STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3492 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 28, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MAY, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and the public hous- ing law, in relation to enacting the "sustainable affordable housing and sprawl prevention act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "sustaina- 2 ble affordable housing and sprawl prevention act". 3 § 2. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new 4 section 8-0119 to read as follows: 5 § 8-0119. Certain actions exempt or subject to limited review. 6 1. Exempt actions for construction of residential dwellings. (a) 7 Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, qualifying 8 actions with respect to the construction of a new multiple dwelling or 9 more than one contiguous multiple dwellings, including building permits, 10 variances, subdivision approvals, site plan approvals, and zoning text 11 amendments, that meet the following thresholds shall be automatically 12 determined not to have a significant impact on the environment and shall 13 be exempt from any environmental review requirements under this article 14 or any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant hereto: 15 (i) fewer than ten total residential units in municipalities that have 16 not adopted zoning or subdivision regulations; 17 (ii) fewer than fifty total residential units in a building in which 18 no more than twenty percent of the floor area consists of commercial or 19 community facility uses not to be connected at the commencement of habi- 20 tation to existing community or public water and sewerage systems 21 including sewage treatment works; 22 (iii) in a city, town, or village having a population of ninety thou- 23 sand persons or less, fewer than two hundred total residential units in EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03754-02-5
S. 3492 2 1 a building in which no more than twenty percent of the floor area 2 consists of commercial or community facility uses to be connected at the 3 commencement of habitation to existing community or public water and 4 sewerage systems including sewage treatment works; 5 (iv) in a city, town, or village having a population of greater than 6 ninety thousand but less than one million, fewer than five hundred total 7 residential units in a building in which no more than twenty percent of 8 the floor area consists of commercial or community facility uses to be 9 connected at the commencement of habitation to existing community or 10 public water and sewerage systems including sewage treatment works; or 11 (v) in a city having a population of one million or more persons, 12 fewer than one thousand total residential units in a building in which 13 no more than twenty percent of the floor area consists of commercial or 14 community facility uses to be connected at the commencement of habita- 15 tion to existing community or public water and sewerage systems includ- 16 ing sewage treatment works. 17 (b) To be determined as a "qualifying action" under paragraph (a) of 18 this subdivision, such multiple dwelling shall: 19 (i) be located in a census tract defined as an urbanized area or an 20 urban cluster by the federal Census Bureau; 21 (ii) be located on previously disturbed land; 22 (iii) qualify as affordable housing, as shall be determined by the 23 division of housing and community renewal, relative to the municipality 24 or county, as shall be determined by the division of housing and commu- 25 nity renewal, in which it is located; 26 (iv) not be located in an area: 27 (1) projected to experience flooding in the event of sea level rise 28 greater than or equal to the high-medium projection by year twenty-one 29 hundred as set forth in regulations promulgated pursuant to section 30 3-0319 of this chapter, or any other science-based projection of future 31 sea level conditions deemed satisfactory by the commissioner; 32 (2) designated as a special flood hazard area by the federal emergency 33 management agency, provided that this provision shall not apply to muni- 34 cipalities that have adopted a building code that mitigates flood hazard 35 risk by requiring new construction to be elevated above the base flood 36 elevation as defined by the federal emergency management agency; or 37 (3) designated as a critical environmental area by the department; 38 (v) complete a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment pursuant to the 39 federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liabil- 40 ity Act (42 U.S.C. Chapter 103), and complete testing for lead water 41 and paint, asbestos, and radon, the results of which shall be submitted 42 by the proposed developer of such multiple dwelling to the local agency 43 responsible for approving or denying the application for such multiple 44 dwelling. If the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment finds contam- 45 ination that exceeds acceptable levels of contaminants for residential 46 use as set forth in regulations promulgated pursuant to titles thirteen 47 and fourteen of article twenty-seven and title five of article fifty-six 48 of this chapter and related regulations governing environmental remedi- 49 ation, the local agency responsible for approving or denying the appli- 50 cation may require remediation of the site to applicable standards for 51 residential use prior to the issuing of a construction permit for 52 construction of a multiple dwelling; 53 (vi) receive a written certification from a qualified environmental 54 professional, as such term shall be defined by the department in regu- 55 lation, that the construction of such multiple dwelling will not violate
S. 3492 3 1 any state wetland laws under articles twenty-four and twenty-five of 2 this chapter, or any rules or regulations promulgated thereto; 3 (vii) receive a written certification from a qualified environmental 4 professional, as such term shall be defined by the department in regu- 5 lation, that construction of such multiple dwelling, as proposed, will 6 not violate any drinking water laws under article eleven of the public 7 health law, or any rules or regulations promulgated thereto; and 8 (viii) receive certification by an architect licensed by the state 9 that the building has been designed to meet one or more of the following 10 building standards: 11 (1) the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Building Rating 12 System (LEED) published by the United States Green Building Council for 13 the category of certified gold, at minimum, as determined by a LEED 14 accredited professional; 15 (2) Enterprise green communities review and certification; or 16 (3) Passive House Institute Passive House certification. 17 2. Actions with respect to construction of multiple dwellings subject 18 to limited review. (a) Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to 19 the contrary, actions with respect to the construction of new multiple 20 dwellings that are not exempt from environmental review under subdivi- 21 sion one of this section, and that are qualifying actions, shall not be 22 subject to any environmental review standards under this article, or 23 rules or regulations promulgated thereto, that do not consist of core 24 environmental concerns, as such term shall be defined by the department 25 in regulation. Topics of review that shall be exempt under this subdivi- 26 sion as failing to meet the standard of core environmental concerns 27 shall include, but not be limited to, traffic impacts, casting of shad- 28 ing or shadows, impacts on views from neighboring buildings, consistency 29 with community character, impacts on neighborhood character, and the 30 resources of local school systems; except that, in the case of a disad- 31 vantaged community, such topics of concern may include traffic impacts 32 and the resources of local school systems. 33 (b) To be determined as a "qualifying action" under paragraph (a) of 34 this subdivision, the proposed multiple dwelling shall: 35 (i) be located in a census tract defined as an urbanized area or an 36 urban cluster by the federal Census Bureau; 37 (ii) be located on previously disturbed land; 38 (iii) qualify as affordable housing, as shall be determined by the 39 division of housing and community renewal, relative to the municipality 40 or county, as shall be determined by the division of housing and commu- 41 nity renewal, in which it is located; and 42 (iv) not be located in an area: 43 (1) projected to experience flooding in the event of sea level rise 44 greater than or equal to the high-medium projection by year twenty-one 45 hundred as set forth in regulations promulgated pursuant to section 46 3-0319 of this chapter, or any other science-based projection of future 47 sea level conditions deemed satisfactory by the commissioner; 48 (2) designated as a special flood hazard area by the federal emergency 49 management agency, provided that this provision shall not apply to muni- 50 cipalities that have adopted a building code that mitigates flood hazard 51 risk by requiring new construction to be elevated above the base flood 52 elevation as defined by the federal emergency management agency ; or 53 (3) designated as a critical environmental area by the department. 54 3. Mandatory review. Every action that is a qualifying action under 55 subdivision one or two of this section shall be subjected to a determi- 56 nation by the local permitting authority of whether such action is
S. 3492 4 1 exempt under subdivision one of this section, and if such action is not 2 exempt under subdivision one of this section, whether such action is 3 exempt under subdivision two of this section. If, after sixty days, the 4 local agency responsible for approving or denying the application for 5 such multiple dwelling has failed to return such a determination, the 6 applicant may appeal to the division of housing and community renewal 7 for a determination, and in such case the division shall render a deter- 8 mination within sixty days of receipt of the application. 9 4. Historic sites. An action otherwise exempt from environmental 10 review requirements under subdivision one of this section may be 11 required to undergo environmental review pursuant to this article or the 12 rules or regulations promulgated pursuant hereto on the basis that the 13 multiple dwelling would be constructed wholly or partially within a 14 historic site, provided, however that such action affects a contributing 15 property within such historic site, and provided further that such envi- 16 ronmental review is limited in its scope to such contributing property. 17 An action shall not be required to undergo an environmental review under 18 this subdivision solely on the basis that such the proposed multiple 19 dwelling would be substantially contiguous to a historic site, or 20 located in a neighborhood containing historic sites. 21 5. Wastewater treatment and stormwater management. (a) An action 22 exempt from environmental review requirements under subdivision one or 23 two of this section may provide concept plans to either the appropriate 24 local governmental entity or the department that demonstrate that the 25 multiple dwelling will have adequate wastewater treatment to accommodate 26 the completed multiple dwelling for no less than thirty years. The 27 department shall establish a method by which developers of proposed 28 multiple dwellings may submit such concept plans pursuant to this para- 29 graph. Upon submission of such concept plans, the local governmental 30 entity or the department, as applicable, shall approve or deny such 31 concept wastewater treatment plans no later than thirty days after 32 submission of such plans. 33 (b) An action exempt from environmental review requirements under 34 subdivision one or two of this section shall be required to maintain 35 compliance with all applicable stormwater regulations. 36 6. Disadvantaged communities. The department shall require, by rule or 37 regulation, that qualifying actions with respect to the construction of 38 new multiple dwellings shall not: 39 (a) contribute more than a de minimis amount of pollution or any 40 disproportionate pollution burden after the completion of construction; 41 or 42 (b) directly displace low-income households by reducing, in aggre- 43 gate, their residential housing opportunities in a disadvantaged commu- 44 nity. 45 7. Authority of the commissioner. The commissioner shall be authorized 46 to consult with any other state or local agency and to promulgate and/or 47 amend any rules and/or regulations such commissioner shall deem neces- 48 sary for the implementation of the provisions of this section; provided, 49 however, that the department and the division of housing and community 50 renewal shall jointly promulgate such rules and regulations as they 51 shall deem necessary for the implementation of subdivision six of this 52 section. 53 § 3. Section 8-0105 of the environmental conservation law is amended 54 by adding six new subdivisions 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 to read as 55 follows:
S. 3492 5 1 11. "Historic site" means a historic building, structure, facility, 2 site or district, or prehistoric site that is listed on the National 3 Register of Historic Places (36 CFR Parts 60 and 63), or that is listed 4 on the state register of historic places or that has been determined by 5 the commissioner of parks, recreation and historic preservation to be 6 eligible for listing on the state register of historic places pursuant 7 to section 14.07 or 14.09 of the parks, recreation and historic preser- 8 vation law, or historic buildings listed as landmarks by the New York 9 city landmarks preservation commission. 10 12. "Contributing property" means a building, structure, facility, or 11 site located within a historic site or district that wholly or partially 12 contributes to such designation as a historic site. 13 13. "Dwelling" means any building or structure or portion thereof 14 which is occupied or intended to be occupied in whole or in part as the 15 home, residence, or sleeping place of one or more human beings. 16 14. "Multiple dwelling" means a dwelling that is either rented, 17 leased, let or hired out, or sold, to be occupied, or is occupied as the 18 residence or home of four or more separate individuals or groups of 19 individuals living independently of each other, including, but not 20 limited to, apartments, condominiums, and townhouses. A "multiple dwell- 21 ing" shall not be deemed to include a class B multiple dwelling as 22 defined by section four of the multiple dwelling law, or a hospital, 23 convent, monastery, residential care facility, or a building used wholly 24 for commercial purposes. 25 15. "Residential unit" means a room or group of rooms within a multi- 26 ple dwelling that is designated as the living quarters for an individual 27 or group of individuals living independently from other individuals 28 occupying such multiple dwelling. 29 16. "Previously disturbed land" shall mean a parcel or lot of land 30 that was occupied or formerly occupied by a building or otherwise 31 improved or utilized one year prior to the effective date of this subdi- 32 vision, and was not most recently used for commercial agricultural 33 purposes. 34 § 4. Section 600 of the public housing law is amended by adding a new 35 subdivision 6 to read as follows: 36 6. A covered housing agency in this state shall be subject, as appli- 37 cable, to the provisions of article eight of the environmental conserva- 38 tion law and any rules and/or regulations promulgated thereto. 39 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 40 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 41 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 42 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 43 completed on or before such effective date.