California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday that removed noise from a list of environmental concerns outlined in the California Environmental Quality Act. Noise pollution, which was previously used as a reason to block housing construction at the University of California, Berkeley, was cited as precedent to stall plans for an off-campus student housing project at USC Aug. 10.

The project, which is located on the corner of West Adams Boulevard and Severance Street, less than one mile from campus and one block north of Greek Row, was stalled by the Court of Appeal of the State of California Second Appellate District, citing noise concerns. 

The Court sided with the West Adams Heritage Association, who sued the City of Los Angeles to require a review of the plans in accordance with CEQA. 

The City of L.A. initially gave a Class 32 exemption to this property — an exemption intended for developments that “consists of environmentally benign infill projects that are consistent with the General Plan and Zoning requirements,” according to L.A. City Planning. 

Although the Court concluded that the development was not exempt from a CEQA review, it only concluded that the initial exemption failed to address noise concerns at the location, specifically having to do with a rooftop deck. West Adams Heritage Association also had concerns over traffic and historical resources associated with the development. 

“We agree with appellants, however, that the City improperly relied on mitigation measures when concluding the project’s rooftop decks would not cause significant noise impacts,” Judge Kevin Brazile wrote in the decision. 

Cited by the Court as precedent was Make UC A Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of California, a case that determined noise constituted an environmental hazard under CEQA and prevented the construction of off-campus student housing at UC Berkeley. 

This new approach to environmental policy was surprising, said Dowell Myers, professor of urban growth and societal change. 

“CEQA is about air quality, water quality, [protecting] the oceans, [protecting] the commons,  the green fields,” Myers said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Once you get into cities, you do an urban environment, you bring in things like noise and traffic congestion.”

He said those concerns are not environmental. 

“I’m going to suggest that there’s a trade-off here that needs to be weighed by any court, which is what is the benefit that’s being built on this site and will create the noise,” Myers said. “The benefit is housing.”

Richard Green, the director and chair of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, said CEQA laws that were originally put into place for environmental protection tend to be abused by those who don’t want developments in the first place. 

“But what happened was people used these laws as a way to block development that really had nothing to do with the environment,” Green said. “It’s just that they didn’t want the development to happen.” 

Amy Minteer, one of the attorneys for the West Adams Heritage Association, said her clients support the development of this property. But first they want the community impacts to be dealt with, she said.  

“This is a very prominent and visible site because of its corner location,” Minteer said. “It’s one of the biggest sites left for infill in the area, so for these reasons they’re seeking a well-designed and compatible development, where the impacts of the project are reduced, like the noise impacts, and the parking issues and like that … Another thing that they have been advocating for throughout this process is more affordable units and for housing that is available for all.”

Assembly Bill-1307, which passed in both the California State Assembly and California State Senate unanimously and was signed into law by Newsom Thursday, changes this interpretation of CEQA. 

“For purposes of this division, for residential projects, the effects of noise generated by project occupants and their guests on human beings is not a significant effect on the environment,” the bill reads. 

Newsom supported the measure and thanked California legislators for “taking on the status quo and clearing the way for our state to build more affordable housing.”

“California will not allow NIMBYism to take hold, blocking critically needed housing for years and even decades,” Newsom said. 

Minteer said the Berkeley case, which would have allowed construction at People’s Park, just a six minute walk from campus, was a different situation from what is going on near USC, because no plans had been developed yet at Berkeley and a full environmental impact report was prepared for that plan. 

“There’s a specific project so we know the features of it and what their specific impacts could be, so that there’s a much easier way to figure out ways to mitigate them because we know what exactly is going there,” Minteer said. “And so, and in this instance, … there was no environmental review done, despite the fact the city in its approval documents did acknowledge that there could be noise impacts.”