Opinion by Sue Lempert, former Mayor of San Mateo, in her regular Monday column.
The Daily Journal/Sue Lempert, 4/1/12., "Op-Ed: Is it time to revisit CEQA?
"
State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, has a major challenge. He’s the new
chair of the important Environmental Quality committee, which among
other things, will be considering possible changes to the California
Environmental Quality Act, also known as CEQA. Gov. Jerry Brown called
for reform of CEQA in his State of the State address. Now, state Senate
President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is introducing Senate Bill 731 to do
just that. Both the governor and Steinberg feel the act has been used
or misused for corporate competition (one
corner gas station trying to
stop a competitor from adding more pumps), by unions to force project
labor agreements, and by opponents of infill development and
transportation projects to delay or stop work.
.... This is a new assignment for Hill. The former chair of the committee,
Michael Rubio, D-Bakersfield, recently resigned from the state Senate to
take a job with Chevron. He was a conservative senator, albeit a
Democrat, and his approach to CEQA change was quite different from Hill,
who has been a longtime environmental advocate. Rubio wanted to use a
standards-based approach which would allow state or local government
laws to prevail. Hill was against this and it will not be included in
the proposed legislation. Instead,
the bill will probably include
language to speed up environmental review for renewable energy projects,
bike lanes, mass transit initiatives and other “green” projects as well
as cut back on lawsuits designed to slow down and block construction." Read article.
Related articles - San Francisco Chronicle, 2/2/13, "CEQA overhaul fight begins." "What could be the most contentious issue considered at the Capitol
this year already has proponents and opponents hiring lobbyists and
media strategists to start public campaigns - and there hasn't even been
a bill introduced. The issue is potential changes to the
California Environmental Quality Act, commonly known as CEQA, the
40-plus-year-old law that perhaps has been more responsible than any
other in regulating development in the state. Backers of the
changes want fewer legal hurdles to development because they say the
rules stifle projects that are good for California's economy.
Fix Pacifica reprints. Note: The lower photograph is from
Treehugger.com.
Posted by Kathy Meeh
The Daily Journal/Sue Lempert, 4/1/12., "Op-Ed: Is it time to revisit CEQA?
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