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LA City Council approves CEQA sidestep for 2028 Olympics projects
The ordinance lets temporary Olympics related projects be approved faster, then seek approval to stay permanently, while requiring all temporary structures be removed by February 2029.
Los Angeles City Council has approved a plan intended to let certain temporary Olympics related projects avoid the California Environmental Quality Act, with a path for those projects to potentially be made permanent after they are built, according to Bisnow.
The revised ordinance signed by the council adds details on how longer term approvals would work, but it does not include a specific list of which projects would use the measure, a gap critics highlighted.
Under the new rules, eligible temporary projects that are built through the expedited process would still need to go through a city council vote and public hearings to become permanent. Bisnow reports the regulation also specifies exclusions, including hotels, a range of transportation projects, and demolition of housing, and requires all temporary projects to be taken down by February 2029.
Neighborhood groups that opposed the plan raised concerns about uncertainty over what would ultimately be constructed under the CEQA bypass. Bisnow notes the city has faced deadline pressure for the 2028 Games, including a recent council approval of an agreement with LA28 that addresses, among other items, responsibility for any Olympics budget shortfalls.