by Stephen J. Zelezny on October 23, 2025
posted in
Administrative Regulations, CEQA, Legislative Updates,
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed landmark California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform legislation into law on June 30, 2025. Together, Senate Bill 131 (SB 131) and Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130) exempt numerous development projects from extensive environmental review — enacting an urgent statewide effort to spur new housing construction. In addition to prioritizing housing, SB 131 also creates statutory exemptions for nonresidential developments, such as healthcare facilities, day care centers and broadband projects.
Municipalities, developers and residents will surely welcome these new CEQA reforms, ... Continue Reading
tags:
AB130, administrative record, CEQA, construction, developers, SB 131,
by Derek P. Cole on November 16, 2015
posted in
CEQA, Recent Court Decisions,
The California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) exempts governmental actions to protect natural resources and the environment from the requirement to prepare an environmental impact report. In a recent case, a court clarified what standard agencies must meet to justify the use of these exemptions, known by practitioners as the “Class 7” and “Class 8” exemptions.
In Save Our Big Trees v. City of Santa Cruz, the San Jose-based Sixth District Court of Appeal held that a city’s use of both exemptions could not be used to justify amendment of its heritage tree ordinance, which was ... Continue Reading
tags:
CEQA, Class 7 Exemption, Class 8 Exemption, Heritage Tree Ordinance,
by Derek P. Cole on December 9, 2014
posted in
CEQA,
Agencies should make sure the notices they give under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) do not end on a holiday. So ruled a court in a recent case challenging the approval of a tentative map.
... Continue Reading
tags:
CEQA, Court Holidays, Notice,
by Derek P. Cole on August 12, 2014
posted in
CEQA, Elections, Initiatives,
Californians are fond of government by initiative. At the ballot box, state voters have registered their preferences on a number of hot-button issues. Voters have done the same at the local level, often using the initiative power to slow the pace of growth and gain control over land use.
... Continue Reading
tags:
Big-box Retail, CEQA, Elections Code, Initiatives,
