Los Angeles Times: California’s housing crisis reaches from the homeless to the middle class — but it’s still almost impossible to fix

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council gave housing advocates a lesson in why solving the statewide crisis in housing availability looks impossible to fix. Voting 13 to 0 to oppose Senate Bill 827, which would loosen restrictions on high-density residential development around bus and rail stops, council members painted the measure as an all-out assault on the very fabric of community life in Los Angeles. “Pure insanity,” declared Councilman Paul Koretz, who represents portions of the Westside and the San Fernando Valley. Councilman David Ryu, whose district includes Sherman Oaks, the Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz and the Wilshire Boulevard “Miracle Mile,” said that by creating “a housing boom for a privileged few and eviction notices for everyone else,” the bill would “uproot communities and destroy neighborhoods.”