Opinion: Why CEQA matters
This year, 45 separate bills were introduced in the California State Legislature aimed at amending the California Environmental Quality Act. The sudden enthusiasm for changing CEQA appears to stem from the recent controversy related to UC Berkeley enrollment that erroneously blamed our state’s landmark environmental law for the university’s poor planning. … CEQA has also protected our region’s natural treasure, the San Francisco Bay itself, from being filled. In 2001, environmental review led the Board of Supervisors to reject a proposed runway expansion at SFO after analysis showed it would cause extensive harm to the Bay.
-Written by Aaron Peskin, San Francisco District 3 Supervisor and member of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission and the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority.