New California proposal would skip environmental review for homeless shelters
A California Democrat introduced legislation on Wednesday to speed up construction for homeless shelters and affordable housing in the state by exempting certain projects from environmental review.
The legislation, Assembly Bill 1907, would build on a new Los Angeles law that exempts certain supportive housing projects in the city from CEQA, the rigorous environmental review process known for delaying construction.
Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, an L.A. Democrat, said a statewide version of his 2019 law is the necessary next step to alleviate a crisis in California that’s left more than 150,000 people homeless.
“Despite California being the 5th largest economy in the world, many people are living in tents and dying on the streets as if we were living in the second Great Depression,” Santiago said in a press statement. “We must focus on policies that keep people off of the streets and build homeless housing faster by doing everything humanly possible to remove existing barriers.”
The bill would lock in the environmental review exemption for certain emergency shelters, supportive housing and affordable housing until Jan. 1, 2029.
Santiago’s effort last year earned bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September.
AB 1907 is among a slew of bills that targets housing production and homelessness, two top priorities for lawmakers in the second half of the 2019-2020 session.
The introduction of an expanded version arrived the same day Newsom announced a $750 million budgetary commitment to battle homelessness in California.
The governor also signed an executive order on Wednesday mandating that state departments identify California property that could be used for emergency shelters.
“Homelessness is a national crisis, one that’s spreading across the West Coast and cities across the country,” Newsom said in a statement. “The state of California is treating it as a real emergency.”
The legislation is expected to face its first committee vote in March or April, Santiago’s office said.