Appellate court rules that bill exempting project from CEQA does not violate state constitution. Preservationists made the unsuccessful argument that the state cannot be trusted to implement the law constitutionally.

Altogether the governor signed more than 40 planning and development bills, vetoing only one bill designed to encourage conversion of old office buildings to housing, apparently because off the labor standards contained in the bill.

In reversing trial court ruling, appellate court okays lower significance threshold -- but also says higher baseline in a supplemental analysis was fine. 

AB 98 would impose standards on new warehouses, especially in the Inland Empire -- but environmental justice groups say it doesn't go far enough and the bill was prepared in secrecy

Two bills sitting on the governor's desk would make it more difficult for cities and counties to claim that their housing element is compliant just because their elected officials approved it. Those are among the 30 so or planning and development bills approved by the Legislature this year.

Appellate court rejects CEQA challenges to L.A.'s Westside Mobility Plan, also concluding that the planning commission can certify the EIR even though the city council must approve some aspects of the project.

San Diego judge rules that Santee couldn't end-run a voter referendum by repealing approval and then passing an emergency ordinance moving the project forward. SB 330 was no help.

The governor has a new infill housing initiative that includes a proposal to use housing as CEQA mitigation. But this play is only partly about housing. It's mostly about getting transportation projects adequately mitigated under SB 743. 

Neighbors have challenged in the project, located along a high-rise corridor, in two different lawsuits -- one challenging the city's application of an eldercare zoning deviation and the other challenging the city's use of a Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment. So far the church is winning.