S 3545: Relates to environmental quality reviews of housing development projects that propose to build twenty or more units; provides that municipalities shall not be prohibited from performing their own environmental reviews.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3545 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 28, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BORRELLO -- 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, in relation to envi- ronmental quality reviews of certain housing development projects The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 8-0107 of the environmental conservation law, as 2 added by chapter 612 of the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 8-0107. Agency implementation. 4 1. All agencies shall review their present statutory authority, admin- 5 istrative regulations, and current policies and procedures for the 6 purpose of determining whether there are any deficiencies or inconsist- 7 encies therein which prohibit full compliance with the purposes and 8 provisions of this article, and shall recommend or effect such measures 9 as may be necessary to bring their authority and policies into conformi- 10 ty with the intent, purposes, and procedures set forth in this article. 11 They shall carry out its terms with minimum procedural and administra- 12 tive delay, shall avoid unnecessary duplication of reporting and review 13 requirements by providing, where feasible, for combined or consolidated 14 proceedings, and shall expedite all proceedings hereunder in the inter- 15 ests of prompt review. Time periods set forth in this article or estab- 16 lished pursuant to regulation shall be mandatory and shall not be 17 subject to any period of extension unless the applicant or project spon- 18 sor agrees to a period of extension. 19 2. Nothing in this article shall prohibit a municipality from perform- 20 ing its own environmental review, based on rules and regulations promul- 21 gated by the department, of a housing development project, and issuing a 22 denial for a permit based on such review. 23 § 2. Paragraph (iii) of subdivision 5 of section 8-0105 of the envi- 24 ronmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 228 of the laws of 25 1976, is amended and a new paragraph (iv) is added to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08084-01-5 
 S. 3545 2 1 (iii) maintenance or repair involving no substantial changes in 2 [exsiting] existing structure or facility[.]; or 3 (iv) a housing development project that proposes to build twenty or 4 more units. 5 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.