Picture this: a wealthy enclave nestled in the hills of Silicon Valley, where mansions dot the landscape and the median home price could buy a small island. Los Altos Hills, a town known for its astronomical property values and resistance to change, is now ground zero for California’s housing crisis.

The NIMBY Nightmare

State housing laws have been pushing suburban strongholds like Los Altos Hills to create more housing, but the town is pulling every trick in the book to avoid actually building anything. Their latest move? Dramatically reducing the number of potential housing units at a prime development site called Twin Oaks Court, effectively telling affordable housing developers to take a hike.

David vs. Goliath (But Goliath is Rich)

The proposed development would have created 598 homes, with 56 units designated for lower-income residents. Cue the pearl-clutching from local residents who are terrified that gasp people who aren’t tech millionaires might want to live in their precious suburb.

The Housing Hunger Games

Pro-development activists are calling out this maneuver for what it is: a blatant attempt to dodge state housing mandates. The town claims they’re still meeting requirements, but with school sites unlikely to develop and minimal interest in actual affordable housing, it’s looking like another classic case of wealthy suburbanites protecting their exclusive bubble.

California needs over 2.5 million new homes by the end of the decade, and towns like Los Altos Hills are making that goal feel about as achievable as buying a home in San Francisco on a barista’s salary.