I am very confused, Newson and his Democrat buddies tell us unless we have astringent CEQ!A rules and regulations climate change will kill us off. Then we have a fire and he wants a suspension of some CEQA rules—he is planning to melt the planet with his actions. Just because we had a fire, doesn’t give permission to suspend rule that are “saving” us.
Or maybe he knows CEQA is worthless, just an effort to blackmail homeowners and business and to control the economy. To me he realizes that CEQA is a fraud, and excuse to control us.
“In a rush to get back to normal – whatever that is – Governor Newsom issued an executive order to suspend permitting and review under both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Coastal Act for anyone rebuilding a home or business lost in the L.A. fires.
There are other things in the Executive Order – it also extends the illegality of price-gouging on rent and building materials, and it calls on agencies to look for additional rules and codes that could be suspended to expedite rebuilding.
Newsom said this is to allow people to rebuild quickly “without roadblocks.”
CEQA is meant to extort people—not for any scientific basis. It is time to end this criminal operation.
Newsom Orders Suspension of CEQA for Fire Rebuilds
Is the California Environmental Quality Act – theoretically written to prevent disasters like these fires – really the big barrier holding back a rebuild?
By Melanie Curry, Streetsblog, 1/14/25 https://cal.streetsblog.org/2025/01/13/newsom-orders-suspension-of-ceqa-for-fire-rebuilds
In a rush to get back to normal – whatever that is – Governor Newsom issued an executive order to suspend permitting and review under both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Coastal Act for anyone rebuilding a home or business lost in the L.A. fires.
There are other things in the Executive Order – it also extends the illegality of price-gouging on rent and building materials, and it calls on agencies to look for additional rules and codes that could be suspended to expedite rebuilding.
Newsom said this is to allow people to rebuild quickly “without roadblocks.” It’s completely understandable that people will want to rebuild their homes and businesses, and it’s understandable that the Governor would want to at least seem to remove obstacles for people who have suffered devastating losses.
CEQA is blamed, sometimes rightly so, for causing delays and contributing to rising costs, including for housing construction, and has been used as a cudgel to stop projects that people don’t want near them. But CEQA is also one of the few tools California residents have for raising important questions about projects, such as: is rebuilding a similar sized house (no more than ten percent larger) in “substantially” the same location in a fire-prone area – or on a beach, or on an eroding cliff – really a good idea?
Instead of actually reforming CEQA so it cannot be used to stop beneficial projects that some people don’t like, state leaders have tended to create exceptions for CEQA to “streamline” certain projects and certain kinds of projects – famously, for example, sports stadiums. There probably won’t be any loud objections to this executive order because on the surface it looks like good government – it looks like it’s removing barriers to a quick recovery.
But is it? CEQA exists to protect the state’s environment and should be used for things like preventing homes from being rebuilt in the most fire-prone areas.
This executive order sure seems like a wasted opportunity. Why be in a hurry to jump in and suspend environmental rules, of all things?
Besides, suspending CEQA and Coastal Commission rules is no guarantee of a fast rebuild. Other, much bigger obstacles will make things more difficult than just getting permits. Insurance, for example – those without it will be out of luck. Shortages in the supply of labor and materials are real, and will not be solved by suspending CEQA or declaring illegal price-gouging to be… illegal.
Displaced residents will have a hard time. Some of them will become discouraged and end up moving away. The same scenario played out in places where fires decimated communities in Santa Rosa, Paradise, the Oakland Hills – how many of those communities are what they were before? Altadena and Pacific Palisades have been utterly transformed, permanently, and there’s no going back to “how it used to be.”
It just seems like it would be wise to take a step back and think about environmental consequences, especially before rebuilding along cliffs and beaches that will soon enough be susceptible to other climate pressures.
At the very least maybe we should let the smoke clear first.
Newsom did not grant the same waivers in other California fires. Makes you wonder !
I’d never heard of CEQA until reading this, but the fact that Newsom has his issues with it means it stands for something that stands in the way of his nefariousness.
CEQA has been around for decades. It’s been used to control and delay building and infrastructure projects. Smaller individuals single families homes are also imposed by these seems arbitrary regulations it can be frustrating, expensive and time consuming. Wonder why the train to nowhere is well, still in nowhere land. CEQA has its roll to play in this. Another regulation of unintended consequences or are they? Some how I don’t believe the state of Kalifornia is going to back track on this. Maybe just, just maybe there will be a new day ahead for this rediculious over thought state.
I think next year our next governor will be EVERYTHING Newsom is not, but thank you for telling me more about CEQA. I loathe to be uninformed on issues, and am a stickler for making sure when Election Day is rearing its head, I know as much as possible about who is running for office and ballot measures. Speaking of Newsom, I have said this for many years, but everything he touches turns to dust. The Republican party here, all but dead when the plandemic began, has seen a recent surge in voter registration, with Los Angeles County leading the way in such a surge, so while the fruits of such a surge will take a few elections to be felt, be felt they will.