Woodside Taking On Construction Of Massive Basements
WOODSIDE (KPIX 5) – The wealthy town of Woodside is taking on basements, as the community is dealing with a real estate trend of building down, not up.
"Years and years, people have been building basements," said Steve Peterson of Custom Homes of Woodside. Peterson said digging a basement instead of building a second floor is more in line with the community's country charm.
"Allows people to have a larger home without visually influencing the character of our rural neighborhood," Peterson said.
Others in Woodside said some basement projects have gotten out of control. Applications to build down have grown, and so has the square footage. Some basements are mansions in their own right, with one at 17,000 square feet.
Environmental architect Cassandra Adams told KPIX 5 that big basements won't hurt the environment and that they are better than building up. "Basements do not use more energy, they do not consume more energy than regular buildings for the long term," Adams said.
Adams said other concerns like digging a basement too close to the water table can be avoided. "It's mitigatable, that's what it is," the architect said.
Woodside hasn't taken a fresh look at its basement rules in 20 years.
A zoning subcommittee wants to keep all new basements close to the size of the house's foundation. The full town council still has to decide.