Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed housing reforms into law that include significant exemptions to the California Environmental Quality Act that affect farmworker housing and food banks.
The CEQA requires public agencies to consider environmental consequences of proposed projects and attempt to eliminate impacts as much as possible. The reforms consist of two bills designed to streamline the building of affordable housing and cut through red tape: AB 131 and SB 131, authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and Sen. Scott Wiener, respectively.
In addition to farmworker housing and food banks, SB 131 creates seven other new CEQA exemptions for health centers and rural clinics, childcare centers, advanced manufacturing facilities, clean water projects, wildfire risk mitigation projects, broadband and parks.
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“The high costs devastating our communities stem directly from our extreme shortage of housing, childcare, affordable healthcare and so many of the other things families need to thrive,” Wiener said. “These bills get red tape and major process hurdles out of the way, allowing us to finally start addressing these shortages and securing an affordable California and a brighter future.”
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