Commentary On Sept. 16, two days after he handily survived a recall attempt, California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into a law a bill that obliterates zoning for detached single-family housing in the state. The bill, SB 9, enjoyed the support of nearly everyone whose interests seemed to count: affordable-housing advocates, environmentalists concerned about “suburban sprawl,” the state’s powerful real estate industry, and nearly all the media. There was only one group whose voices were studiously ignored: homeowners themselves and their local elected officials who have traditionally been in charge of zoning decisions in California and elsewhere. SB 9, overriding residential land-use planning in all cities and towns in California with populations of more than 2,500, is a major strike at the grassroots local control of local institutions that has been a hallmark of American democracy. The new state law permits the owner of a parcel of land zoned for …