What's happening
This bill requires all counties, except those entirely within a city, to follow referral procedures for planning and zoning actions.
Why it matters
Expands oversight. By requiring all counties (except those fully within a city) to follow referral procedures, the bill ensures that county or regional planning bodies have a chance to review and weigh in on local planning and zoning decisions, potentially improving coordination and reducing conflicts between local and county/regional plans.
Closes loopholes. The bill removes ambiguity about which counties must comply with referral requirements, making it harder for counties operating under a special charter to claim exemption, thereby creating a more uniform process across the state.
Affects timing and future projects. The law applies only to actions where final decisions haven’t yet been made as of the effective date, meaning ongoing or upcoming development proposals in many counties will be affected, altering timelines and possibly requiring additional review steps.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Standardize County Zoning Referrals
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to local governments
- Referred to local governments
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1326
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. HOOPER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the referral of certain proposed city, town, and village planning and zoning actions to the county planning agency or regional planning council
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 239-m of the general municipal law is amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
7. Applicability. The provisions of this section shall apply to all counties, including but not limited to counties operating under county charters; provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to a county wholly contained within a city.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all proposed actions on which a referring body has not taken final action on and after the effective date of this act.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06292-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.