A bill to exempt some housing projects from a controversial California law that pro-building activists blame for slowing down development cleared its first legislative hurdle this week. On Monday, the State Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee approved AB 609, introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Berkeley), which would exempt infill housing projects built within existing cities from review under the California Environmental Quality Act. … In recent years, CEQA has become a political lightning rod as housing activists have argued it has been used to slow or stop housing projects from moving forward, while defenders say it hasn’t played a major role in deterring housing production in California. … But not everyone is on board with the proposed changes. “We just have blinders on in terms of how much good CEQA — and looking at the environmental reviews — has done to preserve safety and safety for water and safety from fire,” said Susan Kirsch, president of Catalysts for Local Control.