Two newcomers are challenging Woodside Town Council member Brian Dombkowski for the newly created District 2 seat this fall. Steve Lubin, a lifelong Woodside resident, and Elizabeth Kaske, who moved to town recently from Menlo Park, have thrown their hats in the ring.
The Town Council, which is currently a seven-member body, will make the move to five members when it switches from the old "from-district" to a "by-district" elections system beginning on Nov. 8.
Only two council members will be elected for new four-year terms, even though the terms for council members Brown (District 3), Dombkowski (District 2) and Sean Scott are all expiring. Brown is running unopposed. Scott now lives in District 1, which will be on the ballot in 2024. He could choose to run then, but he is not eligible for any of the seats on the ballot this November, according to Town Manager Kevin Bryant.
The town recently sent its proposed housing element to the state after being charged with designating at least 328 units of new housing over the next eight years through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), a large jump from just 62 last cycle. Its proposed plan heavily relies on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), but includes some multifamily housing. The town recently received a letter with state feedback on the plan.
Planning for housing, the future of the town center and controversy over the town's decision to declare itself a mountain lion habitat and freeze all Senate Bill 9 projects were among the topics that were top of mind to candidates who live in District 2, which encompasses parts of Emerald Hills east of Interstate Highway 280 and borders Huddart Park.
Measure A, an initiative to allow two sites in the Town Center area to be considered for outdoor community gathering spaces that passed last year by just four votes, is also still on candidates' minds. The town is awaiting additional information from the applicants to develop a parking lot in town center, said Bryant. Technical studies will be required for the review are underway. It has not yet been set for its first public hearing, he said.
The Almanac conducted interviews with the three candidates late last month, asking them about all these issues and more.
Brian Dombkowski
Brian Dombkowski, 51, has been on the Town Council since 2018. He is CEO of Sand Hill Global Advisors.
Dombkowski, who holds bachelor's and master's degrees from University of Wisconsin at Madison, describes himself as the middle of the road candidate since he's neither new to town nor lived in Woodside his whole life, like the other two candidates.
"I've built a lot of relationships up and down the spectrum," said Dombkowski, who has lived in town for 17 years. "It's a transformational moment for Woodside. ... Experience is necessary and an open mind that we do need to evolve to meet the needs of our citizens."
The decision to freeze SB 9 projects, a new law that allows owners to split their lots to build duplexes in town, was a mistake, Dombkowski acknowledged. He now sees SB 9 as an opportunity for seniors aging in place to split their lots.
So far the town has received zero SB 9 applications, but has gotten some inquiries, said Town Manager Bryant in an email. Woodside does have design standards that officials have said make it infeasible to build SB 9 units in town (for example, the additional units are limited to 800 square feet).
"Through the lens of the housing element SB 9 looks a lot more attractive," Dombkowski said.
The council received a lot of pushback from residents with regard to building more housing in the town center and property owners were completely uninterested, so it is not part of this housing cycle's plan, he said. Neighbors described two- to three-story buildings as skyscrapers. He said he does see lots of opportunities for senior housing in the town center in the future.
If reelected, Dombkowski's top three priorities are:
• Housing, which he called the No. 1 most transformational and polarizing issue in town. He describes this as a "jarring moment" for the town.
• Measure A: Allowing for outdoor dining to become a permanent fixture of Woodside
• Safety: Trying to constantly make improvements and to address wildfire, safety and security issues and circulation as they come up. "We're (the council) always learning from our mistakes and trying to do better. When the issues come up I'm going out and talking to people. ... I always meet with anyone who wants to meet with me."
To residents who were unhappy with the council's vote to redraw districts and move from a seven to five member council, Dombkowksi said the town had to do so under the potential threat of a lawsuit.
"Once you go by-district then you have to draw lines," he said. "We had to redraw things with an equal number of people. There was no mathematical way to get to seven."
Elizabeth Kaske
Elizabeth Kaske, 40, a partner at the company Ernst and Young, moved to Woodside from Menlo Park last year. Kaske holds an accounting degree from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Northwestern University, and serves as vice president of the Woodside Elementary School PTA.
"I bring a fresh perspective to the town," said Kaske, whose son is a second grader at Woodside Elementary. She said she is pleased town officials have begun to discuss with school staff how they can support them more and have planned a joint event soon. She would like to see more crosswalk safety measures put in place in front of the school.
With regard to the town's housing element, Kaske said she doesn't think the draft the town submitted will be supported by the state.
She noted there is a misconception among residents that building low-income housing in town means homeless people or criminals will be moving in. She noted that there is staff turnover at schools because of the high cost of living.
"I would love to shift the dialogue about affordable housing to focus on what can enhance and improve in town rather than (putting it in) lots on the outskirts of town and hope they don't get built upon," she said.
In regard to SB 9, Kaske said she thinks the town wasted time and resources responding to its ban on the mountain lion issue, especially given that she doesn't think it will really impact the town since there have been no SB 9 requests.
If elected, her top three priorities would be:
• Improve transparency: She said the town is sorely lacking in how it conducts town business. She'd like the council to more respectfully hear the voices of constituents.
• Housing element: She'd like a more inclusive plan with properties that would actually be able to be developed. She'd also like to see housing for teachers, government staff and firefighters.
• Safety: She wants more work put into safe routes to schools. She said her son rides in a sidecar to school and she wants him to be able to safely ride a bike to school by himself someday.
She applauded town officials for doing a good job of maintaining the town's rural charm and community. The rural setting is one of the reasons her family decided to move to Woodside.
She she she wants to see town officials do a better job of engaging the community.
"Folks' perspectives that are different aren't respected or heard," she said of the council. "Scoffing at remarks or shutting people down. Council members' job is to represent constituents."
In particular, she was skeptical of the so-called "Shawkowski" plan — named for its authors Dombkowski and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Shaw — that is essentially the housing element plan that was sent to the state rather than the one the Planning Commission created.
She would have liked to see "something that took into account more voices than two of the council members (who) came up with a plan."
Steve Lubin
Steve Lubin, 73, an architect, grew up in Woodside and has served on committees in town, from the Planning Commission to the Architectural and Site Review Board.
Lubin, who holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon, said his experience with building would bring a skillset not present on the council, which does have members with legal, business and financial experience. He and his wife Thalia are architects and they designed the Woodside Community Museum.
In terms of planning for more housing in town over the next eight years, Lubin said he would have liked to see the town bring residents into the conversation earlier, noting that there's a perception in town that a clique on the council makes up their minds in private and pushes things along rather than opening up for input early on.
Lubin said he wants to see housing closer to the town center, along with housing at Cañada College, depending on what part of campus is proposed for it.
He said he doesn't think the community has healed from its divisions last year over Measure A. He'd like to see an update to the town center plan before major changes happen in that area.
The town last explored a town center area plan in 2013, but it didn't pick up steam because town staff didn't have the bandwidth or expertise to take on the work, he said. The town didn't update the town center area plan in 2014, but the process led to implementing safe routes to school recommendations, according to Bryant.
Lubin's top three priorities, if elected:
• Town center plan: He wants to have an updated town center plan that aims to make it more pedestrian friendly
• Housing element: His goal is to create a housing element that doesn't "shuffle housing off to the periphery" and with a compact village closer to the town center. He said he agrees that the state is imposing onerous conditions on Woodside.
• Open space: He'd like to see the town better manage its wildflower preserve. He said using part of the grassland at Barkley Fields and Park in the Woodside Hills near Interstate Highway 280 in the housing element plan goes against the town's general plan. "The mindset of the current council is much more transactional rather than looking at physical capabilities," he said.
Lubin doesn't believe that there will be many SB 9 projects built in town. He said that although the state needs more housing he is against the law, which he called "enforced sprawl."
"The mountain lion thing was silly; it was grasping at straws," he said. "It brought a lot of ridicule on the town and (garnered) the attorney general's attention."
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