CEQA
Blog
Challenge to market-based housing reforms comes up short
Several causes have been offered to explain runaway real-estate valuation. For instance, some cities face serious geographic constraints that make building a difficult proposition. I live in an area in northwest Washington that is bounded by Canada to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Cascade mountains to ...
CEQA
Californians have a rare chance to rein in CEQA and support housing
Curious who‘s to blame for California’s housing crisis? Just look at who wants to kill the cure. A measure to reform the chief impediment to building homes in the state just qualified for the November ballot, and the same week, labor unions and environmental groups dumped millions into the effort ...
Blog
Cities still grappling with the fallout 17 months after LA’s wildfires
Cities still grappling with the fallout 17 months after LA’s wildfires By John Seiler | June 19, 2026 Since the January 2025 wildfires devastated Pacific Palisades and Eaton, what have policymakers done to make sure California cities are better protected from future outbreaks? Policies should be split into “three buckets,” ...
Blog
Is California Coastal Commission finally getting its comeuppance?
California has one of the world’s most spectacular coastlines, which meanders 1,100 miles from Imperial Beach to Crescent City. And, of course, everyone wants to “Save Our Coast” and assure public access to beaches, which is why Californians voted 55% to 45% in 1972 for Proposition 20. It promised to protect ...
Blog
Will California Finally Overhaul CEQA?
In response, state lawmakers passed AB130 and SB131 this session, a package of bills which exempted various housing developments from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review and provided streamlined review for developments which would have qualified for exemption but for one disqualifying condition. Luis Quiñonez, President of the California Foundation ...
Blog
YIMBYs win political victories, but where are the new houses?
Gov. Gavin Newsom even held up passage of the state budget until lawmakers approved two reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Assembly Bill 130 exempts a broader number of environmentally friendly infill housing projects from CEQA. Senate Bill 131 exempts nine types of projects from CEQA. These include ...
Blog
Jury Still Deliberating On California’s Push To Build More Homes
This year’s devastating wildfires decimated upwards of 13,000 homes. In response, California has passed two new laws that seek to streamline the process of housing development. Will they have the desired effect? That remains to be seen. Under AB130, new housing developments that meet certain size, density, location, and use requirements ...
Blog
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
You have rights to your property, not to control others
Everything in this world does seem nonsensical, especially as we consider the issue of land-use regulation and California’s efforts (led by progressives) to jump-start housing construction by—yes, you heard this right—reducing the role of government in dictating what we can do with our property. Meanwhile, many conservatives have dug in ...
Blog
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
California’s obsession with density limits housing growth
Morphing from a once-reasonable requirement that building permit applicants report on the “significant environmental impact” of their construction project and how they intend to mitigate that impact, CEQA is now a process-heavy, bureaucratic beast that delays projects for years and costs developers millions. Of all the ways California’s Legislature and ...
Blog
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Newsom wisely uses political capital to secure CEQA reform
Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t afraid to step into the political fray when it comes to standing up to President Donald Trump over national issues that impact California. He’s not always wrong when he sues the administration or speaks out against, say, ICE raids in Los Angeles. But most of those high-profile actions ...
Challenge to market-based housing reforms comes up short
Several causes have been offered to explain runaway real-estate valuation. For instance, some cities face serious geographic constraints that make building a difficult proposition. I live in an area in northwest Washington that is bounded by Canada to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Cascade mountains to ...
Californians have a rare chance to rein in CEQA and support housing
Curious who‘s to blame for California’s housing crisis? Just look at who wants to kill the cure. A measure to reform the chief impediment to building homes in the state just qualified for the November ballot, and the same week, labor unions and environmental groups dumped millions into the effort ...
Cities still grappling with the fallout 17 months after LA’s wildfires
Cities still grappling with the fallout 17 months after LA’s wildfires By John Seiler | June 19, 2026 Since the January 2025 wildfires devastated Pacific Palisades and Eaton, what have policymakers done to make sure California cities are better protected from future outbreaks? Policies should be split into “three buckets,” ...
Is California Coastal Commission finally getting its comeuppance?
California has one of the world’s most spectacular coastlines, which meanders 1,100 miles from Imperial Beach to Crescent City. And, of course, everyone wants to “Save Our Coast” and assure public access to beaches, which is why Californians voted 55% to 45% in 1972 for Proposition 20. It promised to protect ...
Will California Finally Overhaul CEQA?
In response, state lawmakers passed AB130 and SB131 this session, a package of bills which exempted various housing developments from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review and provided streamlined review for developments which would have qualified for exemption but for one disqualifying condition. Luis Quiñonez, President of the California Foundation ...
YIMBYs win political victories, but where are the new houses?
Gov. Gavin Newsom even held up passage of the state budget until lawmakers approved two reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Assembly Bill 130 exempts a broader number of environmentally friendly infill housing projects from CEQA. Senate Bill 131 exempts nine types of projects from CEQA. These include ...
Jury Still Deliberating On California’s Push To Build More Homes
This year’s devastating wildfires decimated upwards of 13,000 homes. In response, California has passed two new laws that seek to streamline the process of housing development. Will they have the desired effect? That remains to be seen. Under AB130, new housing developments that meet certain size, density, location, and use requirements ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
You have rights to your property, not to control others
Everything in this world does seem nonsensical, especially as we consider the issue of land-use regulation and California’s efforts (led by progressives) to jump-start housing construction by—yes, you heard this right—reducing the role of government in dictating what we can do with our property. Meanwhile, many conservatives have dug in ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
California’s obsession with density limits housing growth
Morphing from a once-reasonable requirement that building permit applicants report on the “significant environmental impact” of their construction project and how they intend to mitigate that impact, CEQA is now a process-heavy, bureaucratic beast that delays projects for years and costs developers millions. Of all the ways California’s Legislature and ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Newsom wisely uses political capital to secure CEQA reform
Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t afraid to step into the political fray when it comes to standing up to President Donald Trump over national issues that impact California. He’s not always wrong when he sues the administration or speaks out against, say, ICE raids in Los Angeles. But most of those high-profile actions ...