California Environmental Quality Act: environmental impacts: building height., the official text

An act to add Section 21080.82 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
This bill would, for purposes of CEQA, prohibit the environmental impacts that are associated with increased building height alone from being considered significant impacts on the environment, if a project meets specified conditions, as provided. Because a lead agency would be required to determine if a project meets the specified conditions, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 21080.82 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
21080.82.
(a) For purposes of this division, the environmental impacts of a project that are associated with increased building height alone, including, but not limited to, air circulation, noise and light refraction or reflection, or the potential to attract wildlife, shall not be considered significant impacts on the environment if the project meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The use and density of the project is otherwise analyzed in a certified environmental impact report.
(2) The project is on a previously graded infill site.
(3) There are no sensitive biological resources physically present on the site.
(4) The project is not an industrial use project.
(5) For a project that is proposed to be constructed on a site that is greater than 40 acres that has an estimated construction valuation that exceeds one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) and that is subject to a project-specific environmental impact report, the project shall create high-wage, highly-skilled jobs that pay prevailing wages and living wages, employ a skilled and trained workforce, and provide construction jobs and permanent jobs for Californians.
(b) For purposes of this section, “jobs that pay prevailing wages” means that construction workers employed in the execution of the project will receive at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for the type of work and geographic area, as determined by the Director of Industrial Relations pursuant to Sections 1773 and 1773.9 of the Labor Code.

SEC. 2.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.