When San Diego’s Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer—the only GOP leader of a U.S. city of a million or more residents—tweeted in January that he wanted the city to go “From a city of NIMBYs to a city of #YIMBYs!” it was heralded as a progressive stance by many, especially for a city known for sprawl and pristine coastal views.

But it also spoke to political reality. With a newly elected city council featuring a 6-3 Democratic supermajority, housing was an obvious issue where Faulconer, traditionally a more moderate member of his party, could find consensus (he’s been more outspoken when it comes fighting climate change). He then proposed eliminating parking and height requirements in a January 15 State of the City speech, one of the more aggressive proposals in the state to fight the housing shortage (and a bit of a turn from his earlier statements as a city councilmember).