CEQA
Of Pistachios and Water Features
What might be included in the SB 131’s CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing may surprise you
One of the most controversial provisions of SB 131, which created a range of new CEQA exemptions, was an exemption for “a facility for advanced manufacturing, as defined in Section 26003, if the project is located on a site zoned exclusively for industrial uses.” But what on earth might that cover? Is this a broad …
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CONTINUE READINGClean up on aisle 131
Legislature should fix flaws in SB 131
As this year’s legislative session comes to a close, I want to highlight legislative action that I hope happens in the next session. I noted earlier that AB 130 and SB 131 both were important steps to advance infill housing in California by creating exemptions for infill housing from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). …
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CONTINUE READINGWe Built This City On Urban Form
California’s CEQA reforms will require rethinking how we code our cities
I am one of the relatively few observers who is not convinced that the California Legislature’s recent CEQA reforms are some sort of major transformation. They are a positive step toward building more housing in this state, but the idea that they will unleash housing construction and affordability is a classic case of overpromising – …
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CONTINUE READINGFilling the gaps from CEQA reform
California has long leaned heavily on CEQA to cover gaps in other environmental laws. That will have to change when we reform CEQA.
California has enacted a major reform for CEQA, creating a substantial exemption for infill urban housing. I’ve written why this is, on balance, beneficial for housing and the environment. But I also want to highlight a pitfall as the state continues looking at future reforms for CEQA. California has long relied on CEQA as a …
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CONTINUE READINGThoughts on SB 131
Overall a good bill, but the definition of natural and protected lands is inadequate
Governor Newsom is pushing for CEQA reform as part of approval of the state budget, and the result is two budget trailer bills, AB 130 and SB 131, that together provide some of the most significant changes to CEQA in many years. Overall, these are good bills. The changes are focused on facilitating development where …
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CONTINUE READINGHow To Botch A CEQA Analysis
LA Metro’s draft EIR for the crucial Sepulveda Transit Corridor is thorough and careful, but it misses a key point: heavy rail is environmentally superior.
If you are from Los Angeles, you will get this. Q: What’s the best thing about the 405? A: Free parking. The 405 is the highway that runs down the west side of metropolitan Los Angeles, connecting the San Fernando Valley to west Los Angeles, down through the South Bay and into Orange County. Even …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Lawsuits Now a Matter of Life and Death
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
What a week for watchers of climate litigation. Big new filings, claims of death and destruction, a landmark ruling, and a juicy hearing all in the span of 36 hours. First, there was what the New York Times described as “the first wrongful death lawsuit” to be brought against oil and gas companies over claims …
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CONTINUE READINGThe CEQA Poison Pill In SB 607
Weakening the statewide standard of review benefits polluting facilities
For California to meet its climate goals and bring down prices on basic needs like housing, transportation and energy, it will need to dramatically increase infill housing, transit and clean energy facilities, among other projects. Part of achieving that goal involves reforming how environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) can counter-productively slow …
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CONTINUE READINGAnother CEQA urban residential exemption bill
AB 609 provides a different and promising approach for advancing urban infill, but it could use a map
Following up on my recent post about SB 607, which proposes creating a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption for urban infill housing, a similar bill, AB 609, has also been introduced this session. Like SB 607, AB 609 exempts from CEQA housing projects in urban areas. The main difference with respect to the infill …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Death of CEQA?
Not quite, but Assemblymember Wicks’ new bill would severely limit CEQA for housing.
“Legislative bombthrower” is one of those cliched – and thus overused – metaphors. And California State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Richmond) has no reputation as one. But with her latest effort, AB 609, it seems like she is enjoying her Molotov cocktail shaken, not stirred. Wicks’ bill – now cosponsored with several other Assemblymembers – is …
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