AG: California town not exempt from state housing law

WOODSIDE, Calif. (AP) — The state attorney general says a California town’s plan to declare itself a mountain lion sanctuary as a way to avoid having to build affordable housing is against the law. The wealthy Silicon Valley enclave of Woodside announced in a memorandum last week that it was exempt from a new state housing law that allows for duplex development on single-family lots because the entire town is habitat for endangered cougars. Attorney General Rob Bonta says Sunday that Woodside’s declaration is a “deliberate and transparent attempt” to avoid complying with Senate Bill 9. Town officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.