Wildflower may stop construction of new affordable housing

Caltrans has blocked the town of Woodside’s attempt to build 200 units of affordable housing on land it owns near I-280 because it would endanger a rare wildflower.

Three years ago, Woodside made headlines around the world for claiming it couldn’t build public housing because the town was the habitat for endangered mountain lions. Woodside hastily dropped the idea after receiving a threatening letter from state Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Now Woodside wants to build housing to meet its quota under the state’s Housing Element law, and town leaders think they’ve found the perfect location — 22-acre site at the intersection of Interstate 280 and Farm Hill Boulevard. The property is next to Barkley Fields & Park, which has a large parking lot.

However, the Chronicle reports that Caltrans has determined the land in question contains several rare and native plant species that were once abundant in the area. These include:

• the Fritillaria falcata (also known as the White Fritillary), which is classified as a high-priority rare species by the California Native Plant Society;

• Hesperolinon congestum (Marin western flax), which is listed as threatened at both the state and federal levels;

• and Acanthomintha duttonii (San Mateo thorn-mint), which is listed as endangered by both state and federal agencies.”

Matt Rocco, an assistant deputy director with Caltrans told the Chronicle, said the property could also contain “active asbestos contamination that could make it unsuitable, dangerous, and unsafe for housing.” He said the agency is in the process of doing an environmental survey of the property, which should be complete in August.

The news that Caltrain thinks the flowers make the site inappropriate for housing comes after a former Woodside Mayor Chris Shaw and state Sen. Josh Becker have been pushing to get the state to donate the land, which they say presents the best bet to house local workers. 

“There is not a single employee at the grocery store that lives in Woodside,” Shaw told the Chronicle. “There is not a single staff member for the town that lives in Woodside. I don’t believe there are any firefighters that live in town. I don’t believe there are any cops that live in town,” he said. “These are the people we need putting down roots in the community and starting families and sending them to the schools here.”