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[WEBINAR] Update on the California Environmental Quality Act: What’s New for 2018
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How Trump's Infrastructure Plan Impacts the Energy Industry
BB&K's Charity Schiller Discusses CEQA Baseline
On September 19, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill (AB) 1893 (Wicks), which significantly modifies the “Builder’s Remedy” under the Housing Accountability Act (Government Code section 65589.5 et seq.) (HAA),...more
On September 19, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill (AB) 2243 (Wicks), which amends AB 2011 (Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022), effective January 1, 2025. As explained in our prior legal...more
A Court of Appeal held that the CEQA statute of limitations period does not begin to run after the filing of an initial notice of determination if the project is appealed. Central for Biological Diversity v. County of San...more
In a published decision filed September 6, 2024, the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 5) reversed the trial court’s judgment granting a writ of mandate and upheld the use of CEQA’s Class 1 categorical exemption (CEQA...more
In an opinion filed on July 24, and later ordered published on August 19, 2024, the Second District Court of Appeal (Div. 4) affirmed the trial court’s judgment denying a writ petition challenging actions taken by the Los...more
Welcome to “CEQA News You Can Use,” a quarterly production of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP’s Natural Resources lawyers. This publication provides quick, useful bites of CEQA news, which we hope can be a resource to...more
Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed two new bills that aim to boost housing supply and further address the state’s homelessness crisis....more
On June 27, 2024, the California First District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a writ petition challenging the City of Lafayette’s determination that a 12-unit residential condominium building qualified for the Class...more
City of Los Angeles - Increase to Planning Applications and Affordable Housing Linkage Fees - On July 1, 2024, the fee for planning and land use applications increased by 3.5% based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban...more
On June 27, 2024, the California First District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a writ petition challenging the City of Lafayette’s (City) determination that a 12-unit residential condominium building qualified for the...more
The California Supreme Court, on June 6, 2024, reversed the First District Court of Appeal’s decision regarding UC Berkeley’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) EIR. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision clears the way for...more
To address the housing crisis in California, Senate Bill 684 (SB 684), passed in 2023 but effective as of July 1, 2024, aims to simplify the approval process for small-scale for-sale housing projects, facilitate a quicker...more
The California Supreme Court held that under newly enacted Assembly Bill 1307, the environmental impact report prepared for UC Berkeley housing and longer-term development was not inadequate for failing to consider social...more
The Third District Court of Appeal upheld the Department of Water Resources’ EIR concerning State Water Project contract amendments against multiple CEQA challenges related to impact analysis, project descriptions, and...more
California Senate Bill No. 174 (SB 174), a budget trailer bill that was passed by the Assembly with amendments on June 26, received Senate concurrence on the amendments the same day, and was enrolled and presented to the...more
The Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform held its first hearing on June 18, 2024, commencing its efforts to address California’s housing and climate crises by reforming the state’s land use permitting regime....more
The California Supreme Court recently upheld the Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) for the Long Range Development Plan (“LRDP”) for the University of California Berkeley (“UC Berkeley”) and a controversial housing project...more
So-called “social noise”—i.e., noise created by human voices—is not an environmental impact required by the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) to be analyzed for residential projects, the California Supreme Court...more
California took a significant step in streamlining the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process with the passage of SB 149, a law that allows the California Governor to certify certain infrastructure projects for...more
Plans to build the largest new reservoir in California in 50 years have taken a significant step forward following a judge’s decision last Friday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging the adequacy of...more
An appellate court interpreted a writ that ordered an agency to vacate certification of an EIR in part and file a final return to the writ “upon certification of a revised EIR” to require an assessment of the adequacy of the...more
On May 8th, 2024, the Little Hoover Commission released its much-anticipated report, “CEQA: Targeted Reform for California’s Core Environmental Law” putting forth recommendations to improve the functioning of the California...more
Various state housing bills are currently making their way through the State Legislature that are expected to benefit mixed-income multifamily housing developers. AB 2243 would amend AB 2011. AB 1893 and AB 1886 would amend...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order, calling on state agencies to create a comprehensive Water Resilience Portfolio, has set goals for recycling at least 800,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2030 and...more
This article summarizes some of the most significant amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that were enacted in 2023. Some housing laws that relate to CEQA are discussed in the article, “Recently...more