Storage Developments Streamlined: Expert CEQA Support

Navigating CEQA can slow down even the most straightforward self-storage project — but it doesn’t have to. At CAJA Environmental Services, we specialize in CEQA compliance for self-storage developments, delivering fast, accurate, and defensible environmental documents that keep your project moving.

Our team knows how to anticipate common hurdles like traffic, air quality, land use, and aesthetics; delivering clear, defensible documents that keep your entitlements on track and your timeline intact. We’ve supported developers on a variety of storage projects in the region, from urban infill conversions to ground-up facilities in transitional industrial zones.

Whether your site needs a Categorical Exemption, Mitigated Negative Declaration, or Environmental Impact Report, we bring deep experience and a hands-on approach to every phase. We work closely with your design, legal, and permitting teams to move your project forward efficiently.

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Here are several common CEQA issues that can arise with self-storage projects, especially in urban or transitioning industrial areas:

Air Quality and GHG Emissions

• Construction emissions (e.g., diesel equipment, grading).

• Vehicle trips from customers and staff may contribute to regional emissions.

• Energy use and long-term operational emissions for climate-controlled storage.

Traffic and Circulation

• While trip generation is typically low, site access, turning movements, or truck circulation near residential areas can trigger concerns.

• Conflicts at driveway entries or near signalized intersections.

Land Use Compatibility

• Storage uses in proximity to residential, school, or retail zones may raise noise, aesthetic, or community character concerns.

• Potential inconsistency with General Plans or zoning overlays.

Noise

• Construction noise impacts in urban infill sites.

• Access or truck deliveries can raise operational noise concerns, especially near sensitive receptors.

Hazards and Hazardous Materials

• If site has prior industrial use, Phase I/II assessments may identify potential contamination or require mitigation.

Aesthetics

• Large, blank facades, security fencing, and lighting may draw visual impact scrutiny, especially on prominent corridors.

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CAJA Environmental Services has extensive experience with CEQA compliance for self-storage projects. Representative projects include:

Public Storage Santa Fe Springs Project: CAJA prepared a Categorical Exemption for Public Storage in the City of Santa Fe Springs. The Project would remove the existing building and construct a three-story, self-storage building of approximately 215,664 square feet. Issues that were analyzed included air quality, noise and vibration, and vehicle trip generation.

Playa Vista Public Storage Redevelopment Project: CAJA prepared an IS/MND for Public Storage in the City of Los Angeles’ Playa Vista neighborhood. The Project would construct a new mixed-use building with approximately 82,324 square feet of floor area including 3,959 square feet of retail uses and 78,365 square feet of mini-warehouse uses. Issues that were analyzed included air quality, land use consistency, noise and vibration, and vehicle trip generation.

Oxnard Project: CAJA prepared a Categorical Exemption for Self-Storage in the City of Los Angeles’ Encino neighborhood. The Project would demolish a small portion of the existing building, and remodel the interior, as well as expand the building footprint by enclosing the courtyard on the east side of the Site and constructing a three-story addition on the south side of the Site, for a total of approximately 97,846 net square-feet in size. Issues that were analyzed included air quality, land use consistency, noise and vibration, and vehicle trip generation.

Alhambra Storage Project: CAJA prepared a Categorical Exemption for Self-Storage in the City of Alhambra. The Project would construct a four-story, self-storage building of approximately 155,140 square feet. Issues that were analyzed included air quality, geotechnical considerations, land use consistency, hazardous materials, noise, and vehicle trip generation.

Self-Storage Project. CAJA is in the process of preparing an IS/MND for Self-Storage, located in the City of Los Angeles’ Atwater Village neighborhood. The Project would construct a three-story self-storage warehouse building of approximately 179,000 square feet. Issues to be analyzed included air quality, land use consistency, noise, and vehicle trip generation.

Major CEQA Reform Now in Effect

Your project may now be CEQA-exempt

Let’s Talk

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Most Meaningful CEQA Overhaul
in Over 50 Years

AB 130 and SB 131, enacted via the 2025–26 budget on June 30, 2025, represent the broadest CEQA reform ever for housing and infrastructure:

• AB 130 creates a statutory exemption for urban infill housing up to 20 acres, bypassing CEQA review entirely

• SB 131 caps review for “near‑miss” projects—only issues preventing exemption need be studied

AB 130 and SB 131 fundamentally reduce the scope and power of CEQA for infill housing projects, eliminating the need for environmental review for qualifying urban housing developments (AB 130) and dramatically limiting the scope of CEQA analysis for near-qualifying projects (SB 131). Together, they shift CEQA from a tool that could delay or kill infill housing into a streamlined process with clear rules, fast timelines, and legal protections against abuse, removing one of the biggest barriers to housing production in California.

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Infill Housing Projects

AB 130 is a game-changer for urban infill housing. Effective June  30, 2025, it exempts qualifying “housing-rich” projects from all CEQA review—no EIR or MND—if they meet specific criteria:

• Up to 20 acres (5 acres under builder’s remedy)

• In previously developed or urban-adjacent areas

• Zoning- and density-compliant

• Not historic, sensitive, or transient use sites

• Complete Tribal consultation and, if needed, remediation

• Complete a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and, if needed, remediation

• SB 35-compliant siting and proximity to freeway rules apply

Unlike previous exemptions, this one is statutory and immune to litigation under “unusual circumstances.” Projects under 85 feet face no affordability or labor mandates.

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Paired with SB 131

This new law narrows CEQA analysis to just the single issue that triggers review (e.g., a historic structure), streamlining infrastructure projects even further.

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Why It Matters

• Applies to new and pending projects

• Cities must act within 30 days post-tribal consultation

• Cuts months (or years) off the approval timeline

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How CAJA Environmental Services can help

• Determine exemption eligibility

• Convert in-process CEQA reviews

• Prepare zoning and exemption documentation

• Guide Tribal consultation and minimize legal exposure

We’re actively tracking guidance from state and local agencies. Contact CAJA Environmental Services to get your project moving—faster and smarter.

We can help developers and cities navigate the new rules with fast, defensible eligibility screenings, targeted documentation, and backup strategies if a project doesn't fully qualify. If you're planning a residential or mixed-use project in an urban area, now is the time to find out if AB 130 or SB 131 can move you straight to approval.

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CONTACT US

CAJA Environmental Services, LLC
CAJA’s Leadership Team

Chris Joseph | chris@ceqa-nepa.com
Stacie Henderson | stacie@ceqa-nepa.com
Seth Wulkan | seth@ceqa-nepa.com
Kerrie Nicholson | kerrie@ceqa-nepa.com

Helping Schools Grow with Confidence: CAJA’s CEQA Approach

At CAJA Environmental Services, we understand the unique challenges and expectations that come with educational development. Whether you're modernizing classrooms, building a new gymnasium, or opening an entirely new campus, the CEQA process for schools requires precision, strategy, and an understanding of education-centered operations.

CAJA

is

Modeling Excellence

Whether you're modernizing classrooms, building a new gymnasium, or opening an entirely new campus, the CEQA process for schools requires precision, strategy, and an understanding of education-centered operations.

Your mission is education.
Ours is making the path to approval smoother.

Let’s chat about how our team can support your next school project.

Expertise in School-Specific
CEQA Pathways

CEQA Solutions for Smarter Schools

We’re well-versed in the nuances of CEQA as it applies to K-12 and higher education institutions. We know how to identify and leverage categorical exemptions such as Class 14 (Minor Additions to Schools), and when a full MND or EIR is necessary.

Education-Focused Environmental Analysis

School projects need to be evaluated differently. We tailor our analysis to reflect real-world impacts on students, staff, and the surrounding neighborhood:

• Traffic and circulation evaluated around bell schedules
  and drop-off/pick-up patterns

• Noise and air quality studies that focus on
  classroom learning environments

• Sensitive receptor proximity—we consider student and
  faculty health first

• Construction-phase mitigation planning that ensures
  educational continuity

• Land Use Compatibility with surrounding uses and
  potential hazards

Trusted Coordination with Public Agencies

We’ve worked with cities, counties, private schools, charter schools, and local districts throughout California. We help navigate overlapping regulatory frameworks and ensure your CEQA documentation aligns with funding and permitting timelines.

eXAMPLE Projects

CAJA Environmental Services has extensive experience with CEQA compliance for educational institutions. Representative school projects include:

Chaminade College Preparatory School: 

CAJA prepared an MND for the Chaminade College Preparatory School in the City of Los Angeles’ West Hills neighborhood. The Project included the update and expansion of an existing school campus to include a new three-story school building, updated parking areas, remodeled and expanded athletic fields and facilities, new student quads, and renovated classrooms, student service centers and offices. Issues that were analyzed included artificial light impacts from the athletics fields, air quality and noise impacts, drop-off queuing, student/pedestrian access and safety, construction traffic.

Extera Public Schools:

CAJA prepared an MND for the Extera Public Schools in unincorporated Los Angeles County’s East LA area. The Project included the adaptive reuse of an existing building and the construction of a new building for a transitional kindergarten to 8th grade charter school, serving a maximum enrollment of 525 students. Issues that were analyzed included air quality and noise impacts, drop-off queuing, student/pedestrian access and safety, land use compatibility.

Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy: 

CAJA prepared an EIR for the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in the City of La Cañada Flintridge. The Project included modernization of the school’s existing campus in an anticipated 15-year Land Use Concept for improvement and modernization of the FSHA Campus as a whole. At buildout of the Project, the total building square footage of the campus would increase from the existing 217,350 square feet to a maximum of approximately 333,502 square feet. Issues that were analyzed included biological impacts, air quality and noise impacts, drop-off queuing, land use compatibility.

GALS Middle School: 

CAJA prepared a Categorical Exemption for the Girls Athletic Leadership School (GALS) in the City of Los Angeles’ Van Nuys neighborhood. The Project the development of a two-story middle school serving a maximum enrollment of 330 students. Issues that were analyzed included biological and tree removal impacts, air quality and noise impacts, construction traffic.

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Contact Us:

CAJA Environmental Services, LLC
Chris Joseph | chris@ceqa-nepa.com
Stacie Henderson | stacie@ceqa-nepa.com
Seth Wulkan | seth@ceqa-nepa.com
Kerrie Nicholson | kerrie@ceqa-nepa.com