California Environmental Quality Act: housing.

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 a decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA. If an action or proceeding is brought seeking judicial review, CEQA establishes a procedure for the preparation of the record of proceedings upon the filing of an action or proceeding and requires the lead agency to prepare and certify the record of proceedings, but authorizes the plaintiff or petitioner to elect to prepare the record of proceedings. This bill, in an action or proceeding seeking judicial review under CEQA of certain actions taken by a city with a certain population or by a city and county before January 1, 2025, defined as a "housing element update project," would prohibit a court from enjoining, invalidating, voiding, setting aside, or issuing an order to suspend, invalidate, rescind, void, or set aside the decision for the housing element update project, except to the extent the court finds it necessary to avoid an imminent threat to public health and safety. The bill would require the lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings and would authorize the concurrent preparation of the record of proceedings.