The building industry has identified a culprit in the California affordability crisis: the drought.
"The state’s dry spell is creating challenges for developers at a time when home prices are soaring because of limited inventory," reports John Gittlesohn. "Now the drought, into its fourth year, stands to curb affordability further."
As examples to make the connection between drought and constrained development environments, Gittlesohn cites "areas such as Newport Beach, a tony Orange County town where the median home price is $1.59 million, have been caught in the crosshairs of environmentalists seeking to limit new building." Moreover, says Gittlesohn, "[i]n the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Pleasanton, a proposal to rezone an industrial area for residential use was shot down because of the drought."
Gittlesohn cites one policy as a root of some of the difficulty in getting water supplied to new development: an October moratorium from the State Water Resources Control Board "on new connections at 22 of California’s 7,500 water districts, with more expected this year…"
FULL STORY: Drought Dogs Developers in California's Soaring Housing Market
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions