Is single-family zoning a relic of 1930s LA?

Parts of a letter, written to Governor Gavin Newsom from the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, appeared in the Los Angeles Times (Friday 9 July 2021, Opinion page A11) that were critical of state lawmakers' approach to the California Housing Crisis.

Come on! Can we all agree that there is a housing crisis, and a housing affordability crisis, in the state of California? And can we all agree that it is not someone else's problem? When did our democratically elected legislature, acting on behalf of all the citizens of the state, become un-democratic?

One is tempted to ask the endorsers of the letter (all 120 of them) what actions they have taken that have resolved the housing crisis in their city, and the housing affordability crisis? That letter (Read the unedited version at www.southBayCities.org) is really a NIMBY commentary endorsed by a large number of officials of some 48 Cities in the Los Angeles basin. The comments in the letter, among other complaints, essentially called the pending legislation un-democratic, as it upends the process of citizen involvement in some local planning actions.

1928 Partial map from USGS, Population ~ 1,000,000

2019 Partial image from Google Earth, Population ~ 10,000,000

The Los Angeles basin maps from the 1930's and 1940's show a basin that looks very much like it exists today, minus a good deal of urban sprawl beyond the basin fringe. The population statistics in the basin, however, show a vast change over the ensuing 80 or 90 years. Today, it is simply impossible to cram a population of more than 10,000,000 people into cities and towns with lot platting designed for a population of approximately 1,000,000 in the decade between 1920 and 1930; this no matter how well intentioned the urban planning was in those early years. Politicians who signed onto this letter simply are living in a different world (the past?), in cities that have their urban planning encultured in a way that is just not suitable for the 21st century population.

Don't complain about the legislative action.... just get on with the planning and problem solving. If the legislators have a different idea, then the democratically elected representatives of the various cities need to call for, and enact better planning ideas; good ideas that address the housing crisis, and the affordability crisis. They might spend less time on unsophisticated, and territorial, lawn marking.