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History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Referred to environmental conservation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Enacts the wetlands homeowner's relief act
In Assembly Committee · Environmental Conservation · Sponsor Gary Finch
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to enacting the wetlands homeowner's relief act
Purpose
This legislation would promote family security while balancing the need to protect the environment. This bill will relieve homeowners of the burden of applying for permits for use of land within 50 feet from the periphery of their house and garage, and will assure that their investment in their home will not be unjustly diminished by mapping or delineating wetlands nearby or inclusive of their house, which is the greatest investment that families make in their lifetime.
Summary of provisions
Section one of this bill establishes the title of the act. Section two of the bill amends the Environmental Conservation Law to add a new Section 24-0302, to provide for a fifty foot (50 ft.) wide homeowner's buffer zone around an existing house and garage where regulations under the Freshwater Wetlands Act and wetlands regulations under local law do not apply to home additions not exceeding 500 of the floor area in existence upon enactment of this bill; alterations to existing structures; construction of appurtenant structures and improvements such as garages, sheds, septic systems, wells, utilities, driveways, porches, landscaping, and gardens and structures and improvements of like nature. This section shall apply to homes in existence upon enactment of this bill. This bill also provides that once DEC has issued wetlands maps for any given geographical area, new maps cannot be issued without an enactment by the Legislature and DEC is prohibited from delineating wetlands beyond the boundaries of mapped wetlands shown on DEC's official wetlands maps.
Read the full memo (814 words)
Justification
This measure will promote family security while balancing the need to protect the environment. This bill will relieve homeowners of the burden of applying for permits for use of land within 50 feet from the periphery of their house and garage, and will assure that their investment in their home will not be unjustly diminished by mapping or delineating wetlands nearby or inclusive of their house. Since the bill does not provide for the exemption of developments of new homes from the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act or local law, it will have very little negative impact on wetlands protection. This measure also establishes a greater degree of permanence for the landowner who makes an investment in land in New York State based on the location of mapped wetlands, while respecting DEC's far-reaching existing wetlands maps. The issuance of new wetlands maps by DEC without changed physical conditions has raised questions about the application of wetlands science by DEC. The ability of DEC to issue new wetlands maps once the process of wetlands mapping is complete in any geographical area creates insecurity for property owners, whose only recourse upon discovering that their previously non-jurisdictional property has been changed to jurisdictional wetlands is expensive formal appeal and litigation. This bill does not end the possibility of DEC re-mapping wetlands when new conditions occur, but makes a higher threshold for such jurisdictional changes, which is justified considering the immense financial impact on the property owner and the fact that DEC has already had the opportunity to map the entire state and has completed this mapping at least once in every region. This measure further eliminates the uncertainty created by DEC's use of delineation to increase wetlands areas. The delineation of wetlands that are in fact beyond the mapped boundaries creates, in effect, an additional mapping process without public hearings and the full process of comment required for such a promulgation. In addition, the property owner is solicited by DEC into requesting a delineation to establish certainty or to obtain regulatory relief and finds himself in a situation where his economic loss from the DEC restriction of land use has been increased. This bill in no way allows for the filling or alteration of streams and tributaries where prohibited under other articles of law, or the erecting of structures in streams or tributaries where otherwise prohibited or where permits are required under other articles of law. The relief granted under this bill shall apply to homes located in and proximate to either mapped or delineated wetlands, whether currently mapped or delineated, or so mapped or delineated in the future, DEC shall be prohibited from regulating such wetlands areas with respect to "grandfathered" homeowners rights established under this section and from requiring mitigation for land-uses by homeowners within such wetlands areas. The fifty foot exemption established under this bill shall be measured from the outside of the foundation walls of an existing house and porch/terrace and garage, where applicable. The exemption shall apply to both regulatory wetlands and to the regulatory 100 ft. wetlands buffer.
Legislative history
S.19-76 of 2005/2006, S.4256 of 2004, S.4970 of 2002, S.4809 of 2007/2008
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
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