 square miles, cannot be considered habitat.

“As such, the Town Council has directed staff to immediately begin accepting SB 9 applications,” the news release stated.

In a memo last week, Woodside officials said they would be placing an affordable housing project on hold, citing mountain lions as a candidate for the California Endangered Species Act.

"Given that Woodside – in its entirety – is habitat for a candidate species, no parcel within Woodside is currently eligible for an SB 9 project," Woodside Planning Director Jackie Young wrote in the memo late last month.

In a letter, Bonta warned Woodside that its attempts to "sidestep" production of new housing was a violation of California law.

"Woodside declared its entire suburban town a mountain lion sanctuary in a deliberate and transparent attempt to avoid complying with SB 9," Bonta said. "This memorandum is — quite clearly — contrary to the law, and ironically, contrary to the best interests of the mountain lions the town claims to want to protect."

The letter detailed that an entire town "cannot be declared habitat for a protected species."

Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) also decried the move on Twitter this week and forecasted legal action against the wealthy town.

In the news release, Woodside officials claimed that the town has “consistently exceeded its State mandated low- and moderate-income housing commitments and the Town Council remains focused on doing its part to alleviate the regional shortfall in affordable housing.”

The original decision drew criticism on social media, where housing advocates claimed the town was attempting a workaround to abiding by a state housing law.

"People say Twitter isn't real life, but through the sheer power of Posting, one of the wealthiest cities in California, nay, the United States, has been forced to do a course correction and follow state housing law," said Jordan Grimes, a Peninsula housing advocate, on Twitter. "You love to see it!"

Read more:

• CA Town Cannot Avoid Housing Law By Citing Cougars, Bonta Says
• Woodside Won't Build Affordable Housing Because Of Mountain Lions