CEQA Reform: California's Crazy Housing Market, Part 4

California Groundbreakers

An affordable housing project for seniors in San Francisco's Mission District was just taken to court. Affordable housing for low-income residents in Orange County was waylaid for several months. And a homeless shelter for teenagers originally planned for San Francisco's Marina District had to move elsewhere. They're just a few examples of how the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, is used as a way to block housing and other types of development. But CEQA’s defenders say the landmark law, passed in 1970, has given California cleaner air, less congestion and sewage, and made it a more desirable place to live. Home developers say that, depending where you are in the California, the onorous fees, codes and CEQA-specific reviews mean they pay at least $50,000 before even putting a shovel in the ground. So do we love CEQA for keeping California from being congested and over-built? Do we champion it as it is because it gives people the power to block development they want? Or should we tell state government to reform CEQA or even scrap it? This is the final part of our Crazy Housing Market Series, held on April 28 in the basement of Graciano's Speakeasy in Old Sacramento which, based on CEQA regulations, maybe wouldn't get the go-ahead for construction today. PANELISTS * Tom Buford, senior planner with the City of Sacramento * Chris Norem, director of government and legislative affairs at the North State Building Industry Association * Howard Penn, executive director of the Planning and Conservation League * Tina Thomas, founder of the Thomas Law Group in Sacramento and original co-author of the environmental-law textbook "Guide to the California Environmental Quality Act" PODCAST TIMEFRAME O to 5:15 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers 5:15 min - Panelists introduce themselves 11:15 min - The layman's description of CEQA, how it works, and what it covers? 14:40 min - How does CEQA affect housing? 16:15 min - What real estate developers and homebuilders think about CEQA, and how they want it to change 20 min - An environmentalist's POV of CEQA and how it should change/not change 26 min - How CEQA has shaped the City of Sacramento, and how it's shaping its future landscape 31:55 min - How does our CEQA act compare and contrast to what other states and the Feds have on the books 34 min - The process for how anyone can file a CEQA-related lawsuit 46:20 min - Does CEQA affect where developers build, and not build? 47:40 min - How CEQA has turned into an industry 49:25 min - How can cities and developers create accurate Environmental Impact Reports on empty plots of land? 1 hr, 1:25 min - How Mayor Darrell Steinberg has affected CEQA and made changes to it 1 hr, 15:15 min - How are local jurisdictions doing in streamlining CEQA 1 hr, 24:25 min - What's the sweet spot for CEQA being streamlined, and the public still having their say?