The problem isn't just that people build houses in places they probably shouldn't have, it's that those houses represent the primary wealth of a number of a number of not-entirely-upper-class families. I mean sure... if you're banking a couple mil per quarter working in the venture mines, you can afford to give up your house in the woods. But for the majority of people who live there, that would be financially ruinous, and thus... unpopular.
> unpopular
No matter if it's Bonny Doon or Felton it will be unpopular with the people living in the woods.
The alternative is that the rest of us pay for their chosen lifestyle. The vast majority of people don't live in up in the mountains and don't rely on little towns existing up there. I don't see why defunding would be overall unpopular.