Unfortunately, when laws are passed that regulate business by placing restrictions on their operations, it is not surprising that they will soon be used for many other purposes than that for which they were intended.
That is the point at which the legislative bodies that drafted the original laws, needs to consider reworking it to ensure it is updated to meet its intent, based on the current need for regulatory enforcement.
Editorial: CEQA's being hijacked; where are the enviros?
Environmental groups watch silently as special interests misuse state's key statute
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, February 2, 2008
With shameless abandon, lawyers and monied players are abusing the state's premier environmental law – the California Environmental Quality Act.
Lawmakers enacted CEQA in 1970 so citizens could identify development projects that posed an unacceptable environmental impact, and change them or challenge them. Over the years, various interests have hijacked this law for nonenvironmental purposes, and conservation groups have looked the other way.
All of us know about "neighborhood groups" that have exploited this law to prevent construction of affordable housing.
Corporations have used CEQA in an attempt to stifle competition. An example is the Westfield Corp., the Australian owner of the Downtown Plaza mall, which is now suing the city over its approval of the railyard development, slated to bring new retail and housing to downtown.
Labor unions are an even larger abuser of CEQA. In recent years, labor groups have used environmental lawsuits, or the threat of such suits, to stop or slow down power plant construction, hospital expansions and housing developments. The unions' lawyers always seem to disappear once a developer has signed an agreement to hire only union labor.
Critics call this practice "greenmail," a polite term for legal extortion. The combined effect is to drive up the cost of new houses, hospital beds and other projects, with little or no benefit for the environment.
