As a native, and as SK mentioned, I remember San Diego when it was far less densely populated. Even though we don’t love some of the changes population growth has created in the County, we know it’s part of “progress,” and simply accept it.
Most of us who have been here for awhile, already have the homes and the lives we want, so it’s a fairly moot point, but for those who have younger children who would like to work here and buy homes here in the future, or for those who would like to relocate to our fair city in the future, IMO, the housing situation will continue to be a real supply and demand challenge–like it or not.
Perhaps different policies might have given us a different outcome with regard to the housing issue, but since we can’t go back in time, we’ll probably never know.
