Latest news with #CEQA
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
United States Congressional Candidate Peter Coe Verbica Unveils 25-Point Federal Plan to Help Make California Affordable Again
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. and SAN JOSE, Calif. and SANTA CRUZ, Calif. and MONTEREY, Calif., June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- US. Congressional Candidate Peter Coe Verbica, author of Hard-Won Cowboy Wisdom and a CFP® professional, releases a comprehensive plan outlining 25 federal initiatives to combat California's growing affordability crisis. Verbica is running for US Congress, California District 19, which includes Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties. While many of the cost drivers (such as housing, gas, utilities, and insurance) are the result of decades of restrictive state policies, Candidate for Congress Verbica emphasizes that federal lawmakers still have powerful tools to ease the burden on California families and businesses. "California's affordability crisis is pushing out teachers, nurses, firefighters, small businesses, and young families," states Peter Coe Verbica. "While Sacramento bears responsibility for many of these cost pressures, if elected, I will focus on delivering federal solutions that can provide real relief." STATE POLICIES AT THE ROOT OF THE CRISIS US. Congressional Candidate Verbica notes several long-standing California-specific issues that have contributed to the affordability problem: Housing shortages caused by decades of underbuilding and abuse of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); Gas prices inflated by abnormal fuel blend mandates and layered state taxes; Utility rate hikes driven by wildfire liability and lack of infrastructure modernization; Water scarcity and costs worsened by failure to build new dams or reservoirs in over 50 years, despite voters approving Proposition 1 which allocated $7.5 billion to water infrastructure in 2014; Insurance market instability due to rigid regulatory frameworks like Prop 103; Punitive labor laws such as the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), making it riskier to hire workers; An overall anti-business climate marked by overregulation and litigation threats. 25 ACTIONS A FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVE CAN TAKE TO HELP Despite these state-level challenges, Candidate for Congress Verbica lays out 25 actionable federal strategies aimed at reducing costs and improving conditions for California residents: Housing Tie the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding to local zoning reform and faster permitting. Expand Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) allocations. Reform the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to streamline federal land development. Repurpose federal surplus land for housing. Fund scalable modular housing technology. Pilot CEQA-exempt housing projects on federal land. Create federal grants for local governments that & Transportation Standardize clean fuel blends nationally. Request EPA waivers to allow broader gasoline availability. Investigate fuel market manipulation. Expand EV charging networks in low-income areas. Incentivize remote work through federal tax & Wildfire Resilience Increase Federal Emergency Management (FEMA)/ Department of Energy (DOE) grid-hardening grants. Launch a federal wildfire reinsurance or bond market. Fund fuel reduction on federal forest land. Modernize interstate grid connectivity through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).Water Infrastructure Fund critical storage projects like Sites Reservoir. Invest in desalination and recycling initiatives. Direct United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Interior support to agriculture efficiency. Reform federal Environmental Species Act (ESA) water-use rules to balance & Business Climate Consider the preemption of harmful labor regulations for interstate commerce. Establish a federal "safe harbor" employment category for startups, gig workers, and agricultural employees. Hold hearings on the economic impact of PAGA. Provide tax incentives for reshoring California manufacturing. Expand Small Business Administration (SBA) legal and compliance resources for small businesses. A FEDERAL PARTNER IN STATEWIDE REFORM "The cost of living in California shouldn't be a reason to leave," US. Congressional Candidate Verbica adds. "We can't solve everything in Washington, but we can be a strong partner in turning things around. This plan is just the beginning, and we look forward to the very real possibility of working in cooperation with a Republican governor in California." US. Congressional Candidate Verbica plans to introduce or support legislation aligned with these recommendations, while coordinating with local officials, stakeholders, and agencies to ensure federal support is targeted where it's most needed. Incumbent politicians had their chance, and they refused to structurally fix social security for current and future generations. They are not the solution; they are part of the problem. Vote for Peter Verbica for Congress. Peter Coe Verbica is a fiscal conservative running for United States Congress, California District 19. The district covers Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties. Verbica grew up on a cattle ranch and graduated from Bellarmine College Prep, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara University School of Law, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Peter Verbica is a CFP® professional and a Principal and Managing Director at Silicon Private Wealth. He has four adult daughters. He and his wife enjoy hiking, playing tennis and horseback riding. His family donated the heart of Henry Coe State Park, the largest state park in Northern California. For more information on the campaign, please visit Paid for by Verbica for Congress. Contact:Peter Coe Verbica***@ Photo(s): Press release distributed by PRLog View original content: SOURCE Verbica for Congress
Los Angeles Times
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
5 things to know about big potential changes to California's building laws
Government runs on acronyms. In California, few inspire such strong reactions as CEQA. Those four letters stand for the California Environmental Quality Act. It's a state law that's been around since 1970. Depending on whom you ask, it's either the reason California retains its natural beauty in the face of unrelenting development pressure or why the state has plunged into a housing crisis. But now the Legislature is debating the most substantial overhaul to CEQA in generations. One proposal would exempt urban housing from its requirements and the other would weaken its rules for almost everything else. Here's why the law is so integral to California and what changes might do. The law is straightforward. CEQA requires proponents of a development — housing, highways, power plants, warehouses and many more — to disclose and, if possible, lessen its environmental effects before breaking ground. In practice these rules have meant thousand-plus page reports that include lengthy analyses of soil testing and traffic modeling, and sometimes endless litigation that puts entire projects at risk. Supporters of CEQA say the law is essential to preventing development from dirtying California's waterways and mountain ranges and protects communities from harm. They say the law's effects on stopping development are overblown, pointing to studies that show few projects face lawsuits. Those who want CEQA overhauled respond that even threats to sue can derail projects, such as housing or clean energy infrastructure, that the state needs to be more affordable and respond to climate change. The reformers contend that a project's opponents weaponize the broad requirements in CEQA to try to stop the developments, including homeless shelters and a food bank in recent years, for reasons that have nothing to do with the environment. Two of CEQA's biggest fans are environmental and labor groups, influential constituencies in state politics. They've successfully resisted major changes to the law over the years and have learned to wield it. So even though governors and lawmakers have talked a big game about CEQA changes, they've been able to pass relief only for specific pet projects or those willing to pay construction workers higher wages, or set aside a portion of the development for low-income housing or other benefits. The two new bills have been proposed by veteran lawmakers who have written many of the CEQA and housing reforms in recent years, frustrated that large-scale development hasn't followed. Their efforts have been buoyed by a national 'Abundance' movement that's growing within Democratic circles. The argument goes that laws like CEQA in part drive the housing and infrastructure crises in blue states that are stifling the party's political fortunes. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has embraced the call, endorsed the two bills and put them on a fast-track to approval as soon as this month. Even opponents of the bills believe something is going to pass. But what that looks like remains an open question. One lawmaker indicated that some labor standards may be part of her bill, and the other's bill was gutted in a legislative committee. All eyes will be on Newsom and legislative leaders in the coming weeks as they attempt to hammer out a final deal. Virginia writes, 'My dad gave me a strong sense of self as a smart Latina capable of doing anything I set my mind to. One of his favorite pieces of advice, liberally given, was that people would underestimate me and not to let them. This served me well as I entered the male dominated corporate world of the late 80s and 90s and eventually reached my goal at the top of the corporate ladder.' Michael writes, 'Son, you should always marry a short girl. When they [fart,] they don't kick up as much dust.' Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. On June 5, 1981, AIDS was reported for the first time following the detection of a rare form of pneumonia in five gay men in Los Angeles. Last year, as part of the Times' Our Queerest Century project, columnist LZ Granderson wrote about how we must remember the heroes of the AIDS epidemic, not just the trauma. Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California lawmakers push for CEQA reforms to address housing crisis
Several California bills could lead to significant reforms of the state's environmental review law, with the goal of addressing the state's ongoing housing crisis. One of the bills, Assembly Bill 609, authored by Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), would establish a CEQA exemption for most urban housing developments. The bill is part of the Fast Track Housing Package, a collection of 20 bills that aim to expedite the approval of housing projects. The California Environmental Quality Act, enacted in 1970, requires public agencies in California to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of proposed projects and avoid those impacts, if possible. However, many argue that the law has been weaponized to block new housing projects and development. 'CEQA can be an expensive and lengthy process, especially for large or complicated projects. This is true even if there is no litigation. Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report under CEQA can take a year or longer and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even, in some cases, more than $1 million,' a 2024 report from the bipartisan Little Hoover Commission said. Liftoff! Big Bear bald eagle chick takes to the sky The Los Angeles Times also pointed out that when CEQA threatened to stop enrollment at UC Berkeley, prevented the Sacramento Kings from building their new stadium, or prevented renovations of the state Capitol, lawmakers stepped in. With the various exemptions, critics have nicknamed the law 'Swiss cheese CEQA.' 'Right now, it takes far too long to build the housing Californians need — and that's a failure of government,' Assemblymember Wicks said in a statement. 'The Fast Track Housing package is about making our systems work better: clearer rules, faster timelines, and fewer bureaucratic hoops. It's not about cutting corners — it's about being honest that what we're doing isn't working. Gov. Gavin Newsom has also announced his support for reforms to CEQA. Still, not everyone is in favor of the proposed changes to the environmental law. Dozens of environmental and labor groups, such as the California Preservation Foundation and Livable California, are opposed to the proposed changes. Improving California's housing crisis has been a priority for Newsom since taking office. In 2018, Newsom, in a Medium post, wrote, 'As Governor, I will lead the effort to develop the 3.5 million new housing units we need by 2025 because our solutions must be as bold as the problem is.' Newsom has since revised that goal, setting a new benchmark for cities to plan for 2.5 million homes by 2030. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After half a century, California legislators on the verge of overhauling a landmark environmental law
When a landmark state environmental law threatened to halt enrollment at UC Berkeley, legislators stepped in and wrote an exemption. When the Sacramento Kings were about to leave town, lawmakers brushed the environmental rules aside for the team's new arena. When the law stymied the renovation of the state Capitol, they acted once again. Lawmakers' willingness to poke holes in the California Environmental Quality Act for specific projects without overhauling the law in general has led commentators to describe the changes as 'Swiss cheese CEQA.' Now, after years of nibbling at it, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are going in with the knives. Two proposals have advanced rapidly through the Legislature: one to wipe away the law for most urban housing developments, the other to weaken the rules for most everything else. Legal experts say the efforts would be the most profound changes to CEQA in generations. Newsom not only endorsed the bills last month, but also put them on a fast track to approval by proposing their passage as part of the state budget, which bypasses normal committee hearings and means they could become law within weeks. 'This is the biggest opportunity to do something big and bold, and the only impediment is us,' Newsom said when announcing his support for the legislation. Read more: 'The law that swallowed California': Why the much-derided CEQA is so hard to change Nearly the entire 55-year history of the California Environmental Quality Act has featured dueling narratives about its effects. On its face the law is simple: It requires proponents to disclose and, if possible, lessen the environmental effects of a project. In practice, this has led to tomes of environmental impact reports, including volumes of soil testing and traffic modeling studies, and sometimes years of disputes in court. Many credit CEQA for helping preserve the state's scenic vistas and waterways while others decry its ability to thwart housing and infrastructure projects, including the long-delayed and budget-busting high-speed rail. On the latter point, evidence supports both sides of the argument. One study by UC Berkeley law professors found that fewer than 3% of housing projects in many big cities across the state over a three-year period faced any litigation. But some contend that the threat of a lawsuit is enough to chill development, and examples continue to pile up of CEQA stalling construction of homeless shelters, a food bank and child-care center. What's clear is that CEQA has become embedded as a key point of leverage in California's development process. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass once recalled that when she worked as a community organizer in the 1990s, Westside land-use attorneys who were successful in stopping development in their communities taught her how to use CEQA to block liquor stores in South L.A. Organized labor learned to use the law to its advantage and became one of its most ardent supporters, alongside environmentalists — major constituencies within Democratic politics in the state. Besides carve-outs for individual projects in recent years, lawmakers have passed CEQA streamlining for certain kinds of housing and other developments. These fast-track measures can be used only if proponents agree to pay higher wages to construction workers or set aside a portion of the project for low-income housing on land considered the least environmentally sensitive. Read more: Homeless shelter opponents are using this environmental law in bid to block new housing Labor groups' argument is simple, said Pete Rodriguez, vice president-Western District of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners: CEQA exemptions save time and money for developers, so some benefit should go to workers. 'When you expedite the process and you let a developer get the TSA pass, for example, to get quicker through the line at the airport, there should be labor standards attached to that as well,' Rodriguez said at a Los Angeles Business Council panel in April. The two bills now under debate — Assembly Bill 609 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Senate Bill 607 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) — break with that tradition. They propose broad CEQA changes without any labor or other requirements. Wicks' bill would exempt most urban housing developments from CEQA. Wiener's legislation, among other provisions, would in effect lessen the number of projects, housing and otherwise, that would need to complete a full environmental review, narrowing the law's scope. 'Both are much, much more far-reaching than anything that has been proposed in living memory to deal with CEQA,' said Chris Elmendorf, a UC Davis law professor who tracks state environmental and housing legislation. The legislation wouldn't have much of an effect on rebuilding after L.A.'s wildfires, as single-family home construction is exempt and Newsom already waived other parts of the law by executive order. The environment inside and outside the Legislature has become friendlier to more aggressive proposals. "Abundance," a recent book co-written by New York Times opinion writer Ezra Klein, makes the case that CEQA and other laws supported by Democrats have hamstrung the ability to build housing and critical infrastructure projects, citing specifically California's affordability crisis and challenges with high-speed rail, in ways that have stifled the American Dream and the party's political fortunes. The idea has become a cause celebre in certain circles. Newsom invited Klein onto his podcast. This spring, Klein met with Wicks and Wiener and other lawmakers, including Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate, respectively. Wicks and Wiener are veteran legislators and former chairs of legislative housing committees who have written much of the prior CEQA streamlining legislation. Even though it took bruising battles to pass previous bills, the resulting production hasn't come close to resolving the state's shortage, Wicks said. 'We need housing on a massive scale,' Wicks said. To opponents of the bills, including dozens of environmental and labor groups, the effort misplaces the source of building woes and instead would restrict one of the few ways community groups can shape development. Asha Sharma, state policy manager for Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, said her organization uses CEQA to reduce the polluting effects of projects in neighborhoods already overburdened by environmental problems. The proposed changes would empower public agencies and developers at the expense of those who would be affected by their decisions, she said. 'What folks aren't realizing is that along with the environmental regulations comes a lot of public transparency and public engagement,' said Sharma, whose group advocates for low-income Californians in rural areas. 'When you're rolling back CEQA, you're rolling back that too.' Because of the hefty push behind the legislation, Sharma expects the bills will be approved in some form. But it remains uncertain how they might change. Newsom, the two lawmakers and legislative leaders are negotiating amendments. Read more: Newsom suspends landmark environmental laws to ease rebuilding in wildfire zones Wicks said her bill will not require developers to reserve part of their projects for low-income housing to receive a CEQA exemption; cities can mandate that on their own, she said. Wicks indicated, however, that labor standards could be part of a final deal, saying she's "had some conversations in that regard." Wiener's bill was gutted in a legislative fiscal committee last month, with lawmakers saying they wanted to meet infrastructure and affordability needs 'without compromising environmental protections.' Afterward, Wiener and McGuire, the Senate leader, released a joint statement declaring their intent to pass a version of the legislation as part of the budget, as the governor had proposed. Wiener remained committed to the principles in his initial bill. 'What I can say is that I'm highly optimistic that we will pass strong changes to CEQA that will make it easier and faster to deliver all of the good things that make Californians' lives better and more affordable,' Wiener said. Should the language in the final deal be anything like what's been discussed, the changes to CEQA would be substantial, said Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. Still, he said the law's effects on housing development were overblown. Many other issues, such as local zoning restrictions, lack of funding and misaligned tax incentives, play a much larger role in limiting construction long before projects can even get to the point where CEQA becomes a concern, he said. 'CEQA is the last resort of a NIMBY,' said Elkind, referring to residents who try to block housing near them. 'It's almost like we're working backwards here.' Wicks agreed that the Legislature would have to do more to strip away regulations that make it harder to build housing. But she argued that the CEQA changes would take away a major barrier: the uncertainty developers face from legal threats. Passing major CEQA reforms would demonstrate lawmakers' willingness to tackle some of the state's toughest challenges, she said. 'It sends a signal to the world that we're ready to build,' Wicks said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
After half a century, California legislators on the verge of overhauling a landmark environmental law
When a landmark state environmental law threatened to halt enrollment at UC Berkeley, legislators stepped in and wrote an exemption. When the Sacramento Kings were about to leave town, lawmakers brushed the environmental rules aside for the team's new arena. When the law stymied the renovation of the state Capitol, they acted once again. Lawmakers' willingness to poke holes in the California Environmental Quality Act for specific projects without overhauling the law in general has led commentators to describe the changes as 'Swiss cheese CEQA.' Now, after years of nibbling at it, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are going in with the knives. Two proposals have advanced rapidly through the Legislature: one to wipe away the law for most urban housing developments, the other to weaken the rules for most everything else. Legal experts say the efforts would be the most profound changes to CEQA in generations. Newsom not only endorsed the bills last month, but also put them on a fast track to approval by proposing their passage as part of the state budget, which bypasses normal committee hearings and means they could become law within weeks. 'This is the biggest opportunity to do something big and bold, and the only impediment is us,' Newsom said when announcing his support for the legislation. Nearly the entire 55-year history of the California Environmental Quality Act has featured dueling narratives about its effects. On its face the law is simple: It requires proponents to disclose and, if possible, lessen the environmental effects of a project. In practice, this has led to tomes of environmental impact reports, including volumes of soil testing and traffic modeling studies, and sometimes years of disputes in court. Many credit CEQA for helping preserve the state's scenic vistas and waterways while others decry its ability to thwart housing and infrastructure projects, including the long-delayed and budget-busting high-speed rail. On the latter point, evidence supports both sides of the argument. One study by UC Berkeley law professors found that fewer than 3% of housing projects in many big cities across the state over a three-year period faced any litigation. But some contend that the threat of a lawsuit is enough to chill development, and examples continue to pile up of CEQA stalling construction of homeless shelters, a food bank and child-care center. What's clear is that CEQA has become embedded as a key point of leverage in California's development process. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass once recalled that when she worked as a community organizer in the 1990s, Westside land-use attorneys who were successful in stopping development in their communities taught her how to use CEQA to block liquor stores in South L.A. Organized labor learned to use the law to its advantage and became one of its most ardent supporters, alongside environmentalists — major constituencies within Democratic politics in the state. Besides carve-outs for individual projects in recent years, lawmakers have passed CEQA streamlining for certain kinds of housing and other developments. These fast-track measures can be used only if proponents agree to pay higher wages to construction workers or set aside a portion of the project for low-income housing on land considered the least environmentally sensitive. Labor groups' argument is simple, said Pete Rodriguez, vice president-Western District of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners: CEQA exemptions save time and money for developers, so some benefit should go to workers. 'When you expedite the process and you let a developer get the TSA pass, for example, to get quicker through the line at the airport, there should be labor standards attached to that as well,' Rodriguez said at a Los Angeles Business Council panel in April. The two bills now under debate — Assembly Bill 609 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Senate Bill 607 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) — break with that tradition. They propose broad CEQA changes without any labor or other requirements. Wicks' bill would exempt most urban housing developments from CEQA. Wiener's legislation, among other provisions, would in effect lessen the number of projects, housing and otherwise, that would need to complete a full environmental review, narrowing the law's scope. 'Both are much, much more far-reaching than anything that has been proposed in living memory to deal with CEQA,' said Chris Elmendorf, a UC Davis law professor who tracks state environmental and housing legislation. The legislation wouldn't have much of an effect on rebuilding after L.A.'s wildfires, as single-family home construction is exempt and Newsom already waived other parts of the law by executive order. The environment inside and outside the Legislature has become friendlier to more aggressive proposals. 'Abundance,' a recent book co-written by New York Times opinion writer Ezra Klein, makes the case that CEQA and other laws supported by Democrats have hamstrung the ability to build housing and critical infrastructure projects, citing specifically California's affordability crisis and challenges with high-speed rail, in ways that have stifled the American Dream and the party's political fortunes. The idea has become a cause celebre in certain circles. Newsom invited Klein onto his podcast. This spring, Klein met with Wicks and Wiener and other lawmakers, including Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate, respectively. Wicks and Wiener are veteran legislators and former chairs of legislative housing committees who have written much of the prior CEQA streamlining legislation. Even though it took bruising battles to pass previous bills, the resulting production hasn't come close to resolving the state's shortage, Wicks said. 'We need housing on a massive scale,' Wicks said. To opponents of the bills, including dozens of environmental and labor groups, the effort misplaces the source of building woes and instead would restrict one of the few ways community groups can shape development. Asha Sharma, state policy manager for Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, said her organization uses CEQA to reduce the polluting effects of projects in neighborhoods already overburdened by environmental problems. The proposed changes would empower public agencies and developers at the expense of those who would be affected by their decisions, she said. 'What folks aren't realizing is that along with the environmental regulations comes a lot of public transparency and public engagement,' said Sharma, whose group advocates for low-income Californians in rural areas. 'When you're rolling back CEQA, you're rolling back that too.' Because of the hefty push behind the legislation, Sharma expects the bills will be approved in some form. But it remains uncertain how they might change. Newsom, the two lawmakers and legislative leaders are negotiating amendments. Wicks said her bill will not require developers to reserve part of their projects for low-income housing to receive a CEQA exemption; cities can mandate that on their own, she said. Wicks indicated, however, that labor standards could be part of a final deal, saying she's 'had some conversations in that regard.' Wiener's bill was gutted in a legislative fiscal committee last month, with lawmakers saying they wanted to meet infrastructure and affordability needs 'without compromising environmental protections.' Afterward, Wiener and McGuire, the Senate leader, released a joint statement declaring their intent to pass a version of the legislation as part of the budget, as the governor had proposed. Wiener remained committed to the principles in his initial bill. 'What I can say is that I'm highly optimistic that we will pass strong changes to CEQA that will make it easier and faster to deliver all of the good things that make Californians' lives better and more affordable,' Wiener said. Should the language in the final deal be anything like what's been discussed, the changes to CEQA would be substantial, said Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. Still, he said the law's effects on housing development were overblown. Many other issues, such as local zoning restrictions, lack of funding and misaligned tax incentives, play a much larger role in limiting construction long before projects can even get to the point where CEQA becomes a concern, he said. 'CEQA is the last resort of a NIMBY,' said Elkind, referring to residents who try to block housing near them. 'It's almost like we're working backwards here.' Wicks agreed that the Legislature would have to do more to strip away regulations that make it harder to build housing. But she argued that the CEQA changes would take away a major barrier: the uncertainty developers face from legal threats. Passing major CEQA reforms would demonstrate lawmakers' willingness to tackle some of the state's toughest challenges, she said. 'It sends a signal to the world that we're ready to build,' Wicks said.
