A wealthy San Francisco-area town has tried to skirt California’s new high-density housing law by declaring itself a protected mountain lion habitat.
But California Attorney General Rob Bonta is not buying it. He sent a letter on Sunday to officials in the coastal town of Woodside saying their efforts are a “deliberate and transparent attempt” to avoid complying with Senate Bill 9, which passed Jan. 1.
Bonta said in a statement that an entire town can’t be an animal sanctuary.
Woodside has 5,508 residents, with 80% of them Democrats and a median income of $206,528. Homes have a median cost of $4 million. It is a rare example of a rural small town located near a large California metropolis.
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S.B. 9 allows homeowners to subdivide their property into four units within areas that had been zoned for single-family homes. Gov. Gavin Newsom had pushed for the law as a way to solve the state’s housing crisis, while opponents said it will destroy the quality of life for residents who have lived in their neighborhoods, often for generations.
“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,” Bonta wrote in his letter. “My message to Woodside is simple: Act in good faith, follow the law, and do your part to increase the housing supply. If you don’t, my office won’t stand idly by.”
Town officials did not respond to requests for comment.
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While cougars have historically been plentiful throughout California, decades of construction in their habitats have dwindled the numbers, causing the Center for Biological Diversity to petition the state to make the animal an endangered species.
