Significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act have been included in a “budget trailer bill” and could take effect as soon as next week. The bill also amends the Permit Streamlining Act to speed up ministerial projects.

Although at tentative deal was announced Tuesday night as part of a budget agreement, the trailer bill still must be approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The legislative analysis of AB 130, the trailer bill, can be found here. Most of the CEQA provisions were moved over from Assemblymember Buffay Wicks’ AB 609.

Most importantly, the bill significantly expands the CEQA exemption for infill development – an exemption that is already being used more and more frequently by cities.

  • Currently, to qualify for the exemption, a project must be less than 5 acres in size and 75% surrounded by urban development.
  • The trailer bill expands the CEQA exemption to include projects of 20 acres or less. The projects can still be 75% surrounded by urban development – but also applies to projects where 75% of the land within a ¼-mile radius of the site consists of urban development. This essentially brings neighborhood context into the definition of infill, rather than just the parcel. (Builder’s remedy projects seeking a CEQA exemption would still be limited to 5 acres.)
  • The infill exemption applies only to projects of a certain density – specifically, half of the so-called “Mullin densities” contained in SB 375. The minimum densities would be at least five units per acre for an unincorporated area in a nonmetropolitan county, 10 units per acre in a suburban jurisdiction, and 15 units per acre in a metropolitan jurisdiction. Any project below these densities would be subject to CEQA.
  • To qualify for the exemption, projects still must conform with the local general plan and any specific plans.

The trailer bill would also impose Permit Streamlining Act deadlines on ministerial approvals for the first time. Up to now, PSA deadlines have applied only to discretionary approvals. The trailer bill would impose a 60-day shot clock on ministerial projects.