“We owe it to our children and grandchildren to squarely address the growing housing affordability crisis that has already reached acute stages in California and has spread to many other parts of the nation,” says Housing Center Director Ed Pinto. “These supply deficiencies stifle economic growth and opportunity while creating a worse future for our nation.”

A variance is an exception to the existing zoning, whereas a nonconforming use (also known as a grandfather clause) arises when there is a change to the zoning but an existing use is still permitted to continue.

It’s always tempting to jump on social science findings to justify a new social program. It’s a temptation we must resist. Instead, we need to rediscover an old formula on which we’ve turned our backs.