By David M. Greenwald
Executive Editor
Sacramento, CA – While Californians will have to wait for large scale CEQA reform, the Governor took aim at one specific high profile issue that lead to nationwide attention to the California seminal environmental law.
On Thursday, Governor Newsom signed into law Buffy Wicks (Senator -Oakland) legislation, AB 1307, which removes CEQA barriers to universities building new housing.
The legislation came in response to a court ruling in February of this year blocking UC Berkeley’s new housing for not assessing the noise impacts of college students living in an already populated area.
After that ruling, Governor Newsom and and legislators committed to changing the law to make it easier to build the housing the state desperately needs.
While they addressed that specific issue – more substantial CEQA reform will have to wait.
AB 1307 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks passed without opposition in the legislation responding to the court decision that blocked a new affordable housing development at UC Berkeley.
Under this new law, residential noise will not be considered a significant environmental effect under CEQA. In addition, the bill eliminates the requirement that public 
universities consider alternatives to the location of housing projects, when specified requirements are met.
“California will not allow NIMBYism to take hold, blocking critically needed housing for years and even decades. I thank Assemblymember Wicks and all the legislative leaders for taking on the status quo and clearing the way for our state to build more affordable housing,” Governor Newsom said on Thursday.
“AB 1307 reestablishes over 50 years of CEQA precedent, and reaffirms that people are not pollution,” Assemblymember Wicks said. “This will help UC Berkeley move forward with more than 1,200 units of housing, including 160 units for formerly homeless individuals. Just as importantly, AB 1307 provides more certainty for housing projects across the state, instead of more red tape and higher construction costs.”
The Governor’s office noted that earlier this year, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court urging it to overturn that decision and issued a statement in support of UC Berkeley’s plan to build much-needed student housing in People’s Park.
The Governor and the Legislature have invested and planned for $4 billion to provide grants for the CCCs, CSU, and UC to construct affordable student housing at below-market rates.
This includes $100 million in the 2022-23 Budget for the People’s Park project itself.
I am glad that Governor Newsom called out NIMBYs by name. This is excellent legislation to prevent NIMBYs from weaponizing the CEQA for their highly selfish and elitist obstructionism.
I was thinking the same thing… I liked that he used the term… but the statement “we will not allow NIMBYISM to take hold”…. yikes… that ship has sailed I think. Its pretty well established.
Also while it’s nice that they addressed the single Berkeley problem, they need to do more on the CEQA front.
What should really be done is to exempt all residential development from the CEQA.
That goes too far for me and probably creates more problems in other areas than it solves in housing.
INHO the entire California NIMBY movement has always been a complete and utter sham. NIMBY obstructionists must be wiped off the playing field before this State can fix its dire housing crisis. Our great State is now on the decline. NIMBYs are one of the chief causes. There is really no other way out of this monumental housing mess.
It all comes back to housing scarcity and the resulting unaffordability. This directly contradicts what NIMBYs repeatedly falsely assert.