An affluent California town is reversing course after attempting to declare itself a habitat for mountain lions last month to avoid a new affordable housing law.
State Sen. Scott Weiner, the chair of the Senate Housing Committee, said Woodside's mountain lion ploy was a "particularly colorful and absurd" way for a city to try to skirt affordable housing laws, but the problem has been ongoing across the state for decades.
"We started passing state housing laws in California in the late 60s. For many, many years, we would pass these state housing laws and cities would just ignore them. And not just the Woodsides of the world, but places like Los Angeles, or San Francisco, or others who would simply ignore these laws," Wiener told FOX Business. "And we spiraled into a multi-million home shortage in California.
was signed into law last year and proponents hope it leads to denser development as it allows for duplexes on single-family lots. The priciest home on the market in Silicon Valley is this $135 million estate with 74 acres and seven homes in Woodside. Woodside Mayor Dick Brown said the move to declare the town a mountain lion habitat was about protecting the environment.
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