Some of this was done out of greed and political corruption so that developers could build more unaffordable housing for the wealthy - I would say the gp has some merit in their comment.
The corrupt developers don't like to publicize their corruption. I happen to know this because I know some of the players (and was even offered opportunities to invest in land before the decision to build a new highway was made public).
I feel like I am missing a few steps.
So the claim is that housing developers have been suppressing controlled burns because it drives up housing prices? I feel like I am missing a few steps here
My understanding is that lack of wild and controlled burns can be attributed to two factors:
1) Emotion driven environmentalism trumping environmental scientists
2) Political deferral due to the risk of blowback from out of control burns.