Uphold Our Heritage v. Town of Woodside

Disregarding multiple staff recommendations to the contrary, the Town of Woodside (Town) issued a permit to Steven Jobs authorizing the demolition of a mansion of historic significance to permit the construction of a smaller single-family residence. The Town council (Council), like the planning commission, found that the proposed alternatives to the demolition identified in an environmental impact report (EIR) were not feasible and that overriding considerations justified approval of a conditional demolition permit despite the adverse impact on the environment. Upon a petition by respondent Uphold Our Heritage (Heritage), a private group of preservationists, the superior court concluded that these findings were not supported by substantial evidence and issued a writ of mandate directing the Town to set aside its approval of the demolition permit. The Town and Jobs have jointly appealed. We are not unsympathetic with the manner in which the Town has attempted to strike a balance between the competing interests in permitting the property owner to improve his property as he wishes and preserving as much of the historical resource as possible. Nonetheless, based on our…