When legislators approved California’s Environmental Quality Law in 1970, a modest regulation was considered, aimed at ensuring that government agencies considered how public projects could affect the residents of the State, wildlife and natural resources.
Since then, the scope of the law has Expanded massively. Today, Ceqa (Pronounced “SEE-QWA”) It provides an easy path to legally challenge almost any public or private, large or small environmental project.
It is a favorite tool among special interest groups, from Nimby neighbors who seek to stop growth to unions trying to negotiate agreements.
But the Use of CEQA as legal cudgel It has led to important delays, increasing costs and, in some cases, has killed projects completely.
Here is only a sample of projects in the Bay area that have experienced Leghy Ceqa’s challenges:
Keeping the ATS in Oakland
Would athletics continue in Oakland wasn’t it for Ceqa?
Impossible to say it. The obstacles were many for the baseball and Oakland team when it comes to building a new stage on the favorite site: Howard Terminal. The plan, and visa that brings together the active port of 55 Acres with a stage, up to 3,000 new houses, a hotel space, retail and office sale necessary to eliminate multiple and regional.
Years of Ceqa’s demands also tested the patience of the team. In April 2022, two railway companies and a coalition of unions that work in the port presented Challenging legal actions Projects report the environmental impact.
Oakland won his case and a successive appeal, Defeating the challenge In March 2023. But by then, the athletics were in the middle of the end of an agreement in a site in Las Vegas.
Less than a month after Oakland finished approving at Howard Terminal, the athletics announced that the team would leave Oakland. Nevada, in particular, does not require any environmental review at large -scale project such as CEQA.
‘Pollution’ of students in UC Berkeley
If the noise of future residents of a housing project is treated as Environmental pollution Under ceqa?
That is what a group of opponents argued when they filed a demand challenging a housing project for students of 1,100 beds that UC Berkeley planned to build in People’s Park. What followed was a three -year legal battle that was for the Supreme Court of California. In the end, the Court put on the side of UC Berkeley.
In July 2024, construction finally begged, three years after UC Berkeley announced its plans.
495 apartments in the center of San Francisco
At first glance, 469 Stevenson St. seemed an ideal place for new homes: a lot in the middle of San Francisco, right next to Market Street behind what is now the center of Ikea.
In 2021, the Build Inc. developer proposes the construction of a 27 -story tower with 495 apartments, with 24% of the units reserved in revenue revenues.
He thought that the San Francisco Planning Commission initially signed the project and its environmental review, the Supervisors Board appealed to the decision to the Supervisors Board Political influential affordable housing Group, Todco (Tenants and Development Owners Corp.). The group said that the environmental review had sufficiently analyzed the foundations of the building for the risks of earthquakes.
But Todco had its own interests in development. Months before, President of Todco, John Eberling, Had asked Build Inc. to donate A third of the site dedicated to a future 100% affordable project. Build Inc. declined.
The Supervisors Board voted to defend Todco’s appeal, effective killing the project. Duration their deliberations, the supervisors spoke little about Todco’s concerns about the risk of earthquakes, and more about their concerns about gentrification.
In April 2023, Build Inc. presented an environmental report amended before the Planning Commission. He Agree the project for the second time. This time, Eberling did not present an appeal, saying that it was unlikely that the tower was built in the midst of the deep financial challenges faced by the center of San Francisco.
It turned out that he was right. In the two years, Tok Build Inc. to resolve the appeal, the interest rates shot up. Today, the lot remains a parking lot.
222 new houses next to the West Oakland Bart
In March 2021, the Oakland Planning Commission approved a project of 222 units, which included 16 low -income units, next to the West Oakland Bart station.
A group of East Bay unions felt frustrated because the project developer, the Michaels organization, had refused to sacrifice contracts without tender for work on the site. Working through a group called “East Bay residents for responsible development”, the unions appealed the decision of planning commissions under CEQA, arguing that the environmental review of the SIT was inadequate.
In September 2021, the Oakland City Council confirmed the appeal of the unions, requiring more studies. The developer returned with those that in April 2022, but once again, the Council delayed the project, citing a concern that workers and nearby residents could be exposed to benzene and lead found in the site. Finally, the Green Liting the Project Council in July 2022, a year after the initial approval.
Now, it is not clear when, or yes, the project will begin. Scott Cooper, Vice President of Development of Michaels, said nothing will be built at least for the next two years. “They killed the project,” he said in an interview.
These days, the project is surrounded by camps for homeless.
163 units near the Bart station in San Lorenzo
In 2019, The developer Terry Demmon applied to Build 163 Apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail sales in San Lorenzo, a city or around 23,000 in Alameda County not incorporated between San Leandro and Hayward. The lot, a few steps from the Bay View Bart station, had been vacant since a department store of Mervyn was closed in 1995.
Shortly after the project was proposed, Demmon received a call from the representative of a group of local sheets and plumbers of Chapa, asking him to use union subcontractors in the project. Demmon declined.
He thought that the Alameda County Planning Commission signed the project, the construction unions, under the name of “East Bay residents for responsible development”, presented an appeal through CEQA. They said Demmon had analyzed the impacts of relocating a gas line.
Demmon defended himself. The use of trade union labor had increased costs by around $ 5 million, he told the East Bay Express.
In the end, Demmon promised to hire Union Electrical and Sprinkler Fitters. Organized leaders and lamina workers would also be hired if their offer were within the 10 percent lower for the project, said the developer.
In 2023, The developer announced I was putting the project waiting due to the increase in construction costs.
California high speed railroad
California’s high speed rail project is perhaps the most ambitious clean transport project, a 776 -mile zero -emission bullet train that would beat the riders of San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than three hours. The line would help eliminate the need for short distance flights between the two cities, as banned in many European countries in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.
And yet, from the beginning, it has been paralyzed with CEQA demand boxes – Of Farmers referred to the train bisce would your land to Rich enclaves like Atherton Concerned about noise.
Ceqa did not kill California Rail of high speed alone. There are many other problems: complex project management, political struggles and the challenge of coordinating with public service and owners boxes for each route segment.
But Ceqa bounded the project with additional environmental reviews and battles of the cutting court. Beyond having to disburse legal fees to fight CEQA’s appeals, the rail authority was also forced to alter its route, create new high steps and redesign stations. Each reconsideration accumulated in additional delays and costs.
