ABSTRACT

The state of California applies an active approach of managing growth in environmentally sensitive areas. Population growth seems to be a steady development in the San Francisco Bay Area. The California Coastal Act restricts growth along California's coast. The California Coastal Commission was established by voter initiative in 1972 and was made permanent by the Legislature in 1976 with the Coastal Act. The Coastal Commission oversees the development of state and federal agencies. Although they are enacted only in coastal areas, the Coastal regulations have influenced growth management in many other areas in California. San Francisco is the historic center of the region, but development has spread out from San Francisco into northern, western and southern suburbs, since the 1950s following the north-south and westbound highway system. The State of California faces high growth pressure regarding housing and jobs. Providing affordable housing remains a daunting challenge.