Tracy Hernandez and Lucy Dunn CalMatters Exclusive| Special to CalMatters
Hernandez is the founder CEO of BizFed, the Los Angeles County Business Federation. After 16 years of service, Dunn will be retiring in December 2021 as the president and CEO at the Orange County Business Council.
California’s environmental law has been a landmark for more than 50 years. Its purpose is to assess the potential effects of new projects on air and water, traffic congestion, and wildlife habitats.
The California Environmental Quality ActThe CEQA, also known as CEQA, can now be used to stop any project in any neighborhood, regardless of its size, that is funded by public or private funds, if it isn’t liked.
This is a low bar and was not intended when the law became effective. Former Gov. George W. Bush famously called CEQA “a blob”. Because its reach is so wide, Jerry Brown called it a blob. That blob, disguised under the guise environmental concern has continued to spread unchecked.
Recent revelations have shown that CEQA has gone beyond its limits. California Supreme Court expanded itTo expel one-third of UC Berkeley’s incoming class from campus. CEQA lawsuit abuses are now affecting students. The courts ruled that people have significant negative impacts on the environment because they, not the buildings they occupy, take showers and drive cars.
CEQA abuse is not an exception. When CEQA abuse was discovered in San Francisco, school board members were left with no choice but to accept it. CEQA lawsuitTheir attempt to remove a mural on campus depicting violence against Native Americans was stopped by environmental review.
CEQA litigation also stalled for 11 years the reconstruction of a Berkeley single family home. The project was supported by residents and city council members. The property owners eventually moved to Berkeley to have their children. However, the home was left untouched by the plaintiffs waving the Not-In-My-Backyard banner (NIMBY).
CEQA’s top priority is housing. A Study of all CEQA lawsuits filedOver 3 years, more than 14,000 housing units in Southern California were targeted. Although environmental advocates advocate for housing in higher densities in urban areas served by transit, 98% (of these CEQA lawsuits) challenged projects planned in existing communities. 78% of these CEQA suits were in transit priority areas and 70% were in whiter and wealther communities. Inconveniently, the CEQAs make it clear that courts are used by courts to protect the environment from change.
All the talk about diversity, equity and integration in Progressive California is racially biased. Redlining is a track record of CEQAs. California’s housing, poverty and homelessness crisis has affected more communities of colour than the other. Tech workers are paying $5,000 rents and families of Color are being forced to move to more affordable states like Texas.
The good news is that high school graduates are heading to Cal.
So long as the Legislature or Gov. These fundamental abuses will continue to be ignored by Gavin Newsom’s administration. California will not be able take full advantage federal infrastructure funding and the state will not make any progress in solving its housing crisis. This leaves the middle-class, minorities, and our young workforce without a roof over them.
CEQA’s current form is doomed to endless litigation and rising costs, as well as counterproductive delays. We need CEQA reform. It must include more than exempting sports stadiums from the law. Real reform is needed for real people, including our education-seeking kids.
Jackie Kennedy once said that if you don’t know how to raise your children, then I don’t think what else you do matters. This is what California leaders are doing, and the nation is watching.
Tracy Hernandez also wrote about it. Building an endemic economy.
