Editing Atherton, California (section)

===Land use and housing===
Atherton is the wealthiest city in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Locke |first=Taylor |title=These are the top 10 richest places in America |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/21/bloomberg-richest-places-in-america.html |access-date=November 23, 2022 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref name="1990 CPH-L-126F.html Original page" /> According to the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', "the town's ascendance stems largely from its single-family zoning, 1-acre-minimum lot sizes, flat land, streamlined permits and changing buyer demographics — which have translated into soaring house sizes and skyrocketing prices."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pender |first=Kathleen |date=July 27, 2019 |title=Here's how Atherton became the Bay Area's most expensive city for housing — by far |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/networth/article/Here-s-how-Atherton-became-the-Bay-Area-s-14188989.php |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref> There is no commercial zoning in the town, thus there are no restaurants, shops or grocery stores.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Ho |first=Vivian |date=December 6, 2020 |title='Flexing their power': how America's richest zip code stays exclusive |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/06/atherton-california-wealthy-zip-code-zoning |access-date=August 5, 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Although city codes specify regulations for sidewalk maintenance,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://atherton.municipal.codes/Code/12.10.010 |title=12.10.010 - Maintenance Required |website=Atherton Municipal Code |publisher=Town of Atherton |access-date=2025-03-14}}</ref> many streets do not have sidewalks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Priscilla Yuki |date=February 12, 2019 |title=Why are there no sidewalks in Atherton/Menlo Park? |url=https://www.kalw.org/transportation/2019-02-12/why-are-there-no-sidewalks-in-atherton-menlo-park |access-date=August 5, 2022 |website=KALW |language=en}}</ref>

In 2022, the town blocked a proposal to build 131 multifamily housing units in the town in response to strong criticism.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Demsas |first=Jerusalem |date=August 5, 2022 |title=The Billionaire's Dilemma |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/08/marc-andreessens-opposition-housing-project-nimby/671061/ |access-date=August 5, 2022 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> Many of the town's residents, including Golden State Warriors player [[Stephen Curry|Steph Curry]], strongly opposed proposals to permit more housing construction.<ref name="Griffith">{{Cite news |last=Griffith |first=Erin |date=August 12, 2022 |title=The Summer of NIMBY in Silicon Valley's Poshest Town |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/technology/nimby-housing-silicon-valley-atherton.html |access-date=August 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Swartz |first=Angela |date=January 27, 2023 |title=Steph and Ayesha Curry oppose upzoning of Atherton property near their home |url=https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2023/01/27/steph-and-ayesha-curry-oppose-upzoning-of-atherton-property-near-their-home |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=www.almanacnews.com |language=en}}</ref>  Advocates for the construction of additional homes have criticized Atherton as being a [[NIMBY]] town.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> In the same year, California Governor [[Gavin Newsom]] singled out Atherton in a speech for its restrictive housing policies.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Varian |first=Ethan |date=October 9, 2022 |title=Bay Area cities running out of time to convince the state they can build 441,000 new homes |language=en-US |newspaper=The Mercury News |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/09/bay-area-cities-running-out-of-time-to-convince-the-state-they-can-build-441000-new-homes |access-date=October 12, 2022 |url-access=limited}}</ref> With the passage of [[California HOME Act|SB 9]] in 2021, zoning regulations that limit how many units can be built on a property were nullified,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swartz |first1=Angela |title=Atherton: SB 9 applications start to trickle in |url=https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2022/05/09/atherton-sb-9-applications-start-to-trickle-in |website=www.almanacnews.com |language=en}}</ref> but enforcement actions did not begin until 2023.

In February 2023, responding to state legislative deadlines, the Atherton City Council approved a housing plan with 348 mixed-income housing units. Under California law, the units must be built over the next eight years, and the city must reserve 148 units for occupancy by "very low income" or "low income" individuals, 56 units for "moderate income" individuals, and 144 units for "above moderate income" individuals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 2, 2023 |title=Multifamily housing near Steph Curry's Atherton home gets approval |url=https://www.ktvu.com/news/multifamily-housing-near-steph-currys-atherton-home-gets-approval |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=KTVU FOX 2 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In its 2002 plan, Atherton stated a land-use goal to "preserve the Town's character as a scenic, rural, thickly wooded residential area with abundant open space",<ref name="General plan">{{cite web
 | url = http://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/documents/ViewtheAthertonGeneralPlanPartI.pdf
 | title = Town of Atherton General Plan
 | publisher = Neal Martin & Associates
 | pages = LU–1
 | date = November 20, 2002
| access-date = August 22, 2009
| url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091104032908/http://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/documents/ViewtheAthertonGeneralPlanPartI.pdf
 | archive-date = November 4, 2009
}}</ref> but its current general plan as of 2024 does not use this language.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/208/General-Plan |title=General Plan |website=Town of Atherton |access-date=2025-03-14}}</ref>