California rolls back environmental law to expedite housing
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California is rolling back environmental regulations for some construction projects after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law this week ending strict review for many new developments.
Why it matters: The move could cut down planning and zoning timelines in cities that desperately need more housing.
Catch up quick: An extension of a national policy, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) allows individuals and groups to file lawsuits to challenge projects, which can delay building by years and rack up litigation costs.
- It was enacted in 1970 to prevent environmental damage and requires developers to mitigate potential impacts through a public review process.
- Attempts to reform it have escalated over the last decade amid California's housing shortage.
Driving the news: The new law exempts urban "infill" housing projects, which are built in and around existing development, from CEQA if they are less than 20 acres and located outside hazardous zones.
- Certain infrastructure projects, such as water system improvements, day care centers and advanced manufacturing facilities will also be excluded from CEQA.
What they're saying: These exemptions are "almost certainly the most significant rollback of CEQA for housing since it passed" and "will unambiguously reduce the time frame" for development, Ben Metcalf, managing director of UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation, told Axios.
- Under CEQA, projects usually must undergo review by city staff and a public body like a planning commission. The threat of litigation gives some groups, such as unions, leverage to negotiate project labor agreements, Metcalf said.
- Market-rate housing projects "will get in the ground faster as a result of this change," he added.
Zoom in: That biggest impact locally will likely be outside the city, particularly North County coastal communities like Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside that have been resistant to infill development, according to San Diego housing analyst Gary London.
- The exemption will make it easier to convert shopping centers and office parks sandwiched in residential neighborhoods to homes, he said.
- San Diego's complete communities program already fast-tracks those types of housing projects.
- The change could also reduce commute-driven carbon emissions by creating more housing near employment centers, London said.
The other side: Opponents say the rollback axes essential protections for wildlife, biodiversity and California's most vulnerable communities.
- It forces "blind exemptions for massive industrial projects" and could enable projects handling "highly explosive and hazardous materials" without scrutiny, a coalition of over 100 organizations wrote in a letter to Newsom last week.
What we're watching: CEQA approvals and related legal challenges are still applicable for undeveloped areas and new suburbs. Expanding the exemption would address the "dearth of subdivisions" and "master plan community projects that have been sidelined for many years," London said.
- The environmental pushback, especially given San Diego County's rich biodiversity and natural landscape, will make that a challenge.