Woodside council likely to decide mansion's fate

The future remains uncertain for the partially demolished three-story mansion at 360 Mountain Home Road in Woodside. The mansion made news in 2012 when it was sold for $117.5 million, a new U.S. record for a single-family home, according to news reports at the time.

The town's Planning Commission deadlocked on July 31 over what to do about the unauthorized removal of the first floor and first-floor framing as part of what was described in a staff report as a "simple remodel."

The town's stop-work order has been in place since July 3, and the mansion's second and third floors have been resting on steel beams in mid-air above a hole in the ground.

Should work be allowed to continue, but with added conditions? Or should the owner be forced to seek new permits based on what staff now considers a demolition? Both questions were voted on by the seven-member Planning Commission, and both received 3-3 votes, leaving the property owner with two paths forward: canceling the project or appealing to the Town Council. The deadline for an appeal is Monday, Aug. 11. An appeal is expected.

Commissioner Aydan Kutay was absent.

Staff reports list the owner of the 8.74-acre property as SV Projects LLC. The owner has been represented in public meetings by the Mill Valley firm Van Acker Construction Associates, and by attorney John Hanna of the Palo Alto firm Hanna & Van Atta.

What happened?

The 7,423-square-foot mansion was completed in 2009. The 2013 remodeling plans included replacing wooden siding with stone, expanding the basement, and replacing the roofs with gray slate.

While the 2009 home was considered by the Architectural and Site Review Board and the Planning Commission as "inconsistent" with the town's design criteria, the limited scope of proposed changes in 2013 led to the town's permission to expand the house, including adding 400 square feet of floor space.

The project was presented to the town by the applicant as a "simple remodel, with recladding and small additions," according to a staff report.

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Woodside council likely to decide mansion's fate