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I assume you're using hyperbole, but there are zones you can build dormitories in.

There are also a few places without zoning regulations.

Let's expand to make it clear: Dormitories are typically built on college campuses, and they are zoned for that sort of thing.

In the middle of a large, populous city --on land that is not part of a postsecondary institution-- you can't just build a dormitory on it.

You can rarely build anything over 2 stories on the coast in California. There's no political will for it, so nothing happens.

There are no zoning laws in California that prohibit dormitories but allow other multitenant or multi unit housing.

And construction on the coast is specifically restricted by law because that is the political will and has been for decades.

Dormitories don't usually have kitchens, and there are usually minimum things that must be present in rental housing.

There absolutely are zoning restrictions that would prevent you from building a dormitory anywhere. Let me go buy a $10 million plot in La Jolla farms and try and put a dormitory on it. "Oh, but it's so close to UCSD", you might think... but the surrounding properties are all $20m+ single family homes (that's how it's zoned, after all) and the dorms would ruin the "community vibe".

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