California legislation · 2025-2026 Regular Session
California SB958: California Environmental Quality Act: environmental impacts: building height.
Status: Chaptered, September 29, 2026
What the bill says
An act to add Section 21080.82 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality. environmental quality California Environmental Quality Act: environmental impacts: building height. 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…
From the chaptered text, September 29, 2026:
An act to add Section 21080.82 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality. environmental quality California Environmental Quality Act: environmental impacts: building height. 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 …