Despite introducing what seemed like excellent legislation to help increase the number of affordable housing units in developer-backed housing projects, California governor Jerry Brown's proposal caused so much multi-faceted angst it became political poison, primarily because it gently circumvented the traditional development process. This L.A. Times piece takes a look at what went wrong, noting that:  

If developers pledged to set aside some units in their projects for low-income residents, the governor’s proposed legislation would have eliminated some local hurdles to building, likely leading to a modest increase in construction. 

Yet the proposal the governor unveiled in May represented a profound shakeup in how the development process would have worked in California. The measure challenged the primacy of local control over housing, inflamed powerful entrenched interests and was eyed warily by the very groups representing those the plan was supposed to help.

For more on California's housing crisis:

• Los Angeles gets dense (housing-development-wise, at least)
• California lawmakers turn to "granny flats" to help ease housing shortage
• San Francisco could face "class warfare" if it doesn't fix its economic inequality