Holland & Knight Report: Housing Top Target of CEQA Suits

West Coast Land Use and Environmental Group Leader Jennifer Hernandez was interviewed for a Law360 article covering her most recent study on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The report tracked CEQA cases from 2013 to 2023 and found a little more than a quarter of appeals targeted housing development, a third of which involved lawsuits challenging residential or mixed-used projects. The study also revealed most appellate cases pertained to projects in Southern California, the Bay Area or San Diego – the state's most populated regions. Jennifer told Law360 the findings demonstrate an abuse of the legislation that contributes to California's housing shortage and affordability issues.

"Weaponizing this 1970 statute against housing...is so far outside the boundaries of what was intended," she said. "That absolutely contributes to the housing affordability crisis."

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