A 831: Relates to vested rights of property owners relating to the development of their land in the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester; requires notice by applicant to property owners within 250 feet of land development application; provides for the repeal of such provisions six years after they take effect.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 831 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, BRABENEC, COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to vested rights relating to land development in the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new arti- 2 cle 7-B to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 7-B 4 VESTED RIGHTS RELATING TO LAND DEVELOPMENT 5 Section 150. Vested rights relating to land development; pilot program. 6 151. Application of article. 7 § 150. Vested rights relating to land development; pilot program. 1. 8 In the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester, 9 there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by a municipality in any such 10 county only pursuant to subdivision two of this section by clear and 11 convincing evidence, that municipal zoning, planning, environmental, and 12 all other applicable village, town, or city ordinances, regulations and 13 other enactments regulating the development of land which are applicable 14 to a particular parcel of land as of the ninth month after the filing 15 date of an application deemed completed by the municipality for site 16 plan, subdivision or other development plan approval of such parcel, 17 which application meets all non-discretionary requirements specified 18 therefor, including, but not limited to a survey prepared by a licensed 19 surveyor and plans prepared by a licensed engineer or architect and is 20 accompanied by an environmental assessment form, if required, or at the 21 discretion of the applicant a draft environmental impact statement, 22 shall remain applicable to the proposed project that is the subject of 23 the application or the draft environmental impact statement for a period EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03385-01-5 
 A. 831 2 1 of six years after the filing date, as long as it is being pursued with 2 reasonable efforts by the applicant. If no state or local agency has 3 discretionary authority over the project, the filing date shall be that 4 of the filing of an application for a building permit, together with a 5 survey prepared by a licensed surveyor and plans prepared by a licensed 6 engineer or architect in which case no environmental documentation need 7 be filed in order for this section to apply. Written notice of such 8 application, except in the case of a one-family dwelling, shall be given 9 by the applicant to all property owners within a distance of two hundred 10 fifty feet of the applicant's property lines by first class mail to the 11 last known address on the tax records. The applicant shall file an affi- 12 davit with the municipality of the mailing of such notice. 13 2. In order to rebut the presumption established pursuant to subdivi- 14 sion one of this section, a municipal board must adopt a detailed writ- 15 ten finding and has the burden of proof to show by clear and convincing 16 evidence that: 17 a. a change in applicable federal or state laws, rules or regulations 18 alters the relevant requirements; or 19 b. newly discovered information or changes in circumstances specif- 20 ically related to the proposed project or its site, will establish that: 21 (i) the project is likely to harm or endanger the public health, safe- 22 ty, general welfare or biological habitat; and 23 (ii) such harm or endangerment will not be prevented by existing laws, 24 codes, ordinances, rules or regulations, or by governmental entities; or 25 c. the municipal board is applying a new or altered requirement that 26 has been the subject of a draft environmental impact statement that was 27 filed before the filing date of the subject application, and has subse- 28 quently become final in not substantially more stringent form than that 29 described in such document, insofar as is relevant to the subject 30 project. 31 3. Such a finding shall be deemed to be a final agency action for 32 purposes of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules 33 and must be challenged within four months of the adoption of the finding 34 by a municipal board. 35 4. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to preclude: 36 a. the administration of all existing laws, rules and regulations as a 37 result of which there could be requirements imposed on the proposed 38 project; or 39 b. changes to such laws, rules and regulations that would affect 40 future applications. 41 5. This section shall not apply to applications requiring changes in 42 zoning provisions that are sought by the applicant in connection with 43 the proposed project prior to the adoption of any such changes. 44 6. Any substantial changes to the proposed project which is the 45 subject of the application by the applicant, which have not been gener- 46 ated in response to a comment (excepting a comment by, on behalf of or 47 at the behest of the applicant) during the review process, will be 48 deemed a new application. 49 § 151. Application of article. The provisions of this article shall 50 apply only to the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and 51 Westchester, and to no other counties in the state. 52 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 53 it shall have become a law; and shall expire and be deemed repealed six 54 years after it shall take effect but shall continue to apply to parcels 55 for which an application has been filed pursuant to section 150 of the 56 general municipal law prior to such repeal.