New push to exempt urban housing from CEQA reignites statewide reform battle

• CEQA has been criticized for limiting housing production, and for being easily weaponized by unions, and other interest groups to delay or kill projects, but lauded by preservationists for protecting the environment and mitigating development.

State of play: AB 609, from Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, is part of a 22-bill housing package unveiled last week by a bipartisan group of legislators aimed at combatting the housing crisis.

• Another piece of legislation, SB 79, by state Sen. Scott Wiener, would make it legal for developers to build apartments near any transit station across the state, trumping any local zoning that restricts it.

The intrigue: The package, headlined by the CEQA bill, marks a return to housing advocates making big, broad reform attempts, after the defeat of the last such effort led to years of smaller, focused changes.

• It's the most ambitious set of reform proposals since the death of Wiener's SB 50 in 2020, which would have allowed apartment construction near employment centers and transit stations statewide.
• That bill was itself a watered down version of SB 827, which was also killed after sparking significant controversy — and excitement — in 2018.

Inside the room: Matthew Lewis, communications director for California YIMBY, the sponsor on both bills, said pro-housing reformers reassessed their approach after SB 50's failure.

• They acknowledged that a big bill that tackled multiple policy changes couldn't secure enough votes, so spent a few years approving smaller chunks of SB 50 in individual pieces.
• "We said, if these bills don't go through, that's on us," Lewis said. "We need legislation that can pass."

Yes, but: The housing crisis has only gotten worse since 2020, and Lewis said that has created an opportunity to return to a big bill that "legislators can sink their teeth into."

• The composition of the legislature has changed, he said, with local officials familiar with their cities' issues becoming state representatives who are winnable votes.
• Lewis said there's also been a political shift leading people to ask why the nation's biggest state can't solve problems. He pointed to the popularity of "Abundance," the book calling for a world with plentiful housing, clean energy, and transit.

Between the lines: Wicks' and Wieners' bills get top billing, but Lewis said the entire package works together.

• "CEQA reform is like the cylinders in an engine — the cylinders are the most important part of the engine, but you still need all the other pieces, too," he said.

Zoom in: Rachel Laing, a spokesperson for Mayor Todd Gloria, said the mayor's office is supportive of the bill on its face, but is digging into it to make sure there aren't any hidden issues.

• Last year, Wicks convened a select committee on permitting reform, which this month published a report in which one expert said if the entire state functioned like San Diego, the committee wouldn't be necessary.
• "San Diego, more than any other city in the state, has figured out how to streamline, de-risk, standardize, [and] expedite housing, but it is in a league of its own," said Dave Rand, a land-use expert with Rand Pastor Nelson.

Reality check: San Diego issued permits for roughly 10,000 new homes in 2023 after averaging closer to 5,000 per year in the previous five years.

• Still, the city's own analysis says it must build more than 13,000 units every year just to satisfy its need.

San Francisco fell short of its permitting goal last year and became the first city to trigger a new state law expediting the process for developments that meet certain criteria under the city's planning department.

• These projects no longer need to undergo discretionary hearings, review through the CEQA or Neighborhood Notification.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include information from San Francisco.