Lauded by housing advocates, CEQA reform unlikely to have immediate local impact

Emma Murphy & Paulina Pineda, PRESS DEMOCRAT

The new regulations, which took effect immediately, have raised questions about whether it could pave an easier path for large developments in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa.

The local impact of statewide housing reforms approved Monday, including the historic rollback of parts of California’s landmark environmental law, are still coming into full view in the North Bay, but it’s unlikely to unlock hundreds of new housing units across the region — at least immediately.

The reforms negotiated by Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers as part of the budget bills exempt infill housing and many other residential developments from review under the 55-year-old California Environmental Quality Act. The measures also streamline permitting and freeze the codes that set residential building standards, among other sweeping changes that go beyond housing construction.

The overhaul comes amid a reckoning among the state’s majority party that bureaucratic hurdles have made it increasingly difficult to build enough housing for residents, driving up costs and contributing to rising homelessness.

“There is a feeling of urgency around California’s affordability crisis,” said Assemblymember Chris Rogers, D-Santa Rosa.

The new regulations, which took effect immediately, have raised questions about whether it could pave an easier path for a large development planned on former county land in Santa Rosa as well as another on the state’s former Sonoma Developmental Center campus near Glen Ellen.

Both have faced significant neighborhood opposition.