California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a legislative package that includes broad exemptions to the 54-year-old California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Housing projects in urban infill areas that have already been approved under city and county environmental review will no longer need to be subjected to further state assessment under CEQA, which has often been cited as an obstacle to housing development in the state.
The reform signed by Newsom also exempts high-speed rail facilities, utilities, broadband, community-serving facilities, wildfire prevention and farmworker housing from CEQA review. It also exempts local governments’ rezoning from CEQA as part of their implementation of approved housing elements to accelerate site readiness.
In addition, Newsom put his signature on measures to expand the Permit Streamlining Act, limit certain Coastal Commission housing appeals and speeding up Coastal permitting, and make permanent key provisions of the Housing Accountability Act and Housing Crisis Act.
Newsom also signed a bill to establish sustainable funding tools that include a revolving fund to reinvest equity from stabilized affordable housing into new developments through the Affordable Housing Excess Equity Program, and a statewide CEQA VMT Mitigation Bank to provide an optional compliance tool to allow developers to more effectively fulfill their existing CEQA mitigation obligations by funding location-efficient affordable housing and infrastructure projects.
“We applaud the governor and the legislature for this breakthrough reform package to streamline housing production,” said Matthew O. Franklin, president & CEO, MidPen Housing. “We know that increasing housing supply is key to solving our affordability crisis and are confident these measures contribute to a future with more affordable, environmentally sustainable housing options for all Californians.”
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