STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3810 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 30, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WILLIAMS -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Cities AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to special review procedures for development in marshlands The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended 2 by adding a new section 25-121 to read as follows: 3 § 25-121 Special review procedure in marshland. a. Definitions. As 4 used in this section the following terms shall have the following mean- 5 ings: 6 1. "Development" means the construction of a new building or other 7 structure, or the alteration of an existing building or other structure, 8 including demolition and replacement, for the purpose of increasing the 9 number of residential dwelling units within such building or structure 10 or that will require a certificate of occupancy to be issued from the 11 city. 12 2. "Enlargement" means an addition to the floor area of an existing 13 building, an increase in the size of any other structure, or an expan- 14 sion of an existing use, including any uses accessory thereto, to an 15 open portion of a zoning lot not previously used for such use. 16 3. "Marsh" means a wet prairie that has waterlogged soil during the 17 growing season (from last spring frost to first fall frost) and is often 18 covered with shallow water. 19 4. "Marshland" means any area containing a marsh or that has within 20 one hundred years prior to the effective date of this section contained 21 a marsh located within a watershed for which a watershed protection plan 22 has been established pursuant to section 24-527 of this code. 23 5. "Project" means any development or enlargement. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06725-01-5
A. 3810 2 1 6. "Residential dwelling unit" means any building or structure or 2 portion thereof which is legally occupied in whole or in part as the 3 home, residence or sleeping place of one or more human beings. 4 b. The city planning commission shall not authorize a project on 5 marshland until the requirements of this section have been completed. 6 c. Except in the case of projects that have been exempted by the city 7 planning commission pursuant to subdivision j of this section from the 8 special review procedure established by this section, no project shall 9 be permitted on a zoning lot in marshland until the owner thereof shall 10 have filed notice of such proposed project with the city planning 11 commission and the community board of the community district in which 12 the project is proposed to be located. Additionally, the owner shall 13 file an application for authorization with the city planning commission 14 that shall include a description of the project, including its location, 15 floor plans, the building footprint on the building parcel and architec- 16 tural renderings, as well as: 17 1. a survey map prepared by a registered surveyor showing topography, 18 the location of existing buildings or other structures, patios, decks, 19 swimming pools, walkways, driveways and private roads, including side- 20 walks and other impervious surfaces; and the location of geologic 21 features, aquatic features and botanic environments; 22 2. photographs showing the location and condition of such geologic 23 features, aquatic features or botanic environments; 24 3. a site plan prepared by a registered architect or professional 25 engineer indicating the location of all existing buildings or other 26 structures; the location of all proposed buildings or other structures; 27 the location of existing and proposed patios, decks, swimming pools, 28 walkways, driveways and private roads, including sidewalks and other 29 impervious surfaces; 30 4. a drainage plan and soil report prepared by a professional engi- 31 neer. The drainage plan shall describe the temporary (during 32 construction) and permanent measures to collect, direct and discharge 33 stormwater drainage from the site, indicating the direction of drainage 34 flow and providing detailed plans and locations of all surface and 35 subsurface drainage devices, walls, dams, sediment basins, stormwater 36 storage (detention and retention) facilities, and other drainage facili- 37 ties and protective devices; 38 5. a landscaping and revegetation plan, prepared by a registered land- 39 scape architect, indicating the extent of vegetation and topsoil removal 40 required for site preparation and development and the location and 41 species of all new plantings; and 42 6. any other information necessary to evaluate the request for author- 43 ization. 44 The commission may only waive or modify any of the requirements set 45 forth in paragraphs one through six of this subdivision, when: (A) such 46 waiver or modification is requested by the applicant in writing and when 47 the commission determines that the requirements are unnecessary for 48 evaluation purposes; (B) the community board of the community district 49 in which the project is proposed to be located has approved the proposed 50 waiver or modification; (C) the borough president who represents the 51 borough or county in which the project is proposed to be located has 52 approved the proposed waiver or modification; (D) the city council 53 member or members in whose district the project is proposed to be 54 located have approved the proposed waiver or modification; and (E) the 55 member or members of assembly and the senator or senators in whose 56 districts the project is proposed to be located shall be notified of
A. 3810 3 1 such approval in writing and shall have the opportunity to review and 2 make advisory recommendations on the proposed project. The member or 3 members of assembly and the senator or senators in whose district the 4 project is proposed to be located have approved the proposed waiver or 5 modification. 6 d. Upon receipt of a complete application for authorization, the city 7 planning commission shall require a site-specific environmental review 8 of the project. 9 1. When applying for authorization for a project an applicant shall 10 notify the city planning commission in writing as to whether it will 11 exercise its option to prepare or cause to be prepared a site-specific 12 environmental review, and as to whom it has designated to prepare the 13 site-specific environmental review, provided that no person so desig- 14 nated shall have an investment or employment interest in the ultimate 15 realization of the proposed project. 16 2. If an applicant declines responsibility for a site-specific envi- 17 ronmental review, the city planning commission may prepare or cause to 18 be prepared a site-specific environmental review for the project. In 19 such event, the applicant shall provide, upon request, an environmental 20 report to assist the city planning commission in preparing or causing to 21 be prepared the site-specific environmental review and such other infor- 22 mation as may be necessary. All agencies shall fully cooperate with the 23 city planning commission in all matters relating to the preparation of 24 the site-specific environmental review. 25 3. If the applicant does not exercise its option to prepare or cause 26 to be prepared a site-specific environmental review, and the city plan- 27 ning commission does not prepare or cause to be prepared such review, 28 then the application for authorization of the proposed project shall be 29 denied. 30 e. Once a site-specific environmental review is complete, the city 31 planning commission shall forward a copy of the findings of the review 32 to the community board or boards for the community district or districts 33 in which the proposed project is located along with a copy of the appli- 34 cation for authorization of the project. The city planning commission 35 shall also make a copy of the findings of the site-specific environ- 36 mental review and application for authorization available to the public 37 on the commission's website. 38 f. Not less than forty-five days nor more than ninety days after a 39 site-specific environmental review is completed, the city planning 40 commission shall hold a public community forum for the purpose of 41 obtaining meaningful public and community board input concerning the 42 anticipated impact of the proposed project upon the community. The city 43 planning commission shall afford community members, representatives of 44 the local community board, local businesses and residents a reasonable 45 opportunity to speak about relevant matters at such community forum, 46 including comments on any aspect of the application or site-specific 47 environmental review for the proposed project. Every such forum shall be 48 held upon not less than twenty days notice to the affected community and 49 the local community board. 50 g. The city planning commission shall, prior to establishing the date, 51 time and location of the public community forum, consult with and obtain 52 the advice and consent of the appropriate community board as to estab- 53 lishing a convenient date, time and location to conduct the forum for 54 the locally impacted community. Such forum location shall be within 55 reasonable proximity of the proposed project and in suitable facilities 56 that provide adequate room and access to hear public comments presented.
A. 3810 4 1 h. Not less than sixty days, nor more than ninety days, after holding 2 a community forum the city planning commission shall, after due consid- 3 eration of the comments at such forum, either approve, approve subject 4 to modifications, or deny the application for authorization of the 5 project. In making its decision, the commission shall, in addition to 6 the site-specific environmental review findings, evaluate the project's 7 potential to cause an adverse environmental impact on the marshland and 8 surrounding community. When determining the potential for an adverse 9 impact the commission shall consider the effect of any project on the 10 total ecological process of the marshland and surrounding natural envi- 11 ronment including the effect of such project on the existing topography, 12 soil conditions, erosion, natural flow of water and drainage, water 13 quality, and animal, plant and marine life. A project found to be defi- 14 cient with respect to any of these considerations may be required to be 15 modified as a condition of final approval. The city planning commission 16 shall deny authorization for any project found to have an adverse impact 17 on the marshland or surrounding community. 18 i. Prior to the issuance by the department of buildings of any permit 19 for any project within a marshland, the city planning commission shall 20 certify to the department of buildings that the project is authorized 21 pursuant to this section. Neither the department of buildings or any 22 other city or state agency shall issue a permit for the development or 23 enlargement until the city planning commission has so certified. 24 j. The city planning commission shall promulgate rules and regulations 25 necessary to implement the provisions of this section including rules 26 delineating the locations of marshland within the city and describing 27 the types of projects therein, if any, which shall be exempt from the 28 provisions of this section. Prior to the promulgation of such rules, the 29 city planning commission shall consult with the community board of any 30 community district containing areas the commission may delineate as 31 marshland regarding the types of projects to be exempt from the 32 provisions of this section and in what areas of the community district. 33 Such consultation shall include a notice and comment period of forty- 34 five days. The city planning commission may exempt types of projects 35 from the provisions of this section upon receipt of a resolution of a 36 community board requesting such types of projects to be exempted. 37 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 38 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 39 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 40 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 41 on or before such effective date.