California town won’t assert exemption to state housing law

WOODSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A California town has announced that it will accept applications for increasing housing after being warned against trying to claim an exemption to state law on grounds that the entire community is a mountain lion sanctuary. The Silicon Valley enclave of Woodside said in a statement late Sunday that applications for development on single-family lots were to be accepted starting Monday. The announcement came hours after California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that declaring the entire town a mountain lion sanctuary 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 up to four residential units on a single-family lot.