California\u2019s landmark environmental law was overhauled in Sacramento this week, and it could mean more housing for San Diego.<\/p>\n
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Monday that will weaken the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, to make building housing easier. The law was praised by environmentalists across the nation when it passed in 1970, but critics have argued it had since became a tool for stopping residential construction<\/a>.<\/p>\n CEQA has been used over the years to stop local projects you might not associate with environmental concerns. Preservationists used the law to halt the demolition<\/a> of the dilapidated California Theatre building downtown. It was cited by opponents of a soccer-focused effort to demolish and replace Qualcomm Stadium<\/a> after the Chargers left. And CEQA used to delay an effort by the city and the San Diego Padres to turn one of its parking lots into housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n The changes signed by Newsom were mostly focused on infill projects in urban settings. (For example,\u00a0constructing an apartment building where a shopping center once stood.) Still, environmentalists said the changes could affect endangered species, like the gnatcatcher bird, which still ends up in urban areas. They also argue CEQA was one of the only tools poorer communities could use to oppose bad projects.<\/p>\n In a huge departure from other California housing legislation that takes months or years to pass, the changes are immediate because they were included in the new state budget.<\/p>\n Lisa Ross, chair the Sierra Club\u2019s San Diego branch, decried the passage.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m calling this a CEQA beheading,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are a biodiversity hot spot so this is a major concern to us. This was a backdoor deal. This is the last thing we expected out of a Democratic legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n Housing advocates praised the changes as something they had been asking for for years.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is one of the largest victories for housing and climate in California\u2019s history,\u201d said Leora Tanjuatco-Ross, California director at grassroots group YIMBY Action. \u201cThese reforms will save millions of dollars spent on unnecessary paperwork and lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the environmental positives of the bill, according to advocates, is that California cities will not need to rely on suburban developments if they can build more easily in urban settings, cutting down on car trips. Matt Lewis, spokesman for California YIMBY, said modern environmentalists have largely come around to the idea that building housing in cities is better than the backcountry.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there are some folks (from older environmental groups) that think if they are growing a zucchini in their yard and have solar panels on their roof, they are the most sustainable thing that ever happened,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the reality is if you live in a neighborhood that mandates driving everywhere, that solar panel is being more than offset.\u201d<\/p>\n Ross argued you can\u2019t paint San Diego County with the same brush as all urban areas. This is primarily, she said, because we are a region littered with canyons that house numerous endangered or threatened species, such as the Pacific pocket mouse or the many native plant species.<\/p>\n There are many San Diego projects wrapped up in CEQA-related complaints or lengthy environmental reports that may now suddenly find themselves with a clearer path. However, even some of the most involved writers of the legislation, and Sierra Club officials, are unsure if all CEQA lawsuits are now dropped or somehow grandfathered into previous laws.<\/p>\n But one thing we do know: Single-family zoning is safe under the new changes, avoiding the most politically contentious issue for housing law in the state.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the changes will work:<\/p>\n