Site Check is an online tool, built to accelerate the production of housing by facilitating planning decisions and clarifying where existing streamlining options under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) may apply.
CEQA Site Check is an online tool built to accelerate the production of housing in California by facilitating planning decisions and clarifying where existing streamlining options under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) may apply. It was created by CBI in close collaboration with the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. CEQA Site Check allows users to filter parcels based on specific CEQA provisions or whether the parcels meet certain requirements such as within an urbanized area, within a certain distance to transit, or covered by a specific plan. Users can also rule out parcels in environmentally sensitive areas like wetlands, sensitive habitats, riparian areas, prime and important farmlands, natural hazard zones, or flood plains.
Once the user has selected all the parcels of interest, a report can be generated that identifies the potential accelerated pathways to CEQA compliance that may apply based on the location of the parcels. A CEQA Site Check report cannot determine that a project is exempt from CEQA. However, it can provide a helpful starting point and guide users to the appropriate provisions within CEQA.
This tool is focused on the CEQA provisions that cover a variety of housing types. The Legislature has also created specialized provisions for specific types of projects, including affordable housing, agricultural employee housing, and motel-to-supportive housing conversions.
CBI recently updated the tool with new data provided by the Metropolitan Planning Organizations of California and CALTRANS and added new datasets, including the regional below-average Vehicle Miles Traveled, updated Specific Plans, prime farmlands or farmlands of statewide importance, and a new fire hazard layer. Check these layers out in the tool or download them from Data Basin.
CEQA Site Check is currently available in a beta form for the state of California and can be accessed at https://sitecheck.opr.ca.gov/. Please send any feedback to Helen Campbell at OPR (Helen.Campbell@opr.ca.gov). Your comments will help to improve the tool. Thank you!
CEQA Site Check is funded by the California Housing and Community Development Department as part of the technical assistance for Senate Bill 2, the Building Homes and Jobs Act. Site Check is free and open to the public.
