The Land Problem
by Tim Coyle, CBIA Senior VP/Governmental Affairs
Published in the March/April Issue of CBIA

… In an editorial published on January 19, the San Diego Union-Tribune criticized California ’s “pernicious state policies” for being at the root of that region’s “all-too-expensive housing.”

Land – the essential raw material for new housing – is becoming quickly scarce in California . It’s not because we don’t have enough. Of the state’s more than 100 million acres of land, barely more than 5 million – a mere 5 percent – is being used for human habitation.

According to a study done by housing scholar and University of California , Berkeley , Professor John Landis, there are roughly 17 million acres of privately held land in California suitable for development. But the analyses of Professor Landis show that through State and federal restrictions – in the interest of wetlands and endangered species protection, prime agricultural land preservation, flood protection, and open space preservation – the State has whittled its supply of land for housing down to little more than 2 million acres.

Ultimately, how this shrunken supply of land gets used is determined by local government. But here again, necessary and systematic decision-making has become corrupt and complicated by externalities – such as local anti-housing policies, no growth politics, or just plain indifference. The result: Housing, from a practical standpoint, is an accommodation and not an essential element of local general plans.

Indeed, local land-use plans should provide the highest level of certainty regarding land for housing – including the designation of sites and corresponding zoning. That they generally do not is a reason for reform.

More than a year ago, CBIA began a discussion with the leadership of the League of California Cities on how to fix the problem. That collaboration has taken the form of a legislative proposal in 2005 which aims at establishing a plan for designating in every locality a sufficient supply of land to accommodate a 20-year housing need. Among the elements of this sizable legislative undertaking – likely a two-year project – is a zoned and ready-to-build 10-year supply of land and an approval process with a minimum of subsequent discretionary review and protection against multiple legal challengers.

If you wish to take action to ensure the future of land accessibility, contact Bill Horn, San Diego ’s District Five Supervisor, at 1-800-852-7335, or email his staff at bill.horn@sdcounty.ca.gov.