TLDR: Cities are allowing developers to re-zone retail units that go un-leased. They can then be converted into live-work studios so people can run businesses from home ie. an artist running a home studio, a massage therapist taking clients, a home daycare, etc. Seems this could really help with California’s chronic housing crisis.
Yeah. Another possibility is that they’re aware that it’s a big donation of cash from the city to property developers and important landlords, and that’s why they are doing it, and they’re just happy people haven’t broken the code yet.