California Land Use Paradigm Limits Home Ownership

In this opinion editorial, M. David Stirling of the PacificLegal Institute argues that the emerging land-use paradigm limitingdevelopment in California is making it increasingly difficult for peopleto realize the American dream of home ownership. Stirling points to thegrowing prevalence of "critical habitat" designations and to ballotmeasures limiting growth as major obstacles to development. He goes onto say that if measures like this continue, when combined with predictedand inevitable population growth in the state, the future will involve"overflowing government-subsidized, high-density family housing inexploding inner cities with educational, public safety and socialservice deficiencies... six-hour daily commutes... regions with fewsurviving animal species, periodic water alerts and no blue skies insight." Stirling concludes that it would be better to approach land-useissues in a way which balances development with other concerns.