You may have financing ready for a real estate development, yet California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review can still slow approval. If a city, county or other agency has to approve your project, CEQA generally requires it to review the project’s environmental effects unless an exemption applies. While that review continues, interest, taxes and other carrying costs keep growing.
The reason for the slowdown matters. Your development may still be under agency review, or another party may have challenged its approval in court. Each situation follows a different process. Knowing what caused the delay helps you understand which CEQA rules now affect your project.
Why CEQA delays raise your costs
During environmental review, an agency may ask for more study or changes to a report. Those requests can push back your construction date while you continue paying property and financing costs. A longer review also affects agreements built around an earlier start date.
Your loan terms or project contracts might use dates that no longer match the approval schedule. A lender, for example, can expect construction to begin by a set date. If review continues past that point, you could face added costs or changes to your financing terms.
A court challenge brings a separate delay. After an agency approves your project, another party may ask a court to set the approval aside for an alleged CEQA violation. You then face a court timetable while the judge reviews whether the agency followed CEQA.
When a faster CEQA process may apply
California expanded CEQA relief in 2025 for certain housing and infrastructure developments. If your project meets the law’s requirements, it may qualify for an exemption or a more limited review process. The law uses detailed criteria, so the project type alone does not decide whether you qualify.
California also provides faster court review for certain projects that the governor certifies. For qualifying projects, state law directs courts to resolve CEQA cases, including appeals, within about 270 days when feasible. The program does not remove full environmental review. Instead, it shortens the court process after someone challenges the project.
Finding where the delay started
Rising carrying costs make it useful to identify where the process slowed down. You may want to review the main agency papers and any court filings so you can see what happened and when. Reviewing the development approval process alongside those records might also help you see which procedures still apply to your project.