Bringing the Axe Down on Costly, Wasteful Permitting Regulations that Hamper New Housing

California can build the housing we need to grow our economy, bring down sky-high prices for working families and address a root cause of our homelessness crisis but only if we can get out of our own way. That’s why the Bay Area Council partnered with Assemblymember Buffy Wicks last year as she led the Select Committee on Permitting Reform to highlight how overlapping, conflicting and excessive bureaucratic red tape are holding us back from building the housing and other critical infrastructure we need to grow and prosper. And why we joined in sponsoring legislation unveiled last week as part of a phalanx of bills called the Fast Track Housing package to dramatically reform California permitting and unlock the power of the marketplace to build more housing.

“Right now, it takes far too long to build the housing Californians need — and that’s a failure of government,” Assemblymember Wicks said in joining other legislators in announcing the package. “The Fast Track Housing package is about making our systems work better: clearer rules, faster timelines, and fewer bureaucratic hoops. It’s not about cutting corners — it’s about being honest that what we’re doing isn’t working. This package reflects a broad, bipartisan commitment to saying yes to housing, yes to progress, and yes to a government that helps solve problems instead of creating them.”

The Fast Track Housing package stems from recommendations included in a report released last month that the Bay Area Council Economic Institute helped produce highlighting five key bottlenecks that delay housing development: application, CEQA compliance, entitlement, post-entitlement, and enforcement. By addressing inefficiencies at every step, lawmakers aim to reduce project timelines, cut costs, and get shovels in the ground faster.

As part of the package of 30 bills, the Council is proud to be sponsoring or co-sponsoring three key reform bills:

• AB 609 (Wicks): Creates an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for housing projects that are compliant with local laws and in environmentally friendly locations, thereby greatly reducing risks and increasing feasibility for these projects.
• SB 607 (Wiener): Incorporates several important reforms to CEQA that would benefit housing projects, including focusing analysis, expanding exemptions, and strengthening the determinations of lead agencies to allow exemptions.
• AB 961 (Avila Farias): Extends the sunset for the successful “California Land Recycling and Reuse Act of 2004” (CLRRA), which provides liability protections to promote the cleanup and redevelopment of blighted contaminated properties.

We look forward to working with Assemblymember Wicks, Sen. Wiener, other legislators and housing advocates to win approval of these important reform bills. To engage in the Council’s housing policy work, please contact Vice President Louis Mirante.