The Brief
- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills which he said are the “most consequential housing reform in modern history.”
- One bill exempts most urban housing projects from environmental review.
- The other bill waives environmental restrictions for health clinics, food banks and more.
BERKELEY, Calif. – Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed two housing bills into law, aimed at making it easier and faster to build new housing.
These new laws are going to help break down one of the biggest barriers to building new housing: the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA.
When CEQA passed in 1970, it was meant to set standards to protect the environment, but over the years it has been abused and used to stop new housing from being built, especially affordable housing. …