The data in aggregate

By the Numbers

Every case in this database is a specific building that didn't get built. Taken together, they reveal a pattern — the same mechanisms, the same outcomes, the same costs, repeating across California. Here is what the documented record adds up to.

431,591
homes proposed across tracked projects
69
cumulative years of delay (830 months)
$487M
documented cost of delay, where measured
25
fully researched cases

Plus 14,876 mapped permit leads from California HCD data and 44 housing-law court cases tracked separately.

How housing gets stopped

The mechanisms, by frequency

Across 25 researched projects, these are the legal and procedural tools invoked to block or delay them. A single project is often obstructed by several at once.

California Environmental Quality Act13 uses
Discretionary Review11 uses
Voter Approval Requirements (Measure J/R and similar)7 uses
Builder's Remedy6 uses
Height and Density Limits5 uses
Downzoning3 uses
Historic Preservation Designation2 uses
SB 35 Ministerial Streamlining2 uses
Design Review1 uses

What happened to them

Outcomes

The status of each tracked project as of the last update.

Withdrawn8 projects
Stalled8 projects
Approved4 projects
Under Construction2 projects
Disputed1 projects
On Ballot1 projects
Denied1 projects

Where the homes were lost

Homes proposed, by region

Total units across tracked projects in each part of the state.

Bay Area407,464 homes
SoCal21,800 homes
Sacramento2,327 homes

Number of cases by region

Bay Area13 cases
SoCal9 cases
Sacramento3 cases

When they were filed

Cases by year

The year each tracked project was filed or entered the public record.

20131 cases
20152 cases
20171 cases
20182 cases
20216 cases
20226 cases
20232 cases
20242 cases
20251 cases

These numbers grow as more cases are researched and verified. Each one began as a real proposal for real homes.

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