Talk of reforming the California Environmental Quality Act has reached a fever pitch. But can it be done in a way that doesn’t cause environmental harms?
California’s bedrock environmental law has helped protect residents, wildlife and natural resources from pollution and other negative effects of development countless times since then-Gov. Ronald Reagan put it on the books more than half a century ago.
The question the Little Hoover Commission aimed to answer through the Thursday hearing, and two more coming in April: Is there some way to do both? But CEQA also has been controversial from the start. Developers and some local governments say it creates too many barriers for projects to advance in cost effective and timely ways — if at all. And they argue red tape and lawsuits around CEQA have contributed to California’s housing and homelessness crises, with some GOP leaders in recent years calling to gut or even eliminate the law.
In the wake of CEQA being used recently to stop a high-profile student housing project for UC Berkeley, talk of reforming the landmark law has reached a fever pitch. Even Democrats have called for major reforms, with Gov. Gavin Newsom in February calling the approval process “clearly broken.” For example, supporters of the law cite a 2018 survey by the Association of Environmental Professionals that indicated just 2.8% of development projects were withdrawn due to CEQA concerns. And Prabhala pointed out that many other states are struggling with affordable housing issues, even though California is unique in having such a rigorous environmental review law.
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