Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee held Senate Bill 1404 (Stern), which would have made CEQA even more unwieldly and litigious for projects involving the removal of oak trees.
The measure sought to establish an arbitrary state threshold and require preparation of an Environmental Impact Report or Mitigated Negative Declaration for any projects involving the removal of three or more oak trees – regardless of the size of the project or number of trees remaining on the project site or nearby areas. Equally troubling, the bill would have eliminated a safe harbor insulating projects that include specified mitigation measures from CEQA challenges relating to the project’s impact on oak woodlands. As drafted, SB 1404 would have invalidated numerous existing CEQA exemptions for a wide variety of projects. It would have increased costs, delays, and litigation risk for park maintenance, public safety, vegetation management, and other types of projects.
RCRC spearheaded a local government coalition including CSAC, CalCities, ACWA, and CSDA opposing SB 1404 and joined efforts with the California Building Industry Association and others who identified the bill as a housing killer.
RCRC’s coalition letter can be found here. Please contact John Kennedy, RCRC Policy Advocate, with any questions.