Latest news with #CEQA
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
California lawmakers push for CEQA reforms to address housing crisis
Several California bills could lead to significant reforms of the state's environmental review law, with the goal of addressing the state's ongoing housing crisis. One of the bills, Assembly Bill 609, authored by Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), would establish a CEQA exemption for most urban housing developments. The bill is part of the Fast Track Housing Package, a collection of 20 bills that aim to expedite the approval of housing projects. The California Environmental Quality Act, enacted in 1970, requires public agencies in California to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of proposed projects and avoid those impacts, if possible. However, many argue that the law has been weaponized to block new housing projects and development. 'CEQA can be an expensive and lengthy process, especially for large or complicated projects. This is true even if there is no litigation. Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report under CEQA can take a year or longer and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even, in some cases, more than $1 million,' a 2024 report from the bipartisan Little Hoover Commission said. Liftoff! Big Bear bald eagle chick takes to the sky The Los Angeles Times also pointed out that when CEQA threatened to stop enrollment at UC Berkeley, prevented the Sacramento Kings from building their new stadium, or prevented renovations of the state Capitol, lawmakers stepped in. With the various exemptions, critics have nicknamed the law 'Swiss cheese CEQA.' 'Right now, it takes far too long to build the housing Californians need — and that's a failure of government,' Assemblymember Wicks said in a statement. 'The Fast Track Housing package is about making our systems work better: clearer rules, faster timelines, and fewer bureaucratic hoops. It's not about cutting corners — it's about being honest that what we're doing isn't working. Gov. Gavin Newsom has also announced his support for reforms to CEQA. Still, not everyone is in favor of the proposed changes to the environmental law. Dozens of environmental and labor groups, such as the California Preservation Foundation and Livable California, are opposed to the proposed changes. Improving California's housing crisis has been a priority for Newsom since taking office. In 2018, Newsom, in a Medium post, wrote, 'As Governor, I will lead the effort to develop the 3.5 million new housing units we need by 2025 because our solutions must be as bold as the problem is.' Newsom has since revised that goal, setting a new benchmark for cities to plan for 2.5 million homes by 2030. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
After half a century, California legislators on the verge of overhauling a landmark environmental law
When a landmark state environmental law threatened to halt enrollment at UC Berkeley, legislators stepped in and wrote an exemption. When the Sacramento Kings were about to leave town, lawmakers brushed the environmental rules aside for the team's new arena. When the law stymied the renovation of the state Capitol, they acted once again. Lawmakers' willingness to poke holes in the California Environmental Quality Act for specific projects without overhauling the law in general has led commentators to describe the changes as 'Swiss cheese CEQA.' Now, after years of nibbling at it, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are going in with the knives. Two proposals have advanced rapidly through the Legislature: one to wipe away the law for most urban housing developments, the other to weaken the rules for most everything else. Legal experts say the efforts would be the most profound changes to CEQA in generations. Newsom not only endorsed the bills last month, but also put them on a fast track to approval by proposing their passage as part of the state budget, which bypasses normal committee hearings and means they could become law within weeks. 'This is the biggest opportunity to do something big and bold, and the only impediment is us,' Newsom said when announcing his support for the legislation. Read more: 'The law that swallowed California': Why the much-derided CEQA is so hard to change Nearly the entire 55-year history of the California Environmental Quality Act has featured dueling narratives about its effects. On its face the law is simple: It requires proponents to disclose and, if possible, lessen the environmental effects of a project. In practice, this has led to tomes of environmental impact reports, including volumes of soil testing and traffic modeling studies, and sometimes years of disputes in court. Many credit CEQA for helping preserve the state's scenic vistas and waterways while others decry its ability to thwart housing and infrastructure projects, including the long-delayed and budget-busting high-speed rail. On the latter point, evidence supports both sides of the argument. One study by UC Berkeley law professors found that fewer than 3% of housing projects in many big cities across the state over a three-year period faced any litigation. But some contend that the threat of a lawsuit is enough to chill development, and examples continue to pile up of CEQA stalling construction of homeless shelters, a food bank and child-care center. What's clear is that CEQA has become embedded as a key point of leverage in California's development process. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass once recalled that when she worked as a community organizer in the 1990s, Westside land-use attorneys who were successful in stopping development in their communities taught her how to use CEQA to block liquor stores in South L.A. Organized labor learned to use the law to its advantage and became one of its most ardent supporters, alongside environmentalists — major constituencies within Democratic politics in the state. Besides carve-outs for individual projects in recent years, lawmakers have passed CEQA streamlining for certain kinds of housing and other developments. These fast-track measures can be used only if proponents agree to pay higher wages to construction workers or set aside a portion of the project for low-income housing on land considered the least environmentally sensitive. Read more: Homeless shelter opponents are using this environmental law in bid to block new housing Labor groups' argument is simple, said Pete Rodriguez, vice president-Western District of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners: CEQA exemptions save time and money for developers, so some benefit should go to workers. 'When you expedite the process and you let a developer get the TSA pass, for example, to get quicker through the line at the airport, there should be labor standards attached to that as well,' Rodriguez said at a Los Angeles Business Council panel in April. The two bills now under debate — Assembly Bill 609 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Senate Bill 607 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) — break with that tradition. They propose broad CEQA changes without any labor or other requirements. Wicks' bill would exempt most urban housing developments from CEQA. Wiener's legislation, among other provisions, would in effect lessen the number of projects, housing and otherwise, that would need to complete a full environmental review, narrowing the law's scope. 'Both are much, much more far-reaching than anything that has been proposed in living memory to deal with CEQA,' said Chris Elmendorf, a UC Davis law professor who tracks state environmental and housing legislation. The legislation wouldn't have much of an effect on rebuilding after L.A.'s wildfires, as single-family home construction is exempt and Newsom already waived other parts of the law by executive order. The environment inside and outside the Legislature has become friendlier to more aggressive proposals. "Abundance," a recent book co-written by New York Times opinion writer Ezra Klein, makes the case that CEQA and other laws supported by Democrats have hamstrung the ability to build housing and critical infrastructure projects, citing specifically California's affordability crisis and challenges with high-speed rail, in ways that have stifled the American Dream and the party's political fortunes. The idea has become a cause celebre in certain circles. Newsom invited Klein onto his podcast. This spring, Klein met with Wicks and Wiener and other lawmakers, including Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate, respectively. Wicks and Wiener are veteran legislators and former chairs of legislative housing committees who have written much of the prior CEQA streamlining legislation. Even though it took bruising battles to pass previous bills, the resulting production hasn't come close to resolving the state's shortage, Wicks said. 'We need housing on a massive scale,' Wicks said. To opponents of the bills, including dozens of environmental and labor groups, the effort misplaces the source of building woes and instead would restrict one of the few ways community groups can shape development. Asha Sharma, state policy manager for Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, said her organization uses CEQA to reduce the polluting effects of projects in neighborhoods already overburdened by environmental problems. The proposed changes would empower public agencies and developers at the expense of those who would be affected by their decisions, she said. 'What folks aren't realizing is that along with the environmental regulations comes a lot of public transparency and public engagement,' said Sharma, whose group advocates for low-income Californians in rural areas. 'When you're rolling back CEQA, you're rolling back that too.' Because of the hefty push behind the legislation, Sharma expects the bills will be approved in some form. But it remains uncertain how they might change. Newsom, the two lawmakers and legislative leaders are negotiating amendments. Read more: Newsom suspends landmark environmental laws to ease rebuilding in wildfire zones Wicks said her bill will not require developers to reserve part of their projects for low-income housing to receive a CEQA exemption; cities can mandate that on their own, she said. Wicks indicated, however, that labor standards could be part of a final deal, saying she's "had some conversations in that regard." Wiener's bill was gutted in a legislative fiscal committee last month, with lawmakers saying they wanted to meet infrastructure and affordability needs 'without compromising environmental protections.' Afterward, Wiener and McGuire, the Senate leader, released a joint statement declaring their intent to pass a version of the legislation as part of the budget, as the governor had proposed. Wiener remained committed to the principles in his initial bill. 'What I can say is that I'm highly optimistic that we will pass strong changes to CEQA that will make it easier and faster to deliver all of the good things that make Californians' lives better and more affordable,' Wiener said. Should the language in the final deal be anything like what's been discussed, the changes to CEQA would be substantial, said Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. Still, he said the law's effects on housing development were overblown. Many other issues, such as local zoning restrictions, lack of funding and misaligned tax incentives, play a much larger role in limiting construction long before projects can even get to the point where CEQA becomes a concern, he said. 'CEQA is the last resort of a NIMBY,' said Elkind, referring to residents who try to block housing near them. 'It's almost like we're working backwards here.' Wicks agreed that the Legislature would have to do more to strip away regulations that make it harder to build housing. But she argued that the CEQA changes would take away a major barrier: the uncertainty developers face from legal threats. Passing major CEQA reforms would demonstrate lawmakers' willingness to tackle some of the state's toughest challenges, she said. 'It sends a signal to the world that we're ready to build,' Wicks said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
After half a century, California legislators on the verge of overhauling a landmark environmental law
When a landmark state environmental law threatened to halt enrollment at UC Berkeley, legislators stepped in and wrote an exemption. When the Sacramento Kings were about to leave town, lawmakers brushed the environmental rules aside for the team's new arena. When the law stymied the renovation of the state Capitol, they acted once again. Lawmakers' willingness to poke holes in the California Environmental Quality Act for specific projects without overhauling the law in general has led commentators to describe the changes as 'Swiss cheese CEQA.' Now, after years of nibbling at it, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are going in with the knives. Two proposals have advanced rapidly through the Legislature: one to wipe away the law for most urban housing developments, the other to weaken the rules for most everything else. Legal experts say the efforts would be the most profound changes to CEQA in generations. Newsom not only endorsed the bills last month, but also put them on a fast track to approval by proposing their passage as part of the state budget, which bypasses normal committee hearings and means they could become law within weeks. 'This is the biggest opportunity to do something big and bold, and the only impediment is us,' Newsom said when announcing his support for the legislation. Nearly the entire 55-year history of the California Environmental Quality Act has featured dueling narratives about its effects. On its face the law is simple: It requires proponents to disclose and, if possible, lessen the environmental effects of a project. In practice, this has led to tomes of environmental impact reports, including volumes of soil testing and traffic modeling studies, and sometimes years of disputes in court. Many credit CEQA for helping preserve the state's scenic vistas and waterways while others decry its ability to thwart housing and infrastructure projects, including the long-delayed and budget-busting high-speed rail. On the latter point, evidence supports both sides of the argument. One study by UC Berkeley law professors found that fewer than 3% of housing projects in many big cities across the state over a three-year period faced any litigation. But some contend that the threat of a lawsuit is enough to chill development, and examples continue to pile up of CEQA stalling construction of homeless shelters, a food bank and child-care center. What's clear is that CEQA has become embedded as a key point of leverage in California's development process. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass once recalled that when she worked as a community organizer in the 1990s, Westside land-use attorneys who were successful in stopping development in their communities taught her how to use CEQA to block liquor stores in South L.A. Organized labor learned to use the law to its advantage and became one of its most ardent supporters, alongside environmentalists — major constituencies within Democratic politics in the state. Besides carve-outs for individual projects in recent years, lawmakers have passed CEQA streamlining for certain kinds of housing and other developments. These fast-track measures can be used only if proponents agree to pay higher wages to construction workers or set aside a portion of the project for low-income housing on land considered the least environmentally sensitive. Labor groups' argument is simple, said Pete Rodriguez, vice president-Western District of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners: CEQA exemptions save time and money for developers, so some benefit should go to workers. 'When you expedite the process and you let a developer get the TSA pass, for example, to get quicker through the line at the airport, there should be labor standards attached to that as well,' Rodriguez said at a Los Angeles Business Council panel in April. The two bills now under debate — Assembly Bill 609 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Senate Bill 607 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) — break with that tradition. They propose broad CEQA changes without any labor or other requirements. Wicks' bill would exempt most urban housing developments from CEQA. Wiener's legislation, among other provisions, would in effect lessen the number of projects, housing and otherwise, that would need to complete a full environmental review, narrowing the law's scope. 'Both are much, much more far-reaching than anything that has been proposed in living memory to deal with CEQA,' said Chris Elmendorf, a UC Davis law professor who tracks state environmental and housing legislation. The legislation wouldn't have much of an effect on rebuilding after L.A.'s wildfires, as single-family home construction is exempt and Newsom already waived other parts of the law by executive order. The environment inside and outside the Legislature has become friendlier to more aggressive proposals. 'Abundance,' a recent book co-written by New York Times opinion writer Ezra Klein, makes the case that CEQA and other laws supported by Democrats have hamstrung the ability to build housing and critical infrastructure projects, citing specifically California's affordability crisis and challenges with high-speed rail, in ways that have stifled the American Dream and the party's political fortunes. The idea has become a cause celebre in certain circles. Newsom invited Klein onto his podcast. This spring, Klein met with Wicks and Wiener and other lawmakers, including Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate, respectively. Wicks and Wiener are veteran legislators and former chairs of legislative housing committees who have written much of the prior CEQA streamlining legislation. Even though it took bruising battles to pass previous bills, the resulting production hasn't come close to resolving the state's shortage, Wicks said. 'We need housing on a massive scale,' Wicks said. To opponents of the bills, including dozens of environmental and labor groups, the effort misplaces the source of building woes and instead would restrict one of the few ways community groups can shape development. Asha Sharma, state policy manager for Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, said her organization uses CEQA to reduce the polluting effects of projects in neighborhoods already overburdened by environmental problems. The proposed changes would empower public agencies and developers at the expense of those who would be affected by their decisions, she said. 'What folks aren't realizing is that along with the environmental regulations comes a lot of public transparency and public engagement,' said Sharma, whose group advocates for low-income Californians in rural areas. 'When you're rolling back CEQA, you're rolling back that too.' Because of the hefty push behind the legislation, Sharma expects the bills will be approved in some form. But it remains uncertain how they might change. Newsom, the two lawmakers and legislative leaders are negotiating amendments. Wicks said her bill will not require developers to reserve part of their projects for low-income housing to receive a CEQA exemption; cities can mandate that on their own, she said. Wicks indicated, however, that labor standards could be part of a final deal, saying she's 'had some conversations in that regard.' Wiener's bill was gutted in a legislative fiscal committee last month, with lawmakers saying they wanted to meet infrastructure and affordability needs 'without compromising environmental protections.' Afterward, Wiener and McGuire, the Senate leader, released a joint statement declaring their intent to pass a version of the legislation as part of the budget, as the governor had proposed. Wiener remained committed to the principles in his initial bill. 'What I can say is that I'm highly optimistic that we will pass strong changes to CEQA that will make it easier and faster to deliver all of the good things that make Californians' lives better and more affordable,' Wiener said. Should the language in the final deal be anything like what's been discussed, the changes to CEQA would be substantial, said Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. Still, he said the law's effects on housing development were overblown. Many other issues, such as local zoning restrictions, lack of funding and misaligned tax incentives, play a much larger role in limiting construction long before projects can even get to the point where CEQA becomes a concern, he said. 'CEQA is the last resort of a NIMBY,' said Elkind, referring to residents who try to block housing near them. 'It's almost like we're working backwards here.' Wicks agreed that the Legislature would have to do more to strip away regulations that make it harder to build housing. But she argued that the CEQA changes would take away a major barrier: the uncertainty developers face from legal threats. Passing major CEQA reforms would demonstrate lawmakers' willingness to tackle some of the state's toughest challenges, she said. 'It sends a signal to the world that we're ready to build,' Wicks said.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Letters: California's net-metering change is killing rooftop solar. That's why we sued to save it
Rooftop solar is a clean and cheap source of energy that could power our communities without the excessive transmission infrastructure that ignited some of the state's biggest wildfires. With our ample sunlight, it only makes sense that California would lean into solar energy. Thus, I was outraged by the California Public Utilities Commission's 2022 decision to gut net energy metering, the very policy that enables rooftop solar to pay for itself. In so doing, the commission hamstrung solar energy production and cost the industry 17,000 jobs, according to the California Solar & Storage Association. That's why my organization teamed up with others to challenge the decision in a case now before the California Supreme Court. There will be a hearing on Wednesday in Los Angeles, and I urge Californians to tune in and to support local solar. Rooftop solar can power resilience hubs that our communities can use in the event of power shut-offs. It also allows a pathway for communities of color, often burdened with the pollution from dirty energy, to share in the wealth and savings of the clean energy future. California should make it easier, not harder, for us to use the solar energy that beams down over us. The reason projects often come under CEQA attack is that local planners and approving authorities try to cut corners. The city of Napa declared the proposed day care center in question to be 'categorically exempt' from any CEQA review when the operator's own data showed an increase of 1,000 auto trips per day impacting an already dangerously congested intersection. Concerned citizens called the city's procedural errors to the attention of officials when they still could have been remedied. Had the city taken a few more steps in the CEQA process, its project approval would have been bulletproof. Instead, it chose to ignore the rules and gave opponents grounds for a bona fide legal challenge. Public officials should not blame the law or villainize concerned citizens when agency corner-cutting causes delays and expense to worthy projects. Bill bad on guns The House-passed 'Big Beautiful Bill' contains a provision that will eliminate the registration and ownership requirements for gun silencers that have been in place since 1934. These devices reduce the sound of gunfire and make semi-automatic weapons such as AR-15s even more dangerous. Al Comolli, Millbrae
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Letters: California's top environmental safety law does what it's supposed to do
Regarding 'California environmental law nearly killed a childcare facility in our community. Enough is enough' (Open Forum, May 27): Napa County Supervisors Anne Cottrell and Liz Alessio say in their op-ed that they want to make it easier to build projects like affordable housing and childcare centers, but bulldozing our state's most important environmental and public health law is not the solution. Drastically weakening the California Environmental Quality Act, as state Sen. Scott Wiener's SB607 proposes, would include allowing polluting projects in neighborhoods with minimal to no environmental review. That's bad for children and families. Deregulation of projects like freeways, power plants and railyards will increase air pollution and lead to public health problems. CEQA is one of the primary tools California communities have to protect their residents' health and safety. The Senate Appropriations Committee rightly saw that SB607 was too extreme and, on May 23, refused to pass it as drafted. S.F. recall is overkill Regarding 'Engardio recall to make S.F. ballot with enough signatures verified, organizers say' (San Francisco, May 24): The story says that San Francisco District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio 'came to prominence by ousting officials through recall campaigns.' This diminishes Engardio's years of work before any recalls. As the story acknowledged, Engardio 'campaigned on a platform of public safety and transparency.' Engardio has also worked to engage residents in the city's political process and holds town halls and meetings, not to make speeches, but to listen. He thoughtfully considers everyone's opinions — agree or not — and consistently advocates for our kids, seniors and small businesses. Recalls have been reserved for egregious, unethical behavior, misconduct or corruption, not for disagreeing with a proposition -- in Engardio's case, his advocacy for Proposition K, which closed the Upper Great Highway to cars. I did not support Prop K, but I don't support short-sighted, knee-jerk reactions to a single issue that doesn't go my way. With many people running for office to be something, we need more people like Engardio running to do something. That's why I will vote no on the recall. Amy Bacharach, San Francisco Parrots are endangered Whether flying free in the wild or locked in cages at pet stores, private homes or rescues, parrots are in urgent need of our help. The picture is bleak as we recognize World Parrot Day on Saturday. The escalating demand for pet parrots has resulted in overcrowded rescues and sanctuaries worldwide. Pet stores and online breeders have made it all too easy for anyone to purchase these complex animals. An estimated 3 million to 5 million birds are bred in the U.S. per year. However, captive parrots are among the most frequently abandoned pets. Their wild nature and inclination for loud and frequent vocalizations, flying and destructive tendencies are often too much for guardians. Meanwhile, the demand for parrots as pets drives the capture of parrots in the wild; 28% of all parrot species are endangered or threatened and 58% are in decline. In many areas, the poaching rate is 100% — no chicks escape the illegal wildlife trade; 90% of trapped birds die after capture, and it is estimated that for every bird smuggled across a border, up to 90% die within the first year. To end this global parrot crisis, we must collectively advocate for an end to the sale and breeding of these majestic wild animals. Lucy Pax, Walnut Creek
