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California town drops claim that cougars bar new housing

Mountain Lion, Cougar (FILE)
Posted at 11:39 AM, Feb 07, 2022
and last updated 2022-02-07 14:39:40-05

WOODSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A wealthy California town has abandoned a claim that it can’t allow new housing to be built because the whole community is a habitat for mountain lions.

The Silicon Valley enclave of Woodside said in a statement late Sunday that applications for development on single-family lots will now be accepted.

The announcement came hours after California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that declaring the entire town cougar habitat was a transparent attempt to avoid complying with Senate Bill 9. The law is intended to address California’s housing shortage by allowing homeowners to build multiple residential units on single-family lots.