California legislature should not gut housing protections for vulnerable groups

In a legislative cycle pared down to the essentials due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some legislators are advocating for bills, such as Assembly Bill 3279, that would undermine public health protections.

Now is clearly not the time to relax environmental protections designed to reduce our exposure to pollutants: We now know that people living in places with heavy air pollution have a higher risk of dying from COVID-19.

It is therefore essential that our leaders maintain, not weaken, laws that safeguard our environmental and public health. Key among these laws is the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which plays a critical role in protecting vulnerable communities from pollution and other public health hazards.

CEQA has long been a favorite bogeyman for developers and other monied interests looking to maximize profits on the backs of vulnerable communities. These interests have disingenuously blamed CEQA for the housing crisis. But numerous studies show that the high price of land is among the top barriers to housing production in California, not to mention local restrictions around zoning that discourage or prevent the construction of multi-family housing.

The Legislature has also already carved out over a dozen CEQA exemptions and streamlining provisions for different types of housing. Further stripping down protections will make low-income housing even more likely to be located close to polluting industries and freeways, increasing health risks to residents. These exemptions are also facilitating further gentrification and displacement of Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

Opinion

CEQA is a key component of our public health safety net, and we need it now more than ever: it is the preventative medicine that ensures our most vulnerable families can live in a healthy environment once the pandemic is over. CEQA gives the public a chance to let governments know how a development may harm their drinking water, air and health, and to push governments to minimize these harms. CEQA also makes sure new housing is decent and safe. It is one of the most important tools communities have to protect themselves. As we have seen during the pandemic, it is far too easy to put profits over health. We have to defend the right to participate in the decisions that shape our communities and our health.

In the short term, state and local governments are taking action to ensure everyone has a home during the pandemic. Eviction restrictions and supportive housing for the homeless are on the rise. The fact that government is responding efficiently to this challenge is impressive; it also shows we have had the ability to protect our vulnerable populations all along. These are not “new” solutions; they are tools that have always been available to government agencies.

If current legislative proposals succeed in loosening requirements around evaluating environmental impacts – like whether a housing project is sited in a toxic area – low-income families will have to live with the consequences. Such policies pile up on one another, ultimately creating conditions that lead to disastrous public health consequences.

Instead of continuing to undercut CEQA, governmental decision-makers should be laser-focused on solutions that provide direct housing support for vulnerable families. State and local governments must do more to protect tenants’ ability to stay in their homes, by placing a prohibition on utility shut-offs and rate increases, placing a moratorium on rent increases, evictions and foreclosures, and providing rent and mortgage assistance. These are the kinds of policies that lead to a more equitable future.

The COVID-19 crisis will shape California for years to come. Now is the time to protect CEQA, a law that is ever more crucial for improving conditions for our state’s most vulnerable communities. Legislators should vote NO on AB 3279.

Martha Dina Arguello Is the Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility- Los Angeles. She has worked on public health and environmental justice issues for over 20 years.