AB 1633 - NYU Furman Center

State Land Use Enacted Legislation

Bill #	State	Year	Party	Topic
AB 1633	CA	2023	D	Enforcement, Environmental review, Written findings, burden and standard of proof

Provided by Furman

Summary

Allows applicants for housing development projects to file a petition to enforce the Housing Accountability Act when a local agency fails to determine whether a project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), commits an abuse of discretion, or fails to adopt a negative declaration, addendum, environmental impact reports, or comparable environmental review document.

Defines abuse of discretion to mean that a local agency decides to require further environmental study in bad faith or without substantial evidence;
Outlines the standard for determining whether a local agency has committed such acts outlined above.

Stipulates that the applicant must give timely written notice to the local agency of the action in question, as well as substantial evidence that the project is eligible for an exemption or would be satisfy CEQA, among other requirements. If the local agency does not make a determination within 90 days, then the applicant is eligible to file a petition.
Instructs courts to not award attorney’s fees in cases concerning disapprovals if the court finds that the local agency acted in good faith and had reasonable cause to disapprove the housing development project.

Provided by lawmakers