Everybody wants "affordable housing" - but many do not want more people. This is the fundamental disconnect. Many folks just do not want to make it any easier for more people to move in. They would like rents/prices to be lower though.

This is how we end up with rent control and tight building restrictions - because it solves both problems. Roll up the drawbridge against new people by blocking development, but then make the housing affordable by fiat.

The only remaining problem then is 10 year waitlists to get into one of those rent controlled spaces. Bummer on that...