Rent control laws disincent development that could help housing crisis

Dan Walters of CALmatters notes that state efforts to incent new housing will still run into a phalanx of government-inspired barriers:

“Even if land is made available via zoning, projects still must clear often fierce local opposition, particularly to high density development. Environmental impact reports, lawsuits, and refusal to supply water are among the tools often used to block projects.

“Even if local governments overcome that opposition and approve their specific plans, developers must be willing to spend many billions of dollars to acquire the land and build. Recurring efforts to impose rent control make them reluctant to make big financial commitments that might not pay off.

“Even if those hurdles are cleared, there one more very thorny factor—a growing lack of construction workers to do the actual work. And one reason for that lack is the reluctance of workers to come to California because they, too, cannot find affordable housing.”

San Jose Mercury, July 13, 2019