Hours before the end of the fiscal year, California legislators voted Monday to approve one of the most significant rollbacks of the California Environmental Quality Act in state history in what is considered a win for developers.
As part of the state’s budget-related housing bill, lawmakers voted that infill housing developments, or those built in and around existing development, are no longer subject to CEQA approvals, CalMatters reported. This means that most urban developers will no longer be required to study, predict and mitigate the ways that new housing developments might affect local traffic, air pollution, flora and fauna, noise levels, groundwater quality and objects of historic or archaeological significance.
The move comes as California works to meet its lofty housing goals of identifying spots for 2.5 million new homes built by 2030. Housing development applications would frequently hit a snag in the bureaucratic process when it came to CEQA compliance.
Now, with the YIMBYs notching a solid victory statewide, those days are no longer.
“Saying ‘no’ to housing in my community will no longer be state-sanctioned,” State Assembly member Buffy Wicks, who introduced the CEQA overhaul as a separate bill in March, said of the legislation, per CalMatters. “This isn’t going to solve all of our housing problems in the state, but it is going to remove the single biggest impediment to building environmentally friendly housing.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom swiftly signed the legislation into law, calling it “a budget that builds.”
“It proves what’s possible when we govern with urgency, with clarity, and with a belief in abundance over scarcity,” Newsom said in a statement. “I thank the many housing, labor and environmental leaders who heeded my call and came together around a common goal — to build more housing, faster and create strong affordable pathways for every Californian.”
The bill is limited to projects under 20 acres, meaning the lion’s share of new urban developments in the state will be exempt. At the same time, endeavors that were often prone to CEQA-related lawsuits, such as transit-oriented development and housing projects for students, will be able to proceed without being tied up in court.
Enacted in 1970, CEQA is unique in that it’s a public disclosure requirement as opposed to a way of explicitly mandating, monitoring or banning certain environmental behavior. State and local governments were required to study and publicize the likely environmental impact of any permitting of new housing.
— Chris Malone Méndez
