"The California Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday introduced a ballot initiative that looks to "streamline and speed up approval" of essential projects, proposing stringent timelines for reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA - long considered a barrier to development. The proposal comes less than four months after state lawmakers, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, pushed through some of the most expansive CEQA exemptions yet for home builders working in urban areas zoned for multifamily units."
"The proposal would impose a 365-day limit on environmental reviews for essential projects including affordable housing, clean energy and wildfire resiliency. The initiative could reach voters in November 2026 and comes after lawmakers passed sweeping exemptions to the California Environmental Quality Act for urban home builders in July."
The California Chamber of Commerce introduced the Building an Affordable California Act to impose strict timelines on CEQA environmental reviews for essential projects such as affordable housing, clean energy, secure water, healthcare and wildfire resiliency. The measure would require CEQA compliance while setting new deadlines for public hearings and agency reviews, including a 365-day cap on environmental reviews for qualifying projects. The initiative aims to speed project approvals and restructure the current review process rather than provide narrow exemptions. The measure could appear on the November 2026 ballot and follows recent legislative CEQA exemptions for urban multifamily builders.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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