Public commenters urge pause on Woodside’s plan to consider 22‑acre Caltrans parcel; council member recuses

Council member Gold, speaking as a private citizen, asked the Woodside Town Council to pause consideration of acquiring a 22‑acre parcel along the east side of Interstate 280 and criticized the timing and transparency of the discussion.

Gold said he was recusing himself from the closed session on the property and described the acquisition as opening a "Pandora's box." He told the council he had received notice of the issue only four days earlier and urged elected officials to determine whether residents want the town to acquire surplus lands before negotiating price and terms.

"So what I'm asking you to do is hit the pause button and first determine if Woodside should be acquiring any surplus lands before we go off half‑*** negotiating price and terms," Gold said. He cited a San Francisco Chronicle article mentioning Chris Shaw and warned that, in his view, the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) could force the town to build on parcels it owns.

David Burrow, who identified himself as living at 135 Sheridan Way, echoed Gold's concerns about notice and process. "When I found out about the topic for this meeting, I was quite surprised," Burrow said, adding that the appearance of negotiating price in the agenda could look as if the decision had already been made and risk eroding trust between residents, council members and staff.

A Zoom participant who identified himself only as Thomas also urged the council to stop consideration until the community had been involved. "This is really happening too quick without any real discussion or prior information to the rest of the public of the town of Woodside," he said.

Earlier in the meeting an unidentified staff member announced that Council member Gold had informed staff he would recuse from the closed session because of a real property interest conflict. After public comments the presiding official closed communications and said the council would move into closed session to discuss the matter.

No formal motion to acquire the parcel was recorded in the public portion of the meeting, and no vote was taken on the acquisition during the segments provided. The council proceeded into closed session following the comments; no further public action was announced in the transcript.