Prop 45 Would Reset California Housing Approval Clock

West Coast Land Use and Environmental Group Leader Jennifer Hernandez was quoted in a Multifamily Dive article about California's Proposition 45, a ballot measure that would impose deadlines for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review processes for certain housing and infrastructure projects. Jennifer led a Holland & Knight study on CEQA appeals that uncovered litigation largely focused on housing projects in areas where the state has pushed for more development, delaying much-needed construction in years of legal battles and exacerbating the state's housing shortage. Under Prop 45, current environmental protections would remain and agencies would retain the ability to approve or deny projects, but they would do so under a stricter timeline – a year to complete a full environmental impact study, for instance. Court challenges would also face a 270-day resolution deadline. These common rules, Jennifer told Multifamily Dive, would avoid the "Swiss cheese holes" resulting from project-specific legislative relief and uneven attempts at CEQA reform.

"What we're talking about is limiting the time bureaucrats can take, and then the time courts could take," she explained. "If a court finds that you've messed up...it can't stop or rescind an approval unless there's a health problem."

Proposition 45 would apply to multiple categories of projects, including water infrastructure, clean energy and transportation. Jennifer highlighted the importance of this coverage, noting that building more affordable housing entails timely decisions on the other components that support it.

"If we want housing, we got to have water. If we want water, we also got to have electricity," she commented.

READ: Prop 45 Would Reset California Housing Approval Clock (Subscription required)