Prop 13 is a major component. Property tax grows at below inflation, whereas commercial tax grows at the pace of the local economy.

So, if you zone housing, eventually the cost of servicing that housing exceeds the tax revenues from it, and there is little you can do to avoid that process. If you zone businesses, you get sales tax and similar revenue from the workers. Financially, it's best to let your neighboring municipalities build homes for your workers.

There is also a backlash from locals who see higher density housing as the core cause attributed to most local issues: traffic, crime, overtaxed city services, etc. This is mostly an incorrect perception, but it's a persistent one.

These combine to prevent zoning for housing.