Few dispute the notion that many metropolitan areas face
a serious housing crisis that
threatens the continued economic growth of those regions.
Evidence of a housing crisis
can include high apartment rents, high home prices, leapfrog
development, and an insufficient
supply of housing units. The lack of a varied housing stock
forces many workers
out of the market and can drive households and businesses
out of a region, including
entrepreneurs and other job-creating enterprises.
Both state and local governments have a legitimate interest
in regulating certain aspects of housing development to ensure
reasonable safety and health standards and allow for the overall
well-being of a community and the preservation of its character.
In too many communities, however, developers wishing to create
new housing meet resistance— whether at the stage of
land acquisition and land planning or later in determining
what and how to build.
| 
