The Housing Market Effects of Discrete Land Use Regulations: Evidence from the California Coastal Boundary Zone

Abstract

The California coast line borders most beautiful and expensive land in the entire world. The California Coastal Commission was created in 1976 to protect the coast line and to regulate land use within the coastal boundary zone. This well defined regulatory boundary offers a unique opportunity to study the consequences of land use regulation on nearby housing located in the same political jurisdiction. Using two different geocoded data sets, we document gentrification within the boundary and discuss possible explanations for these patterns.

Keywords: land use regulations, housing markets, environmental protection, California Coastal Act of 1976