Fear is obscuring the benefits to more housing in Woodside | May 6, 2022 | Almanac | Almanac Online |

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Viewpoint - May 6, 2022

Fear is obscuring the benefits to more housing in Woodside

by Tovis Page

On April 25, my spouse and I attended a special meeting of the Woodside Planning Commission about the Housing Element of the General Plan. The property on which we live is subject to a change in zoning to help meet the new state mandate for increased housing. At the meeting, we learned that the town has been working hard on proposals to meet the state requirements and that a lot of Woodside residents are very afraid and upset.

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Comments

Posted by Jennifer Polly
a resident of Woodside: Woodside Heights
on May 8, 2022 at 1:18 pm

Jennifer Polly is a registered user.

Thanks for this thoughtful piece, Tovis. I fully agree that we have so much to gain!


Posted by Julie
a resident of Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle
on May 8, 2022 at 2:47 pm

Julie is a registered user.

Dr. Page’s views should be a reasoned plea to all the cities along the Peninsula fearfully reacting to the Housing Element. This same debate is happening in neighboring Menlo Park, Atherton etc…imagine if we all accepted this necessary change and worked together to welcome diversity across all aspects of community living, how much better we’d be for it! Change is hard for many, but changing our attitudes is a great place to start!


Posted by MenloVoter.
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on May 9, 2022 at 7:14 am

MenloVoter. is a registered user.

"Fear" isn't obscuring the "benefits" to more housing in Woodside, reality is. Do the math. More housing in Woodside will NOT equal "affordable" housing or anything close to it. The math simply doesn't work.


Posted by Woodside Lifer
a resident of Woodside: Woodside Hills
on May 9, 2022 at 9:41 am

Woodside Lifer is a registered user.

Tovis, [portion removed]

As owner of an ideal parcel to demonstrate how this can work for many, are you putting your words into action? Or is the $2 million cost of subdividing the lot and adding three ADU units to the property holding you back? Is it the prospect of your property taxes increasing to $ 30,000/yr? Is the cost of borrowing the $2 million dollars to create this "affordable" housing standing in the way? Did penciling out the P&L forecast enlighten you to the absurdity of such an undertaking?

[Portion removed]. California has a population decline going on in case you haven't noticed--hundreds of thousands are leaving each year. The blurred lines between the homeless and those with housing insecurity are two different issues. The single greatest housing benefit we could hope for in this state is the continued departure of employers and the jobs they take with them. Adding more toilets, showers, dishwashers and landscaping is not the environmentally conscious way to solve California's perceived housing inadequacies.


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