California Environmental Quality Act: supportive and transitional housing: motel conversion: environmental leadership transit projects.

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 (EIR) 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. Existing law, until January 1, 2025, exempts from CEQA projects related to the conversion of a structure with a certificate of occupancy as a motel, hotel, residential hotel, or hostel to supportive or transitional housing, as defined, that meet certain conditions. This bill would extend indefinitely the above exemption. Existing law, until January 1, 2025, establishes specified procedures for the preparation of the EIR for, and judicial review of the certification of the EIR and approvals granted for, an environmental leadership transit project, as defined, proposed by a public or private entity or its affiliates that is located wholly within the County of Los Angeles or connects to an existing transit project wholly located in that county and that is approved by the lead agency on or before January 1, 2024. This bill would, extend the application of those procedures for environmental leadership transit projects to January 1, 2026, for projects approved on or before January 1, 2025. Because the bill would extend the duties of lead agencies to determine the applicability of the above exemption and to comply with specific procedures for the preparation of the EIR for environmental leadership transit projects, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.