Steph and Ayesha Curry are asking the town of Atherton not to allow a multiunit development near their home as it considers how to hit a state-mandated housing deadline at the end of this month.
The Currys sent a letter on Jan. 18 citing privacy and their kids’ safety as reasons to oppose denser housing near their home in the ultra-posh Bay Area suburb.
“We hesitate to add to the ‘not in our backyard’ (literally) rhetoric, but we wanted to send a note before today’s meeting,” the Currys wrote. “Safety and privacy for us and our kids continues to be our top priority and one of the biggest reasons we chose Atherton as home.”
The pair is opposing a city decision earlier this month to upzone—or allow more units—at 23 Oakwood Blvd. That’s near the Currys’ home on Selby Lane, where a developer is planning to build more than a dozen townhouses.
The Currys aren’t the only power couple to oppose denser housing in Atherton: Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and wife Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen have also voiced “immense” objections to multifamily development in the community.
“Please IMMEDIATELY REMOVE all multifamily overlay zoning projects from the Housing Element which will be submitted to the state in July,” wrote the outraged Andreessens in a 2022 letter.
The elite, 5-square-mile town of Atherton is one of America’s wealthiest enclaves, with a median home price above $8 million and high-profile residents that include billionaires and titans of industry.
The Almanac, which first reported the Currys’ letter, wrote that Atherton’s town council voted in favor of the upzoning amid fears of the “builder’s remedy.”
If the city does not pass a state-approved housing plan, called the Housing Element, by the end of the month, it could lose control over its own zoning, which could pave the way for a much bigger development on the property.
Atherton plans to vote on its Housing Element on Jan. 31.
The Standard has reached out to Steph Curry for comment through his website.