Endangered Species Law & Policy

On September 27, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 1889, the “Room to Roam Act.” The Act amends Section 65302 of the Government Code to add certain fish, wildlife, and habitat connectivity considerations to the provisions governing general plans for land use in Californian cities and counties. In light of the Act’s passage, cities and counties will be required to update their general plans to include considerations regarding wildlife movement within or around a proposed project area upon the next update of the local government’s general plan that occurs on or after January 1, 2028. Nossaman previously reported on the Room to Roam Act after it had been passed through the California Assembly and taken up by the California Senate in June 2024. 

The bill went through three rounds of amendments in the California Senate between June and August 2024 before the final bill was enrolled and sent to the governor’s office. Some of the amendments narrowed the scope of certain provisions of the Assembly’s bill. For example, the Senate revised language that would have required local jurisdictions to incorporate wildlife connectivity considerations into their policies to “the maximum extent feasible,” to now only require such incorporation to the “extent feasible.” The Senate also added language that requires updates to the conservation element of a general plan to “[c]onsider the most appropriately scaled scientific information” relevant to habitat connectivity.

Although the Act’s enforcement provisions will not go into effect until January 1, 2028, the law reforms California’s land use and wildlife conservation policies, which will affect how counties and cities prepare to update their general plans and how project developers progress toward breaking ground. The Room to Roam Act may also contribute to California’s ability to meet its “30x30” goal to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and waters by 2030 as a downstream effect of limiting disruptions of habitat continuity.

Potential Impacts of the Room to Roam Act

The Room to Roam Act may impact growing urbanization and development in California—including residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects—by making wildlife connectivity considerations a necessary part of county and municipal general plans. When the Room to Roam Act takes effect on January 1, 2028, cities and counties in the State of California will be required to incorporate a number of wildlife connectivity considerations into the conservation element of their respective general plans upon the next update to one or more elements of their general plans after that date. The updated conservation element must: identify and analyze connectivity, permeability, and natural landscape areas within the jurisdiction; identify and analyze wildlife passage features; consider impacts of wildlife barriers caused by development and avoid, minimize and mitigate these impacts; and analyze and consider options to remediate barriers to wildlife connectivity and restore degraded habitat and open landscape.

Municipal and county governments tend to comprehensively update their general plans every ten or more years. Although there is no specific deadline by which a local government must update its general plan, the housing element of a general plan is required to be updated once every eight years. As a result, we can anticipate that where local governments update the housing element of their general plans after January 1, 2028, these changes would incorporate the requirements of the Room to Roam Act—whether or not comprehensive revisions are made to those entities’ general plans.

The Room to Roam Act Anticipates Streamlining

The Room to Roam Act also allows cities and counties to update their respective general plans with the above-referenced wildlife connectivity considerations as a separate element or section—i.e., apart from the conservation element altogether. This provision may help a local government come to compliance without requiring an overhaul of its existing general plan, which could conserve financial resources and maintain consistency of the city or county’s long-term vision for its future.

Conclusion

Under the Room to Roam Act, local governments are required to evaluate and update their respective general plans to consider wildlife connectivity in land use decisions and permitting processes. The new law dovetails with other laws already in effect in California that require permitting entities and project developers to account for a development’s impacts on wildlife. Whether on its own or in concert with California’s habitat conservation and population growth goals, the Room to Roam Act may increase costs and complexities for project permitting.