California’s new state law could exacerbate the housing crisis and overturn important environmental review laws that some critics have denounced for blocking or delaying the construction of necessary homes.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has historically been one of the most powerful tools for environmentalists, historic preservationists and others (including Nimby activists), and is opposed to new developments.
The law is a double-edged sword, protecting critical ecosystems and limiting sprawls, as well as hampering housing developments in the state where affordable housing is very needed. “That’s because we allow individuals or groups to sue if they argue that the necessary environmental studies are not accurate, vast or detailed, because such lawsuits, and even even such lawsuits, present a level of delay, cost and uncertainty that makes it impossible for the state to build a path to affordability.”
Currently, if they are in already developed areas, most new apartment buildings will “never face the open threat of environmental litigation.” The bill includes certain density requirements that hinder single-family development and is limited to projects that are less than 20 acres.
CEQA has been a progressive environmental policy lynching pin for years, but discourse has changed as the state’s housing crisis deepens and energy efficiency and climate issues have played a more central role in public policy. “This filling focus has made it easier for Democrat-controlled Congress to engulf such important scaling of California’s Signature Environment Act. In general, promoting urban development means using less land, building new homes that use less energy, installing new residents and driving less.”
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