Background photo of houses and a neighborhood, with panelist headshots in the foreground.
Are housing affordability & environmental protection as misaligned as they are portrayed to be? Come talk #CEQA + #NEPA + #YIMBY with us April 3 at UCLA. @liamjdillon.com, @shanedphillips.bsky.social
"Can Abundance Be Sustainable?" is a free and all-day conference. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Attorneys, planners, judges & activists who read California's official #CEQA guidelines are now being taught, correctly, that:
1️⃣"Inadequate parking" does NOT constitute an "environmental impact"
2️⃣Building more parking does not "mitigate" environmental harm
My sense is that in California, the share of auto-oriented environmentalists (enviros who support minimum parking mandates, road widenings, etc.) is declining. I think this is happening in part because years ago, we reformed the California Environmental Quality Act ( #CEQA ) by passing #SB743.
Finally, a few years ago, my colleagues and I advised on & helped pass a new state law that explicitly rejects it. Under California law, "inadequate parking" can no longer be deemed an "environmental impact" under #CEQA. Bigger parking lots can no longer be considered an "environmental mitigation."
I assume you're joking, but sadly, that is the logic a California judge adopted when he ruled that under the California Environmental Quality Act ( #CEQA), "inadequate parking" in a new development was an "environmental impact" that could and should be "mitigated" by building more parking.
Many #California legislators failed environmental justice communities with the passage of #SB131. We thank those who have stood with these communities who rely on #CEQA for protections from deadly pollution.
calmatters.org/commentary/2...
"Eliminating or curtailing #CEQA review strips communities from opportunities to challenge polluting projects proposed for our neighborhoods.” Community leaders in #TulareCounty call on @governor.ca.gov to #FixSB131
@caspeakerrivas.bsky.social , @buffywicks.bsky.social
calmatters.org/commentary/2...
❗Eliminating or severely curtailing #CEQA review strips communities like ours of opportunities to challenge polluting projects proposed for our neighborhoods.” Community leaders in #TulareCounty call on @governor.ca.gov & legislative leaders to #FixSB131.
calmatters.org/commentary/2...
“Eliminating or severely curtailing #CEQA review strips communities like ours of opportunities to challenge polluting projects proposed for our neighborhoods.”
Community leaders in #TulareCounty call on @governor.ca.gov and legislative leaders to #FixSB131.
@caspeakerrivas.bsky.social
Sadly, #CEQA has a long history of being used to delay and drive up the cost of sustainable transportation projects. This CEQA lawsuit, for example, delayed the conversion of diesel trains to clean electric ones for years, all because a few multimillionaires wanted to cling to a dirty status quo.
A small group of rich NIMBYs used #CEQA, a California environmental law, to block the conversion of a parking lot into affordable housing. After a 5-year legal battle they lost the case, but they succeeded in delaying the project for so long that it lost its funding. So, it can’t break ground yet.
The plan to build a massive data center in Imperial County — without environmental review | KPBS Public Media www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2026/01... #DataCenters #IID #CAEnergy #CEQA
Environmental justice advocates and conservation groups are converging on #Sacramento today to demand legislative action to fix SB 131's rollback of #CEQA protections. #SB131
📷: Backyard Productions/Canva
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As the federal government rolls back environmental protections, California must hold the line. #EnvironmentalJustice #FixSB131 #CEQA
“‘We are glad the Court affirmed the will of the voters in passing Proposition K and closing the Upper Great Highway to private vehicles,’ Kwart said. ‘We are pleased the court found the City complied with #CEQA,’ the California Environmental Quality Act.”
"Indeed a system properly called environmental review ought not be turned into a tool to guarantee every person a place to park, in perpetuity."
#CEQA #CEQR
digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcont...
A screenshot of an article titled: "Environmental Review as an Incentive for Parking Provision in New York and California: Moving From Conservatism to Conservation Noah M. Kazis*" The full text of the article can be found at the following webpage: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1063&context=tlj
The California Environmental Quality Act was, among other things, interpreted to define “inadequate parking” as an “environmental impact”. Converting orchards into parking lots was then considered to be “mitigation” for this environmental harm. The law really needed reform.
#CEQA
New ballot measure push aims to overhaul California’s landmark environmental law
www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/09/n...
#EnvironmentalLaw #EnvironmentslRights #CEQA
AB 1083 is a very important bill which will roll back some of the most dangerous exemptions to CEQA Protections passed with the 2025 buget trailer bill. Please ask your California Assembly Member to support AB 1083 as we head into the 2026 legislative session. #CEQA #AB1083
Ballot measure would broaden reform of California’s key environmental law
calmatters.org/commentary/2...
#EnvironmentalLaw #EnvironmentalRights #CEQA #AirPollution #AirQuality
letter to the editor: Legislature must fix CEQA amendments The California Environmental Quality Act, our state’s foundational environmental law, was broadly amended during aggressive budget negotiations — without public comment and on a rushed timeline. Amendments now in law include a broad and perilous exemption for “advanced manufacturing,” a loosely defined category of projects that can encompass mining, semiconductor manufacturing and plastics incineration. This and other amendments that affect California’s ecosystems and democratic processes are potentially harmful to public health and the environment, and must be fixed. Marin County’s Assemblymember, Damon Connolly, has authored a cleanup bill, AB 1083, which includes virtually all of the needed repairs to CEQA. This bill will protect California’s climate, families, vulnerable communities, ecosystems and democratic processes. A big thanks goes to Connolly, and to the California representatives who are co-authoring the bill.
letter to the editor
Congrats to CAC volunteers Kate Zimmerman and Mary Buxton on their recent letters to the editor! Hope legislators are paying attention!
#CEQA #california #climate
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about #CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act). As special interest groups continue to pressure lawmakers to dismantle the law, it’s important to know how it works.
Let's set the facts straight ➡️ bit.ly/4nEX7T1
New California legislation exempts many housing projects from #CEQA review to fast-track development. Environmental advocates warn the rushed process could enable unsafe housing in #flood and #fire zones and allow industrial facilities to be built near neighborhoods.
Map: MTC/ABAG
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CPH Daily Bulletin 10/19/2025
#California’s #housing laws hang over controversial #PlacerCounty project
https://www.sacbee.com/news/article312534611.html
#CEQA
CPH Daily Bulletin 10/19/2025
#California’s first carbon storage project moves ahead as it faces #CEQA lawsuit
www.sacbee.com/news/california/article3...
#CarbonCapture #Bakersfield #KernCounty #Pollution #AirQuality
open.substack.com/pub/vincerot...
#Housing #California #Politics #Apartments #Legislation #CEQA #SB79 #AB130
