Viva Bianca: Wealthy Silicon Valley Town Blocks Affordable Housing by declaring itself ‘Mountain Lion Habitat’ to abuse California’s housing law that prohibits building on habitats for endangered species

A wealthy town in Silicon Valley has declared itself a “mountain lion habitat” in order to halt new affordable housing projects in the area.

A wealthy Silicon Valley town blocked affordable housing projects after declaring itself a habitat for mountain lions.
A clause in California’s new housing law prohibits building on habitats for endangered species.
A Woodside town council memo said the town is “in its entirety” a mountain lion habitat.

The state’s new law, known as Senate Bill 9, allows up to four housing units to be built in a single-family lot, but Woodside, California blocked the building of new housing projects.
In a January 27 memo, the town declared that all housing projects started under SB 9 would be indefinitely paused as of January 25 after a petition to consider Woodside a habitat for mountain lions — a species that is a candidate to be considered endangered in the state — was brought before the town council.
The town council was able to identify a clause in SB 9 that prohibits building on “land identified as habitat for protected species,” according to the memo.
“Given that Woodside – in its entirety – is habitat for a candidate species, no parcel within Woodside is currently eligible for an SB 9 project,” the memo reads.
The town’s mayor, Dick Brown, told The Almanac that it is “not the Woodside way” to prioritize housing over habitat for endangered species.
“We love animals,” he said. “Every house that’s built is one more acre taken away from [the mountain lions’] habitat. Where are they going to go? Pretty soon we’ll have nothing but asphalt and no animals or birds.” … More