A single sloping tower lined with balcony patios is built into a hill and rises over 200 feet. It has a roof deck, bike parking, community space and fitness center, as well as underground parking. This rendering of a proposed multifamily housing development is located on a vacant lot covered in yellowing grass and trees along a quiet road.

It isn’t your typical sight in wealthy Woodside, where you’re more likely to see people riding horses and where home lots easily span over an acre.

First proposed in 2024, this development has remained under the radar — with only a few town staffers aware of its existence.

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The 16-story project at 4224 Jefferson Ave. would end up less than half a mile from Interstate Highway 280. It serves as the latest threat to the way of life for residents of the Peninsula town of about 5,100, according to emails and documents obtained by SFGATE through a California Public Records Act request. Developers are employing the state’s so-called “builder’s remedy,” which allows for residential projects to move forward even if they do not comply with local development standards (the town’s structure height limit is 30 feet tall). 

There has been increasing pressure on jurisdictions like Woodside to provide their fair share of housing amid California’s affordability crisis. 

A rendering of the 105-unit building proposal at 4224 Jefferson Ave. in Woodside, Calif. 

Woodside has attempted to dodge some of the state’s mandates using various means over the years. In 2022, its council members tried to stop the construction of duplexes by declaring itself a mountain lion habitat. The move was unsuccessful and led to a scolding from the state attorney general. More recently, some of the council pushed back on a proposal to buy land from Caltrans to build........

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