California Environmental Quality Act: student housing development projects: expedited judicial review.

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. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA and a procedure for the preparation and certification of the record of proceedings upon the filing of an action or proceeding challenging a lead agency's action on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA. This bill would authorize a public university, as defined, carrying out a project to certify the project as a student housing development project if the project meets certain requirements. This bill would authorize an applicant, as defined, proposing a project within 2 miles of the main campus of a public university to apply to the public university for a determination that the project qualifies as a student housing development project. If the public university determines that the project proposed by the applicant qualifies as a student housing development project, the bill would require the public university to notify the lead agency of that qualification. The bill would encourage the Regents of the University of California to implement these provisions. The bill would authorize the public university to charge a fee on the applicant to recover its reasonable costs incurred in making the determination and providing the notification. The bill would require the lead agency to certify the project as a student housing development project if the lead agency makes a certain determination. This bill would authorize an applicant of a project that is within 2 miles of the main campus of a private not-for-profit university and not within 2 miles of the main campus of a public university to apply to the lead agency for certification of the project as a student housing development project. The bill would require the lead agency to certify the project if the project meets certain requirements. This bill would, if a project is certified as a student housing development project, require the public university or lead agency, as appropriate, to provide a specified notice. The bill would require a public university or an applicant proposing a project certified as a student housing development project to comply with certain labor requirements. The bill would require the lead agency, if it determines that a student housing development project is exempt from CEQA, to provide a notice of exemption, as provided. This bill would require the lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings concurrent with the administrative process for the environmental review of a certified student housing development project and to certify the record of proceedings, as specified. Because the bill would impose additional duties on the California community colleges and lead agencies regarding the certification of projects proposed by applicants as student housing development projects and would require lead agencies to file a notice of exemption if they determine that the student housing development projects are exempt from CEQA, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2022, to adopt rules of court establishing procedures requiring actions or proceedings seeking judicial review challenging the lead agency's action regarding a project certified as a student housing development project pursuant to CEQA and certain other actions related to the student housing development project, or the granting of project approvals, including any appeals to the court of appeal or the Supreme Court, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 business days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court. 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.