California is well reputed for its arduous developmentregulations, and while there are several obligations at both thestate and local levels that developers must meet to move a projectforward, none is considered more formidable than CEQA. TheCalifornia Environmental Quality Act was signed into law in 1970and is intended to protect the environment from newdevelopment.
"CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, is typicallythe regulation in California that can pose the most complexobstacles," Sonnet Hui, general manager and VP ofProject Management Advisors, tells GlobeSt.com."CEQA requires developers to assess the environmental impact of aproject against economic opportunities, including new housing, jobsand other community benefits."
However, the broad language of the law and what constitutes anenvironmental protection is sometimes misused and even potentiallyhinders new development. "In practice, environmental impact canmean any number of things, from ongoing noise and traffic, theshade and shadow considerations, and the effect of constructionactivities on the surrounding area while the project is inprogress. CEQA is a broad, statewide law but it is intended tointegrate with local regulations," says Hui. "That often meansdevelopers are doubly constrained by environmental and localrequirements."
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