A California bill meant to streamline the environmental review process for some large-scale urban transit projects has passed through the State Legislature and now awaits the signature of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Senate Bill 1375 creates a targeted exemption for qualifying intermodal rail stations to bypass the state’s strict primary environmental law: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
According to the bill’s author, Democrat State Sen. Dave Cortese, the legislation aims to accelerate the redevelopment of major transit hubs by eliminating redundant environmental reviews that can delay construction by several years and increase taxpayer costs.
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Cortese, who represents San Jose and parts of Santa Clara County, says he authored the bill to ensure transit-oriented development is not stalled by bureaucratic administrative hurdles.
The legislation is close to home for Cortese, as it would streamline the review process of the planned expansion of Diridon Station in San Jose.
That multibillion-dollar project would expand and modernize the current intermodal transit hub, which includes local bus connections, as well as Amtrak and Caltrain rail, in order to prepare it for the eventual arrival of California High-Speed Rail.
The expansion would transform the current Diridon Station into a modern rail hub fit for the technological and innovation epicenter of California—one with the potential to become one of the busiest stations in America.
“Diridon Station is more than a train station, it’s the future transportation gateway for Silicon Valley and all of Northern California,” Cortese said in a news release. “This project will bring together High-Speed Rail, Caltrain, BART, [Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority], Amtrak, [Altamont Corridor Express], and Capitol Corridor into a single world-class transit hub.”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan lauded the advancement of SB 1375, saying Diridon Station is poised to be the “busiest transit hub west of the Mississippi River,” but only if those unnecessary environmental reviews can be circumvented.
“We won’t realize that vision if duplicative CEQA review delays the station’s modernization and expansion by years,” Mahan said. “SB 1375 preserves environmental and community protections while eliminating redundant analysis, helping us deliver a cleaner, better-connected transit hub faster.”
What is CEQA?
The California Environmental Quality Act, enacted in 1970, requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and avoid or mitigate those impacts if possible.
Under current law, a lead agency must prepare and certify an environmental impact report for any project that could significantly affect the environment, or attest if no significant impact is found.
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While CEQA was designed to ensure environmental standards are met, transit and housing advocates often argue the law is frequently weaponized to delay or block much-needed projects that are demonstrably sustainable or environmental friendly (public transportation being a big one).
Critics say environmental lawsuits filed under CEQA are often filed in bad faith, meant to add years of delays and push up costs in hopes of ultimately killing any plans for development.
Those concerns have have begun to reach the ears of lawmakers in Sacramento, leading to a rise in targeted exemptions to bypass far-reaching and strict CEQA rules in order to get things like critical infrastructure, public transit project, and housing projects built.
Notably, SB 79 went into effect this past July, allowing for greater density housing to be built if located within a half-mile of major transit stops.
SB 1375 is the latest bill offering a CEQA exemption to advance urban rail station modernization projects like Diridon Station.
“This bill would exempt from CEQA, except as specified, a public urban, intermodal rail station project within a long-urbanized area within the statewide passenger rail network, at which high-capacity light, commuter, and intercity rail services converge that meets specified conditions,” CalMatters writes of the bill.
Cortese and other legislators say that these exemptions will not be awarded haphazardly. Transit projects will need to meet strict eligibility requirements, including maintaining clean rail operations, compliance with detailed environmental and labor standards, minimizing construction impacts on surrounding areas and providing “displacement protections.”
Cortese says it’s time to do more to improve housing and transit in California, and that means cutting through red tape to use CEQA for its intended purpose and not as a barrier to stop projects that are actually beneficial to the environment.
“If we’re serious about reducing congestion, building more housing near transit, growing our economy, and meeting our climate goals, we cannot allow unnecessary delays to stand in the way,” Cortese added.
To read the full bill language, as well as the entire CalMatters breakdown, click here.
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