Woodside Cannot Avoid Housing Law By Citing Cougars, Bonta Says

WOODSIDE, CA — The town of Woodside cannot declare the area a mountain lion sanctuary to "avoid compliance" with a bill that directs cities to develop new affordable housing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Sunday.

Senate Bill 9 took effect last month and allows single-family lots to be divided up for four individual units at the most.

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.

Bonta on Sunday shot down Woodside's declaration in a letter to town officials.

"Woodside declared its entire suburban town a mountain lion sanctuary in a 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."

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

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.

"I'm all for mountain lions. I'm also for people. You know, the ones who need homes," Wiener wrote. "Can't wait for the lawsuit against Woodside for this brazen violation of state law."

Woodside Mayor Dick Brown told The Almanac that it's "not the Woodside way" to value housing over the environment.

"We love animals," Brown told the local newspaper. "Every house that's built is one more acre taken away from (mountain lions') habitat. Where are they going to go? Pretty soon we'll have nothing but asphalt and no animals or birds."

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