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SIGNS REFORMS TO EASE AND BUILD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

Most Significant Reforms of the State Environmental Quality Review Act Since its Passage in 1975

Reforms to Environmental Review Could Save as Much as $82,000 in Per-Unit Building Costs

Cutting Red Tape Will Speed up Building of New Housing by as Much as Two Years

Governor Kathy Hochul today signed a key component of her FY27 budget, which includes her “Let Them Build” agenda, a sweeping set of common-sense reforms that cut red tape and remove duplicative environmental reviews for housing and other critical infrastructure.

The Enacted Budget includes significant reforms of the fifty-year-old State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), modernizing the law to expedite projects that meet criteria which ensure they have no significant environmental impacts and to let localities build the housing and infrastructure New Yorkers need in communities across the state.

“Red tape and duplicative reviews have stopped New York from doing the very building that made us the envy of the world, making our housing more expensive and our infrastructure outdated – that ends today,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “By removing these barriers and empowering communities across the state, we are working to drive down costs of critical housing and infrastructure and sending a simple message: now is the time to build.”

Today, it is too difficult to build major projects in New York: housing and infrastructure projects can take as much as 56 percent longer in New York State to get from concept to groundbreaking compared to peer states. Similarly, unduly burdensome requirements delay needed investment in clean water infrastructure, green infrastructure, New York City public schools, and parks and trails.

The Budget includes landmark reforms to slash through the red tape and government bureaucracy that has stymied desperately needed housing and crucial infrastructure projects by enacting Governor Hochul’s “Let Them Build” agenda. The Budget includes a series of common sense changes to modernize SEQRA and expedite categories of housing and infrastructure projects consistently found not to have any significant environmental impact, eliminating unnecessary costs, duplicative reviews and years of delay that raise costs for New Yorkers when they can least afford it.

Together, these actions will increase affordability by fast-tracking housing and infrastructure projects that communities want and that will not harm the environment. This fast-track makes it easier to build more of the vital projects that New Yorkers need while continuing to protect our environment and conserve New York’s natural resources.

Building Housing Faster By Cutting Red Tape

The FY27 Budget contains landmark reforms which will provide exemptions from duplicative environmental review to accelerate housing development that is desperately needed and meets criteria that ensures it does not have significant environmental impacts. Governor Hochul has vowed to tackle the housing crisis and bring down costs by building the housing that New Yorkers desperately need. However, too many projects in New York, including much-needed affordable housing developments, are forced to navigate a web of red tape created by state mandates that add unnecessary costs and years of needless delays, despite these projects consistently being found to have no significant environmental impact.

By cutting red tape and speeding up the timeline to construction, Let Them Build will help cut costs and speed construction for qualifying housing at the following unit caps:

• New York City: up to 250 units citywide and up to 500 units within medium and high-density areas
• Urbanized areas outside of New York City: up to 300 units
• Non-urbanized areas: up to 100 units, and up to 20 units in areas that do not have zoning

The housing projects must be on previously disturbed land and connected upon occupancy to existing water and sewer systems. The law does not supersede environmental requirements, permitting or local zoning.

These common-sense reforms will get more urgently needed homes built faster for New Yorkers. Studies have shown that for housing projects in New York State, SEQRA can slow down building by as long as two years.

These delays increase costs: analysis of housing projects demonstrate that SEQRA reviews increase the cost of building housing by $82,000 per unit in New York City, adding up to $8 million in additional costs for a 100 unit development. By eliminating duplicative reviews, Let Them Build will get projects from the planning process to the construction site faster and make it easier and more affordable for new homes to be built across the state.

Supporting Communities in Building Out Crucial Infrastructure

The legislation adds further SEQRA exemptions for critical categories of projects that New Yorkers need, including clean water infrastructure, public parks and trails, green infrastructure and public schools within New York City.

• Clean Water Infrastructure: Critical water infrastructure projects that avoid impacts to natural resources.
• Green Infrastructure: Nature-based storm water management.
• Parks and Trails: Public parks and recreational bike/pedestrian paths on previously disturbed land.
• Public Schools: New New York City Public School buildings built by the School Construction Authority.

Making Government a Partner in Growth

Currently, SEQRA review timelines vary greatly across projects, creating unpredictability for local communities, project sponsors, and state agencies alike. This uncertainty can contribute to significant project delays and add substantial costs to project budgets.

To create additional accountability for local communities and project sponsors, the bill establishes a two-year timeline to complete an environmental impact statement, creating clear project schedules and faster decisions.