The government's job is to balance the will of the people with the rights of minorities.

If 51% of people voted to outlaw single family houses would that be acceptable? Of course not. People should be able to build the type of housing that they want to on their own property.

Until very recently laws against gay marriage were Constitutional. Was the government doing it's job well when it passed these laws?

No, it was not. There are underlying principles of good government that should constrain citizens and politicians further than what is strictly defined in the constitution.

That is the case being made here: NIMBY zoning laws, while constitutional, are not ethically or philosophically sound so we shouldn't have them.

And the will of the people of California appears to include affording its cities, and not to include an unlimited tolerance for single family neighborhoods dumping externalities on everyone else.