Stop scapegoating CEQA for California’s affordable housing crisis: Commentary in The Mercury News

By Jennifer Ganata and Doug Carstens

2023 was a big year for CEQA in the state legislature. Jennifer Ganata of Communities for a Better Environment and Doug Carstens of Planning and Conservation League wrote a guest commentary for The Mercury News that summarizes the attacks on CEQA that occurred last year, looks at threats to CEQA in the next legislative session, and addresses head-on the spurious criticisms of CEQA blocking affordable housing. In their opinion piece, Jen and Doug refute these criticisms and suggest some real solutions to California’s housing crisis.

One paragraph reads, “If California wants to address the shortage in affordable housing, our leaders must focus on real solutions. Most importantly, we must increase state financial assistance to build affordable housing, especially for very low- and extremely low-income households. We should consider creative financial remedies such as taxing vacant housing units, changing arcane tax laws that burden affordable housing developers, and allowing local governments to purchase property for development of community-owned affordable housing. And we must adopt a comprehensive approach to land-use planning that protects vulnerable tenants and services while creating climate-resilient housing and infrastructure.”

Read the whole article here.