Former California governors and Southern California Leadership Council members George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Gray Davis discuss the necessity of modernizing one of the state's oldest environmental laws in order to protect the state's economy.
Following a slew of "frivolous lawsuits" filed in the name of CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, Deukmejian, Wilson and Gray have posed a "unique challenge" to the leaders and citizens of California: protect the state's integrity while balancing its dual defining characteristics -- being "green" and "golden."
In an op-ed for the San Diego Union-Tribune, the former governors write: "Adopted in 1970, CEQA provides a process for government to evaluate and mitigate adverse environmental impacts from projects and programs. While CEQA's original intent must remain intact, now is the time to end reckless abuses of this important law; abuses that are threatening California's economic vitality, costing jobs, and are wasting valuable taxpayer dollars."
"Ending these abuses means modernizing CEQA with smart reforms such as requiring petitioners to disclose their economic interests, adding certainty to the CEQA timeline, avoiding duplicative CEQA reviews, lessening opportunities for litigation and delay and updating CEQA so that it better integrates and coordinates numerous environmental protection mandates."
FULL STORY: Keep California green and golden with CEQA reforms
To Reform CEQA, Return to its Roots
Rick Cole, the former City Manager of Ventura, California, and a well-known civic leader in Southern California, defends the need for CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) while calling for returning to the law's key roots.
Opinion: How California’s Environmental Law Empowers NIMBYs
Critics of a new provision calling “social noise” an environmental impact say the law can too easily be co-opted by anti-housing groups to block new development.
Infamous 315-Unit Lafayette Housing Development Finally Approved
In a dramatic sign of how far zoning reform has come in the state of California, CEQA wasn’t enough to stop a 315-unit apartment development first proposed 12 years ago in the city of Lafayette.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
SoCal Leaders Debate Moving Coastal Rail Line
Train tracks running along the Pacific Ocean are in danger from sea level rise, but residents are divided on how to fix the problem.
Are Mobility Hubs Child-Friendly?
‘Mobility hubs’ aim to make urban travel easier by connecting travel modes. Adding more services could make them more accessible and useful to women and families.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research