Seeing Red in California

The systemic issues around historic preservation and CEQA are not confined to Burlingame.  A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle reports on delays of construction projects funded by federal stimulus money within California.  What's the hold-up?  The State Office of Historic Preservation is overwhelmed with a backlog of requests to approve those construction projects. 

While the OHP is not the only agency that must approve construction projects, the tangled requirements of  CEQA and historic preservation have slowed the approval process so much that everything from small remodeling projects to large infrastructure projects is stalled.    The OHP is asking for exemptions from the governor's furlough, new hires, or extended hours so that they can catch up.   Of course, all of that costs money.

California desperately needs the federal stimulus money, but it can't get it without expensive and lengthy state review -- which costs money the state doesn't have.   California lawmakers have written us into a hole that will be very difficult to dig out of.