ICYMI: New 11-Year Study Finds CEQA Litigation Increasingly Tying Up Housing and Essential Infrastructure, with Housing the No. 1 Target
September 24, 2026
A comprehensive Holland & Knight review of nearly 500 CEQA appellate decisions finds approved housing and infrastructure can remain stalled for years — even when challengers ultimately lose
Prop 45 establishes firm deadlines for legal challenges and targeted remedies to prevent CEQA litigation from unnecessarily derailing entire projects
Sacramento, CA — A comprehensive new report from law firm Holland & Knight reviewing 11 years and nearly 500 CEQA appellate decisions finds CEQA litigation is increasingly targeting infill housing and essential infrastructure in existing California communities — underscoring the case for Proposition 45 to put firm timelines on legal challenges and prevent litigation from unnecessarily derailing entire projects.
The consequences are significant. The study found CEQA trial and appellate proceedings typically take about five years to complete, with most approved projects stalled while litigation is pending — even though challengers ultimately failed in 75% of the appellate decisions reviewed. For housing, years of litigation can mean desperately needed homes are delayed from being built while mounting costs make those homes more expensive to deliver.
“California cannot solve its housing, infrastructure and affordability challenges if CEQA continues to delay the very projects the state urgently needs,” said Jennifer Hernandez, head of Holland & Knight’s West Coast Land Use and Environment Group and lead author of the study. “A law designed to protect the environment should not be used to block housing, reliable water and electricity infrastructure, public services or good-paying jobs. The data presented in our study make an incontrovertible case for Proposition 45.”
The report also puts a spotlight on CEQA lawsuit abuse. It finds CEQA challenges can be used for “purposes having little or nothing to do with environmental protection, including to leverage money settlements or other economic terms” and warns that “even a meritless CEQA lawsuit can result in multiyear project delays that increase project costs or derail projects altogether.”
Nowhere is the impact more apparent than housing. According to the study, housing is the top target of CEQA litigation, with 90% of challenged housing projects involving infill development. A related Holland & Knight analysis found CEQA lawsuits filed in 2020 alone challenged approximately 48,000 approved housing units — nearly half of California’s housing production that year.
The result is a double hit for California’s housing crisis: needed homes take longer to build, and the homes that do get built become more expensive to deliver. More broadly, years of litigation increase the cost of essential infrastructure, with those costs ultimately borne by renters, homeowners, ratepayers and taxpayers.
The report points to Prop 45, the Building an Affordable California Act, as an opportunity to break that cycle. For qualifying essential projects, Prop 45 requires legal challenges to be resolved within an enforceable 270-day timeline and establishes targeted remedies so that when a court finds a CEQA violation, relief is generally limited to the portion of the project affected by that violation rather than stopping the entire project. Experts estimate that Prop 45 could cut costly project delays by 2 to 10+ years.
“California should not have to choose between protecting the environment and building the housing and infrastructure we need,” Hernandez added.
Key Excerpts:
- “CEQA continues to be a formidable obstacle to building anything in California, especially anything near where anyone lives.”
- “This CEQA litigation business model is a particularly brutal tactic against a family seeking to build or remodel a home, a small business owner, or an entrepreneurial housing developer seeking to build lower-cost housing affordable for median-income households.”
- “Anyone can file a CEQA lawsuit, even anonymously, for any reason, including to leverage money settlements or other economic terms. No costs or other consequences are incurred for filing meritless CEQA appeals, even for repeat offenders who file more than a dozen serial lawsuits against the same project.”
- “Even a meritless CEQA lawsuit can result in multiyear project delays that increase project
costs or derail projects altogether.”
[Read the Full Report Here]
The report was authored by Jennifer Hernandez, one of California’s foremost experts on CEQA litigation and land use and environmental law. Hernandez leads Holland & Knight’s West Coast Land Use and Environment Group. Hernandez is the only California attorney ranked in the top tier by Chambers USA in both environmental and land use/zoning law, is a California Lawyer of the Year award recipient, and has authored three books and more than 50 articles on environmental and land use issues.
BACKGROUND: Prop 45, the Building an Affordable California Act, modernizes California’s project approval and permitting process for essential projects — including housing, water infrastructure, clean energy, transportation infrastructure, hospitals and health care facilities, schools, broadband, and wildfire prevention projects — by establishing clear timelines, improving accountability, and reducing unnecessary delays, while preserving strong environmental, labor, and tribal cultural resource protections. Prop 45 is supported by a broad and growing coalition of 160+ organizations, including affordable housing advocates, civil rights leaders, clean energy builders, water providers, agricultural groups, and business organizations statewide.
Learn More: YESonProp45.com