The California Environmental Quality Act is generally considered a major obstacle for development. In a few cases, however, the law's definitions have been used to clear the way for development in environmentally sensitive areas.
Kevin Stark shares a timeline of precedent setting decisions regarding development under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The premise for the article: developers are using a case from 1995 to "push back on the ability of Bay Area cities to regulate waterfront development and protect residents from rising sea levels, a product of human-caused climate change."
The 1995 ruling pitted the development of a drug rehab facility in Contra Costa County against neighbors who opposed the project. "The company made what was then an obscure argument," writes Stark: "The California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, the state’s premiere environmental law, did not require developers to consider how the environment might influence its project, only how the project would affect the environment."
Stark then combs through land use cases from 2009 and onward, created by disagreements about the reach of regulations designed to account for sea level rise and extreme weather, which sided with developers according to the precedent set by the 1995 ruling.
It's worth noting that the same logic could potentially be applied to homes built in wildfire danger areas—which is also a land use designation likely to take on more risk as the effects of climate change become more of a reality.
Read the full story: Timeline: Lawyers for Developers Share Tactics to Blunt CEQA
Without New Environmental Impact Report, UC Berkeley Will Enroll Thousands Fewer Students
A high-profile example of the power of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) might cause thousands of students to miss out on a chance to attend the University of California, Berkeley.
Judge Caps Enrollment at UC Berkeley Pending Environmental Impact Report
An Alameda County judge dealt a stunning rebuke of a plan to expand the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, with housing and new space for the Goodman School of Public Policy.
CEQA Exemptions Could Finally Be Granted to Sustainable Transportation Projects
California has traditionally granted environmental exemptions to large projects like football stadiums, a practice criticized by environmentalists and urbanists alike. SB 288 would change that, with exemptions for sustainable transportation projects.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
Mamdani sent nearly 6,000 pied-à-terre tax warnings to homes that didn’t qualify
A judge has ordered the administration to cancel thousands of pied-à-terre tax notices after it sent 35% of them erroneously.
25 states, cities sue the EPA over erased power plant emissions limits
The coalition also intends to sue the EPA for not regulating emissions from gas-fired power plants.
Newsom vetoes giving CA tribes greater voice in water projects
In his veto letter, Newsom said the bill would add ‘uncertainty’ to the state’s fight to secure Californians’ water supplies.
Michigan Senate votes to revise 'lax' dam safety laws
A Bridge Michigan investigation found more than 100,000 Michigan residents live in the floodpath of a high or significant-hazard dam.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello