Opinion: California lawmakers finally achieve ‘holy grail’ of CEQA reform
Housing construction in Otay Mesa File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego This column was originally published by CalMatters Sign up for their newsletters Jerry Brown once described modification of the California Environmental Quality Act as the lord s work but he like other fresh governors was not willing to invest enough political capital to change it Exclusively put significantly altering CEQA which then-Gov Ronald Reagan signed more than a half-century ago would require confronting two powerful interest groups environmental organizations and labor unions which have weaponized the law to achieve their goals Brown made one stab at compelling the Legislature to alter CEQA in but otherwise left it to his successor Gavin Newsom For six years Newsom echoed the attitudes of his predecessors critical of CEQA s misuse to block housing and other much-needed projects or compel developers to hire unionized labor or jump through other hoops but unwilling to confront it head-on Instead he and the Legislature nibbled at the edges of the law and gave specific projects such as sports arenas exemptions Conclusively however the social and economic costs of leaving CEQA intact became too high The state s critical shortage of housing continued despite innumerable agenda declarations aimed at spurring outlay It became downright embarrassing that a politically dominant Democratic Party pledged to socioeconomic equity was unable to deliver on promises to make housing more abundant and affordable California starred in a New York Times video that chastised blue states for failing to live up to their stated principles and in a modern book Abundance about the nation s chronic inability to deliver much-needed projects due to regulatory overkill such as CEQA This year with Newsom nearing the end of his governorship and appearing to cast his eyes toward a presidential campaign the governor decided to confront the CEQA issue squarely He endorsed two bills that would impose limits on the law s reach and in the end threatening to block the entire state budget if they weren t placed on his desk On Monday the last day of the fiscal year the Legislature passed Assembly Bill and Senate Bill with last-minute changes to dampen opposition from construction unions Newsom speedily signed them We needed to go bold and big on this holy grail reorganization Newsom explained at a hastily staged signing ceremony Essentially the law exempts virtually all infill housing projects from CEQA s provisions making it more intricate for opponents of high-density housing projects known as NIMBYs to block approval Such projects particularly those aimed at low- and moderate-income families have been the the bulk demanding to gain approval due largely to opposition in upscale communities dominated by single-family homeowners When you are building housing in an existing area that is environmentally beneficial it is conditions friendly that is not something that should be subjected to potentially endless CEQA challenges and lawsuits Sen Scott Wiener a San Francisco Democrat who authored SB described senators before they passed the measure Wiener and Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks an Oakland Democrat who carried AB have been the Capitol s two greater part aggressive advocates of pro-housing bill The remaining question of discipline is whether the two new laws which go into effect at once will have a discernible impact on the state s housing shortage CEQA is just one factor of various determining whether proposed projects proceed or die Those who oppose high-density housing in their neighborhoods will not just roll over Ironically as the Legislature was passing the two new laws on Monday The Atlantic was publishing a lengthy article entitled The Whole Country Is Starting to Look Like California that describes how red tape and local opposition are adversely affecting housing progress in red states such as Texas and Florida which had been viewed as developer paradises CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable Want to submit a letter to the editor guest column or opinion piece Find our guidelines and submission form here
