Those of us who live or work in Marin see the benefits of strong environmental laws every day: well-planned communities; clean air and water; and wide open spaces for everyone to enjoy. Don’t take these laws for granted. Developers and polluting industries are mounting a full-scale attack against California’s cornerstone environmental and planning law: the California Environmental Quality Act.
For example, state Sen. Scott Wiener recently called for most development projects in downtown San Francisco to be exempted from environmental review. Other legislation proposed this year would radically undermine the law.
These efforts to weaken CEQA are shortsighted. Developers and industry lobbyists already have the ear of local decision-makers. CEQA gives ordinary people the same right to weigh in on projects that affect the health, safety and integrity of their communities.
CEQA requires a hard look at fairness and justice issues and provides a vital tool for impacted neighborhoods to express their concerns. It helps preserve the beauty of our natural environment: the hills and forests, streams and bays, wildflowers and wildlife that make Marin special. Now is not the time to cut back on these protections.
Anti-CEQA forces claim the law delays needed development and infrastructure. But CEQA has been streamlined in recent years to make it easier to build affordable infill housing, public transit and other green projects. As Californians face serious problems like drought, wildfi.
