Conservatives promote the importance of property rights, free markets, regulatory reform, small businesses, family values, and the need to reduce the power of unelected bureaucrats. In California, for instance, they want to exempt projects from the dreaded California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and streamline the permit process so builders can boost housing supply. They are […]
In response to increasingly successful state-level efforts in California to nudge local governments into allowing more housing, anti-development opponents have introduced a sweeping ballot measure that would effectively strip the state of its ability to regulate land use. This past week, activists submitted language for their “Californians for Community Planning Initiative” to the state’s attorney […]
The headline-grabbing fights in California housing politics over the past couple years have generally been over big, ultimately unsuccessful state bills that would override local zoning restrictions to allow for apartments near transit and job centers. This year, the state’s pro-development YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) activists and legislators devoted their energy toward wonkier, slightly […]
California’s landmark environmental law can stop more than just housing projects, the University of California Board of Regents discovered this week. The governing body of the state’s second-largest public university system suffered successive adverse rulings in two separate lawsuits. It is now being required to freeze student enrollment at one campus and stop the expansion […]