by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
Arenas and stadiums are almost always exempted from CEQA, rather than housing projects or reservoirs
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced last week that he now is seeking to fast track water, storage and clean energy projects delayed by environmental lawsuits and the byzantine permitting process. This may be a great move however, Newsom has approved and implemented the policies impeding these important projects for decades.
So why flip now?
Apparently, the White House beckons Newsom as he tries to appear moderate – that much is patently obvious.
But the more pressing question is Why not remove the environmental impediments to building all water storage, water delivery, and housing projects if it is so important in these cherry-picked projects?
The biggest barrier is the California Environmental Quality Act to building nearly anything on a large scale in California.
And many experts say it is the most destructive impediment into California’s housing crisis and water storage crisis.
Why do politicians only exempt the cumbersome CEQA environmental requirements for new professional sports stadiums and pet projects of the Legislature?
In 2013, I first predicted then-Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) would author some kind of CEQA exemption for the proposed Golden One arena for the Sacramento Kings.
