How housing gets blocked

State law requiring environmental review for most projects. Frequently weaponized by opponents to trigger costly appeals and delay housing even when environmental impacts are minimal.

A process allowing any member of the public to request that the planning commission personally review a project that would otherwise be approved by right.

Provision of the Housing Accountability Act allowing developers to bypass local zoning in cities out of compliance with state housing element law.

Zoning caps on building height or floor-area-ratio.

Local ballot measures requiring citywide voter approval for certain types of development.

Designation of a site or neighborhood as historically significant, triggering additional review and restrictions.

A reduction in allowable density or use on a parcel, often enacted preemptively to block anticipated development.

State law requiring cities that have not met their housing production goals to approve qualifying multifamily projects ministerially — without discretionary review or public hearings. Cities cannot deny SB 35 projects on grounds other than objective standards.

Requires projects to obtain aesthetic approval from a design review board or planning commission.

A temporary freeze on housing approvals, or a ban on a type of housing, adopted by urgency ordinance or administrative order. Government Code 65858 allows a 45-day urgency moratorium that can be extended to two years, and the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 bars covered cities from imposing one on housing development unless it protects against an imminent threat to health and safety.

Local requirements mandating a minimum number of parking spaces per unit, often making projects financially infeasible.