CEQA Reform Webinar: Understanding What AB 130 and SB 131 Mean for Your Community

10.29.2025
Corey Alling
State, Urban Design + Planning, Environmental, Natural Resources, Climate, Local

California’s 2024–25 budget trailer bills—AB 130 and SB 131—have introduced significant changes to CEQA, planning and zoning law, and building codes. What do these reforms mean for projects in your community? Ascent’s Erik de Kok, Chad Beckstrom, and Greta Brownlow joined Ali Pezeshkpour from the City of Santa Ana for an in-depth discussion on the practical implications of these legislative changes. The webinar takes a deep dive into the key provisions related to housing development and CEQA reform more broadly.

SB 131 Expedites Housing Projects That Almost Qualify for a CEQA Exemption

California’s SB 131 introduces a groundbreaking “near miss” provision for housing projects seeking to use an exemption for CEQA compliance. The innovation is this: If a proposed housing project qualifies for a CEQA exemption but for a single exemption criterion, CEQA review for the project may be limited to the environmental effects related to that single condition. Limiting the environmental analysis to one topic could slash approval time from years to months and significantly reduce costs, addressing California’s housing crisis while maintaining environmental protections where they matter most.

AB 130’s Game-Changer for CEQA Streamlining of Housing Development—The New Infill Exemption

AB 130 represents a significant step in furthering streamlining of housing development under CEQA, potentially the most significant CEQA revision in decades. This new legislation introduces a comprehensive infill housing statutory exemption that allows qualifying projects to bypass CEQA documentation entirely—no extensive environmental review, complex documentation, or lengthy approval processes. Unlike previous convoluted attempts at expediting housing project approvals, AB 130 provides a clean, broad exemption that applies statewide with no unit caps, minimal labor requirements, and no affordability mandates for most projects.

New CEQA Exemption for Parks and Trails Funded by Proposition 4

08.06.2025
Corey Alling
Environmental, Local, Regional, State, Federal, Special District

On June 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 131, one of the most substantial changes to the California Environmental Quality Act. Among the provisions of SB 131 is a new CEQA exemption intended to streamline the deployment of public park and nonmotorized recreational trail facilities funded by the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (i.e., Proposition 4). As part of our series on the effects of SB 131, we take a deep dive into this new statutory exemption for public parks and nonmotorized trails.

AB 130 Residential Reach Code Moratorium – Implications for Climate Action

The adoption of the California state budget on June 30 was accompanied by a trailer bill package that included some surprises in the enactment of Assembly Bill (AB) 130 and Senate Bill 131. While much of the discussion regarding the trailer bills has been focused on a substantial California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pivot, an eye-opener for climate action came with AB 130, which incorporated the previously introduced AB 306 and its moratorium on residential reach codes until 2031. This bill has fundamentally altered the regulatory environment for reach codes for the next six years.

ClearPath 2.0: Transforming Climate Action Planning for Local Governments

06.30.2025
Corey Alling
Regional, Special District, Climate, Local

ClearPath 2.0, a next-generation climate planning platform developed by ICLEI USA and ClimateView, is transforming how local governments visualize, track, and implement climate goals. The City of Elk Grove recently pioneered the platform’s implementation, demonstrating how this innovative tool addresses persistent challenges in climate action planning—from enhancing transparency to enabling precise impact quantification.

New General Plan Requirements for Open Space and Habitat Connectivity

01.22.2025
Corey Alling
Local, Private Developer, Urban Design + Planning, Environmental, Natural Resources, Climate

Two new state laws—Senate Bill (SB) 1425 and Assembly Bill (AB) 1889—require counties and cities to update their general plans to address equitable access to open space, rewilding, wildlife and habitat connectivity, and climate resilience. SB 1425 requires every city and county to review and update its general plan open space element by January 1, 2026, to include plans and an action program that address equitable access, correlated with the environmental justice element; climate resilience and other co-benefits of open space, correlated with the safety element; and rewilding opportunities correlated with the land use element. AB 1889, the “Room to Roam Act,” requires cities and counties to consider the effect of development on wildlife movement and habitat connectivity in the adoption or next revision of their general plan conservation element beginning on January 1, 2028. These new laws can guide the development of more inclusive, resilient, and ecologically connected landscapes across California.

CEQA Wildfire Risk Evaluation – How Much Analysis Is Enough?

12.03.2024
Corey Alling
Local, State, Private Developer, Environmental

On October 23, 2024, the California First District Court of Appeal released its decision on People of the State of California Ex Rel. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, et al. v. County of Lake. The ruling addressed the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the Guenoc Valley Mixed-Use Planned Development Project, a luxury resort consisting of residential estate villas, hotel units, and related infrastructure on 16,000 acres in an unincorporated and largely undeveloped area of Lake County known as the Guenoc Valley Ranch.

Western Burrowing Owl Becomes a Candidate for Listing under CESA

10.14.2024
Corey Alling
Environmental, Natural Resources, Local, Regional, State, Private Developer

On October 10, 2024, the California Fish and Game Commission accepted a petition to list western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and designated the species as a candidate species. This decision has triggered a 12-month status review by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). A decision on whether to list this species is expected by spring of 2026; however, as a candidate species, western burrowing owl is afforded the same protections as a listed species under CESA, including prohibition of take of individuals.

New CEQA Exemption for Nonmotorized Public Access

09.23.2024
Corey Alling
Environmental, Natural Resources, Local, Regional, State, Special District, Private Developer

AB 2091 was signed by Governor Newsom on September 22, 2024, creating a new CEQA exemption for non-motorized public access. The new exemption applies to park districts and the Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) when providing new nonmotorized public access to existing roads, trails, parking areas, and similar areas owned by the park district or GRTA. To use the new exemption, the lead agency must hold a public meeting to solicit input, consider effects on natural and tribal cultural resources, make required findings, and file a Notice of Exemption.

Thinking

09.23.2024

On September 22, 2024, Governor Newsom signed AB 2091 creating a new CEQA exemption for nonmotorized public access. The bill adds Section 21080.28.5 to the Public Resources Code. The new exemption applies to park districts and the Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) when providing new nonmotorized public access to existing roads, trails, parking areas, and similar areas owned by the park district or GRTA. To use the new exemption, the lead agency must hold a public meeting to solicit input, consider effects on natural and tribal cultural resources, make required findings, and file a notice of exemption.

What action is eligible for the new exemption?

The exemption applies to a change in use that would allow new nonmotorized public access to existing access infrastructure (e.g., roads, trails, rail lines, disturbed areas for parking) owned by a park district or GRTA. To qualify for the exemption, an activity must meet all the following requirements:

The lead agency must be a park district governed by an independent board as defined in Section 5500 of the Public Resources Code (e.g., a regional park or open space district) or the Great Redwood Trail Agency.
The public access must be to land owned by the park district or GRTA filing the exemption.
The new access is for low-impact nonmotorized use, such as hiking, biking, equestrian use, or nature viewing.
The public access is consistent with a plan adopted by the park district or GRTA.
The access would not require or result in a physical alteration to the environment, such as constructing a new trail or trailhead.
It would not be likely to result in a significant impact to tribal cultural resources or special-status species.

Note that project eligibility is limited to new public access that “causes no physical alteration to the area affected,” which would exclude construction or other landscape alterations to create new public access. The exemption may be most useful where an existing trail or road is opened to the public or an existing public facility is approved for a change in the authorized use, such as adding nonmotorized bicycles or equestrian use to a hiking trail.

How are environmental effects considered?

AB 2091 specifically precludes the use of this exemption if the public access would likely result in a significant adverse impact to tribal cultural resources or to endangered, threatened, rare, or special-status plant or animal species. The legislation does not specify the approach that a lead agency should use to determine neither of the impacts to these resources would occur. A lead agency should use its independent judgment, knowledge of the project area, and discretion to confirm the action would not affect tribal cultural resources or special-status species. As a practice pointer, we recommend providing substantial evidence to support a finding that no such significant impacts would occur. It can be in a written format aligned with the lead agency’s preference.

While the exemption does not require formal consultation with Native American tribes, from a practitioner’s perspective, informal consultation with culturally affiliated tribes may be important to determine if the public access could adversely affect tribal cultural resources and develop evidence in support of the determination. A lead agency can contact the Native American Heritage Commission to determine whether there are any documented tribal cultural resources in the project area and obtain a list of tribal contacts affiliated with the project area who may have information on tribal cultural resources. To obtain this information, the lead agency may contact the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) by submitting a 1:24,000 scale map of the project area and completing the NAHC Sacred Lands File and Native American Contacts List Request form.

Because the exemption is limited to new nonmotorized access to existing trails, roads, and disturbed areas, the potential for effects on special-status species would likely be limited to indirect effects, such as noise or the spread of invasive species, from the introduction of new users in the area. The lead agency should consider the existing intensity of use in the project area, the level of indirect disturbance or habitat degradation that could occur from the introduction of new users, and the presence of special-status species and their habitat. This analysis can be informed by any existing biological survey information, as well as by searching the California Natural Diversity Database for recorded occurrences of special-status species.

What is the process for using the exemption?

Once a park district or GRTA determines that new public access would qualify for the exemption, there are four steps that the lead agency must take to use the exemption:

The lead agency must hold a public meeting to consider public input on the proposed new access. The meeting can be during a regularly scheduled board meeting of the lead agency, or it can be a separate project-specific meeting. Options for remote public participation in the meeting must be offered. There is no requirement to respond to public comments, but they should be considered before approving the new access.
At least 30 days before the public meeting, the lead agency must post a written notice with a project description and the date and location of the public meeting at the project site and on the lead agency’s website.
The lead agency must make a finding that the proposed access meets all the eligibility requirements described above. As a best practice, it is recommended that this be in the form of written findings documenting why the access meets the eligibility requirements.
After the public meeting is held and the findings are made, the lead agency must file a notice of exemption with both the State Clearinghouse and the county clerk for the county(s) in which the project area is located.

Adam Lewandowski, AICP

Resource Management and Recreation Planning Director

Lily Bostrom

Senior Environmental Planner