SACRAMENTO - YIMBY Action celebrates the signing of long-overdue California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform by Governor Gavin Newsom last night, marking a major victory for the pro-housing movement. The bills, authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), represent a critical turning point in California’s approach to housing and climate policy: finally recognizing that dense, infill housing is good for the environment, and that our laws should make it easier, not harder, to build more housing.
“For over 50 years, California’s environmental laws have been weaponized to stop the exact kind of housing we need most to combat climate change: affordable, infill housing near jobs and transit,” said Laura Foote, Executive Director of YIMBY Action. “Building neighborhoods up instead of out is how we protect our climate and ensure everyone has an affordable place to live near quality jobs and transit.”
CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, was signed into law in 1970 by then-Governor Ronald Regan, intended to protect the environment. But in practice, often called “the law that swallowed California,” it’s been frequently used to stop proposals that directly reduce pollution and fight climate change. The law has created a perverse system where sprawling development on open space sails through with minimal scrutiny, while climate-friendly infill projects face years of delay and millions of dollars in studies to fend off lawsuits.
A striking example:
- A 60-home infill proposal in jobs-rich, high-resource Palo Alto (660 University) required 10 technical reports under a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR), costing years and tens of thousands of dollars.
- Meanwhile, Ren Fu Villa in Gilroy (54 homes on 37 acres of wetlands) only needed 6 reports under a streamlined mitigated negative declaration, avoiding an EIR altogether.
The difference is that infill projects often have wealthy, NIMBY neighbors who might sue. Sprawl doesn’t.
This major CEQA reform changes that. Under the new law, infill housing projects under 85 feet tall and on parcels that are at least 75% surrounded by existing development will no longer be required to conduct duplicative environmental studies just to avoid lawsuits. This will dramatically reduce the time and cost of building homes in existing cities—where housing is most needed and where it does the most to reduce emissions. This will also make it easier for cities to pass rezonings in the future, as required by the Housing Element process.
YIMBY Action members made over 1,000 calls to their representatives encouraging them to vote yes on this legislation.
“This is one of the largest victories for housing and climate in California’s history,” said Leora Tanjuatco-Ross, California Director of YIMBY Action. “These reforms will save millions of dollars spent on unnecessary paperwork and lawsuits. Instead of punishing good proposals and rewarding bad ones, California is finally aligning its environmental laws with its climate and housing goals.”