Although California’s local governments have had state-designated targets for housing construction for decades, they have been enforced only in recent years.
As Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature ramped up pressure to make more land available for multifamily housing and modify design restrictions, resistance has stiffened, particularly in upscale suburban communities dominated by single-family homes.
City councils, under pressure from constituents to preserve the status quo, devised all sorts of strategies to fend off state officials, but the state has been relentless in insisting that local planning documents favor housing, with penalties for communities that don’t comply…