Actually yes they do more than just prevent building, they were also implemented to keep "undesirables" out of more affluent areas by making it too expensive for them. This is covered extensively in the book The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, and is a great read.

Specifically:

- Huge min lot sizes

- Offsets

- Covenants*

We can start by removing/revising those.

(*Certain covenants are no longer enforceable today)