San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener looks to tweak local CEQA regulations

by Brian Leubitz

You may have noticed a thing or two about the question of “reforming” the California Environmental Quality Act. CEQA has been used to hold up projects both good and bad for the environment and the community. Some tweaks would help expedite good projects, but the heart and soul of the legislation is important for the long term environmental future of the state. But one of the issues that is less clear is the role of local regulations on CEQA appeals.

It won’t surprise you to learn that San Francisco has some of the most confounding permit regulations. I learned just how confounding when a neighbor, who had already received a permit had to change a small aspect of some renovations. The process is something of a mess, to say the least, and can end up with some very high costs to get a simple project completed. However, Supervisor Scott Wiener, is looking to maintain the important role of environmental review, while trying to make repairs and renovations easier on homeowners in SF.

Under his proposal, which goes to the board’s Land Use Committee on Monday, appeals would need to be made within 30 days of a project’s initial approval. His measure also would enhance the system for notifying neighbors and other affected parties.

In doing so, the measure would end the ambiguity that allows environmental appeals of previously approved projects whenever any subsequent permit is pulled – even if the work is minor and does not affect the scope, look or nature of a project.(SF Chronicle)

Now, I’m sure the law proposed will go through some modifications before it becomes law, but this kind of expediting local environmental review while preserving the core goals is just as important, if not more important, for your average homeowner. It will likely directly impact more Californians than some of the proposals bandied about in the legislature these days. We need to keep a close eye on these type of changes, but if done right, they can be positive for the community as some of these small project holdups are what give CEQA a bad name. We need CEQA as a tool to fight bad and environmentally reckless development, and maybe some of these small tweaks can stabilize CEQA’s role for the long-term.

Photo credit: SF Supervisor Scott Wiener at 17th Street Plaza opening by Jamison Wieser, on Flickr