Decades of exclusionary zoning, CEQA lawsuits, discretionary hearings, and Prop 13 have made the Bay Area the most expensive place in the country to buy or rent a home — San Francisco rents just hit record highs even as home prices stay past a million dollars, squeezing renters and buyers alike into hours-long commutes. California has started unwinding these rules, most recently exempting urban infill from CEQA, and this November’s Prop 45 is the next test of whether the state will keep building its way out.