We should add 2021 to the title. A lot has changed since then. California has passed a bunch of laws to address this. Some of these passed before 2021 but the

We should add 2021 to the title. A lot has changed since then. California has passed a bunch of laws to address this. Some of these passed before 2021 but the effects are only being felt now. For example: each town or city is required to file a housing element with the state showing how they will meet their quota for increased units. Failing to do so was given teeth in the late 2010s and the targets got a lot higher. Now when a town falls out of compliance the so-called "builder's remedy" comes into effect. This means a court can approve projects bypassing pretty much all local zoning, planning ordinances, review processes and environmental review (ie CEQA) as long as it meets certain requirements (eg 20% "affordable" housing). Santa Monica fell out of compliance and had courts approve 4000+ new units. it' remains to be seen how many will actually be built but it's a start. Much of the Bay Area is currently out of compliance or at risk of being out of compliance. All the while you'll see the same arguments. Something as simple as townhouses or multi-family dwellings will "ruin the character". NIMBY supported councils trying to fight state requirements, etc. But this is only one of many pieces of legislation. Others include automatic approval for higher density housing with a sufficient right-of-way (70' IIRC), easier approval for building residential over commercial (something that is illegal in most of the US), etc. My sincere hope that there will be enough support for this to ultimately repeal Prop 13. It's estimated this has cost the state hundreds of billions of dollars and represents a massive giveaway to the states richest residents.