By kqed staff : kqed – excerpt

UC Berkeley could be one step closer to breaking ground on its fiercely contested student housing project in historic People’s Park if the governor signs a bill scrapping certain building regulations.

AB 1307, introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), whose district includes Berkeley, would amend California’s sweeping Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by exempting proposed housing developments from first having to study potential noise levels generated by future tenants.

The bill also eliminates the need for universities to prepare an environmental impact report that considers alternative housing sites for a residential or mixed-use housing project if certain requirements are met…(more)