It was Gov. Ronald Reagan who signed the California Environmental Quality Act into law in 1970. As with many laws, CEQA was approved with the best of intentions to provide a legal basis for environmental protection for private and public activities. But, as readers of these pages surely know, good intentions don’t protect against bad outcomes.
CEQA is routinely in the news for all the wrong reasons. The law is often abused to cynically delay or derail developments that people simply don’t like, which isn’t the purpose of CEQA.
A recent case in Orange County highlights how CEQA is often misused. The Southern California News Group’s Jeff Collins reported on a development in Newport Beach pitting a wealthy developer, armed with all the classic talking points of a NIMBY, against a development.
Last year, Olen Properties Corp., a commercial property firm owned by billionaire Igor Olenicoff, sued the city of Newport Beach for approving an apartment complex by The Picerne Group at the Koll Center.
This past August, pro-houding group People for Housing Orange County issued a statement noting that “The current developer, the Picerne Group, was able to craft a viable project acceptable to both city leaders and residents. Following years of community meetings and amendments to the proposal, 312 much-needed new homes were approved in January 2021.”
Yet that was clearly not acceptable to Olen Properties Corp., which owns nearby property.
“The City is attempting to place thousands of new high-density apartments throughout Newport Beach. The quality of life and environment for tens of thousands of residents and workers will be affected,” Olen Properties General Counsel Julie Ault told Collins in an email explaining the basis of the challenge, citing, “the traffic, clean air, noise and other negative impacts of the Picerne project.”
These were, of course, all matters already vetted, cleared by the Planning Commission and the project was unanimously approved by the Newport Beach City Council.
“I think (Olenicoff) is pretty clear he thinks (the project) harms his own financial interests,” Jennifer Hernandez, an attorney for TPG, told Collins. “And he added on a whole bunch of meritless environmental claims.”
That’s what it looks like.
“Olen’s petition is denied,” ruled a judge last Wednesday. whether or not Olen decides to drag this out further remains to be seen.
But this is how CEQA is abused. It is far too easy for the litigious to misuse the courts to stall projects that have already been rigorously studied and vetted on multiple levels.
This happens all over the state, depriving communities of needed housing and other developments.
Gov. Jerry Brown once referred to CEQA reform as “the Lord’s work.” Unfortunately, the California Legislature has perpetually kicked the can down the road of comprehensively reforming CEQA to prevent such misuses of the law. It’s time leaders step up to do so.