California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: City of Los Angeles: supportive housing and emergency shelters.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would, until January 1, 2025, exempt from the requirements of CEQA certain activities approved or carried out by the City of Los Angeles and other eligible public agencies, as defined, related to supportive housing and emergency shelters, as defined. The bill would require the lead agency, if it determines that an activity is not subject to CEQA and approves or carries out that activity, to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk for the County of Los Angeles. Because the bill would impose additional duties on the City of Los Angeles, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA the adoption of Ordinance Nos. 185,489 and 185,492 by the City of Los Angeles in 2018. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Los Angeles. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.