CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
Legislation of Interest--CEQA Exemptions
Assembly Bill 175 (Ch. 415) enlarges the exemption provided for affordable housing development projects. The California Environmental Quality Act previously exempted lower income housing development projects of up to 45 units covering up to two acres. The new legislation exempts projects up to 100 units on sites of up to five acres. Developers of lower income housing projects must provide sufficient legal commitments to keep the projects affordable to those households for 15 years. Assembly Bill 175 also adds a requirement that projects for low- to moderate-income housing must remain affordable to those groups for 30 years. Such exempt development projects must still be consistent with specific plans and local coastal programs, as well as general plans, and cannot cause significant effects on the residents of the development project, as well as the environment.
Newly established provisions also require early consultation between the lead agency and responsible agencies to strategize on the preparation of environmental documents.
Senate Bill 60 (Ch. 327) is primarily a funding bill for seismic retrofit activities on bridges and highways in the State. The Act extends the previous CEQA exemption for retrofit projects on State-owned toll bridges (which was to have expired June 30, 2001) until the date the retrofit activities are certified complete or June 30, 2005, whichever comes first.