California's Complex Environmental Law Just Got a Lot Simpler for Real Estate Developers

West Coast Land Use and Environmental Group Leader Jennifer Hernandez was interviewed for a San Francisco Business Times article about reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Assembly Bill (AB) 130, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this week, creates CEQA exemptions for infill urban residential projects, which are housing development projects that comply with existing zoning proposed for urban land. Ms. Hernandez explained that AB not only extends the scope of CEQA exemptions but also creates a "cleaner" exemption that more clearly defines eligibility criteria. She said this should help real estate developers fend off frivolous litigation challenging whether their projects qualify for CEQA exemptions – "the rule of thumb is anybody can sue for anything" – in addition to saving them time and money on proving their case with sometimes thousands of pages of evidence. She added the new standards could also open up projects that developers were reluctant to touch previously for fear of CEQA litigation.

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