"Democrat Proposes Eliminating Environmental Reviews to Rescue San Francisco"

State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, is proposing a significant rollback of California's Environmental Quality Act by seeking to exempt most projects in downtown San Francisco from environmental review for the next decade in an effort to spur redevelopment and address the city's housing crisis. The proposed exemption aims to facilitate the conversion of empty buildings into housing, theaters, museums, and other facilities, as well as the redevelopment of office towers and malls, with the support of Mayor London Breed.