Commentary: A drought is no time to build new developments

Yes, there is no doubt that we are in a drought. However, are we robbing the current residents of their water usage at the expense of facilitating these unending high-density housing projects?

Water is a scarce commodity, and so is space, yet we are in a race to build high-density housing that is simply something that we cannot sustain.

Are we to believe that this new model of high-density development is California’s key to stimulate the economy and labeling these eclipses of bricks as “affordable housing?”

According to the California building industry, these high-density projects are considered to be at the forefront of energy and water efficiency, and the savings could potentially add up to hundreds of billions of gallons of water annually.

Are the developers claiming that they are actually going to save us water?

The Newport Beach environmental impact report claims that, according to the water master plan projections, that the city could meet the demand of future growth. However, this was before the current drought restrictions.

A primary example of the this is developers’ attempts to build on the last remaining coastal open space located in Newport Beach: Banning Ranch.

Take for instance the major developers around town. Their websites advertise high density-housing projects that are either in the developmental or completion stages from San Francisco to Newport Beach to the Mexican border.

These houses are not affordable, nor should they be considered the new normal when we are in a severe drought condition. What is abnormal is that new building permits and water meters continue to be issued at an alarming rate during this historic drought.

PEGGY V. PALMER lives in Newport Beach.