Ronald Regan and the California legislature originally felt the creation of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) would serve as a checks and balances measure for the immense and rapid growth occurring in California in the 1970s. It would ensure that environmental considerations would be given to projects during the planning stages.
Since that time, as someone who has served on various planning boards, we have seen CEQA abused by special interests to delay, derail, or even cancel commonsense and much-needed projects.
For more on this, see: https://issuu.com/hollandknight/docs/ceqa_litigation_abuseissuu?e=16627326/14197714
The three recommended reforms suggested in the preface on page 6 by Holland & Knight appear to be steps forward in restoring CEQA to its intended purpose.
