Last week, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research released proposed guidelines for streamlining CEQA review of infill projects. The proposed guidelines will implement SB 226 (Simitian)—one of several bills passed in the 2011 legislative session that streamline the CEQA process for certain green projects.
The proposed guidelines contain eligibility requirements that infill projects must meet to qualify for streamlined CEQA review under SB 226. Included in the eligibility requirements are new statewide performance standards for infill development. In addition, the proposed guidelines set forth the streamlined review procedures.
OPR will be holding public workshops on the proposed guidelines the week of February 20, 2012, and will accept comments on them until February 24, 2012.
SB 226 requires OPR to submit the guidelines to the Natural Resources Agency by July 1, 2012, and it requires the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt them by January 1, 2013.
For more information on the proposed guidelines, including the text and a narrative explanation, see OPR's website: http://opr.ca.gov/s_sb226.php.
For more background on SB 226 and other CEQA amendments from the 2011 legislative session, see our blog post at: http://www.realestatelanduseandenvironmentallaw.com/land-use-and-entitlements-ceqa-amendments-from-the-2011-legislative-session.html.
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