Essential Projects Under Proposition 45

In less than two weeks, when California voters go to the polls, in addition to voting on who should be governor they will also vote on Proposition 45.

Also known as the Building an Affordable California Act, this proposition has been described as providing some much needed streamlining to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), while others have decried the proposition as a gutting of CEQA. Without delving into this debate, it is clear that Proposition 45 applies to “essential projects.” But what are “essential projects”?

Not every development will qualify as an “essential project.” As such, should Proposition 45 pass, the first thing to ask is whether your project would qualify as an “essential project.”