Report: Coastal Los Angeles Will Likely Remain Unaffordable

Bianca Barragan discusses the findings of an LAO paper, among them the sobering fact that, "In order to keep housing prices in check, California overall would have had to build more (70,000 to 110,000 additional units each year), build denser, and build especially in the coastal areas (including Los Angeles) and central cities (as opposed to building mostly inland and in areas way outside of cities as has been done in the past)."

According to Barragan, rampant NIMBYism among existing residents compounds the problem. "The report notes that, while it is important that local residents have input on new housing, their resistance to new development is 'heightened' especially in coastal California, and it's slowing down the ability of developers to build more housing to alleviate the stress on the limited housing supply."

"New housing projects are also slowed by the length of time it takes for approvals. The average coastal California metro takes seven months to approve a project; in LA, it takes about eight months. The average for major US metros was just four and a half months." On top of lengthy approvals, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) allows opponents to drag out the development process even further.