Legislation Priority

AB 609

Environmentally-Beneficial Housing Exemption

AB 609 will create a streamlined permitting process for multi-family housing in already-developed urban areas by exempting these projects from the California Environmental Quality Act. The bill defines housing in these areas as environmentally beneficial, consistent with prior state law and abundant academic research that shows such homes reduce pollution and other impacts to climate, air and water quality, and sensitive habitats.

For decades, scientific research has shown that housing built in existing urban areas results in dramatically lower environmental impacts than homes built in “greenfield,” or undeveloped, areas. The reason is simple: urban areas already have the infrastructure to accommodate housing growth, and new homes built in these areas result in lower “external” impacts – such as transport pollution, building materials consumption, new highway construction, energy use, and habitat destruction.

AB 609 will create a streamlined permitting process for multi-family housing in existing, developed urban areas by exempting these projects from the California Environmental Quality Act.

In order to qualify for a CEQA exemption, qualifying projects must be on a previously developed property, or surrounded on almost all sides by existing urban uses. The homes must also be consistent with local zoning, and cannot be located in an environmentally sensitive or hazardous site.

Updates

AB 609 was introduced on February 13, 2025.

Author

Buffy Wicks (D, AD 15)

Resources

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