Santa Cruz County residents, especially those who lost property or had fire-damaged homes after the CZU 2020 wildfires, can probably appreciate the new awareness by Gov. Gavin Newsom to waive the state’s strict environmental laws to allow quicker rebuilding in Los Angeles.

The bigger question, however, is not difficult to formulate: If these regulations are such a barrier to creating new housing, why not ease them for all projects?

More than 12,000 structures in LA have been destroyed in the fires. But under the normal pace of permitting (well known to local residents), it could take years for new homes and businesses to be rebuilt — at a cost far more than the original construction, usually because of stringent building codes, high permitting fees and inflation.

The obvious need to expedite rebuilding in the LA area might explain Newsom’s executive order on Sunday waiving the California Environmental Quality Act and Coastal Act, while also looking for other burdensome permitting and building code requirements that can be eased.

It’s no great revelation of course that state regulations increase costs and delay projects — and through the hammer of CEQA can stop many entirely. Here’s what Newsom posted on Elon Musk’s X:

“Just issued an Executive Order that will allow victims of the SoCal fires to not get caught up in bureaucratic red tape and quickly rebuild their homes.”

The words “bureaucratic red tape” are revealing, suggesting he knows the laws stifle much-needed housing construction, up and down the state.

Newsom subsequently stated, “When the fires are extinguished, victims who have lost their homes and businesses must be able to rebuild quickly and without roadblocks. The executive order I signed today will help cut permitting delays, an important first step in allowing our communities to recover faster and stronger.”

If state regulations amount to “bureaucratic red tape,” and are “roadblocks” and delay needed construction, why do they stay in place? Why can’t laws be effective without being oppressive?

Legislators should also ease regulations that prevent fire prevention since permits and habitat mitigation often are required to clear brush, widen fire access roads and create fire breaks on public lands, especially along the coast.

It’s been true for years that environmental activists, NIMBYs and unions exploit California’s environmental laws to tie up projects for years in court. Developers often settle lawsuits by making concessions that increase the ultimate cost of housing.

In turn, local governments impose excessive permitting fees and other requirements intended to lessen a project’s environmental impact. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year requires such fees to be commensurate to a project’s impact, though local governments can still tie developers up in red tape to force them to make costly concessions.

A 2021 University of Southern California survey of California developers found that it typically took 18 to 45 months for a project to be approved. More than half reported that lawsuits had scuttled projects.

Unnecessarily burdensome building codes partly explain why “affordable” housing units can cost $1 million to build and the state has a severe housing shortage — and why the median home in Los Angeles County costs $1 million and $1.3 million in much of Santa Cruz County.

It’s telling LA Mayor Karen Bass also issued her own executive order to boost housing construction in response to the fires and used the same sort of language as Newsom.

“This unprecedented natural disaster warrants an unprecedented response that will expedite the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities,” Bass said. “This order is the first step in clearing away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion.”

Again, the words “red tape” and “bureaucracy.”

Newsom is right to remove regulatory barriers to help the victims of the wildfires. And, since he agrees environmental laws are a problem, he ought to apply his new insights and move quickly to try and reform them.