What's happening
The bill requires New York City to compensate certain property owners if rezoning or municipal building construction reduces their property's sale value.
Why it matters
Protects homeowners in low-density residential zones (R1–R5) from financial loss. if their property value drops due to repeated rezonings or the construction of municipal buildings nearby, by mandating significant compensation (three times the difference in value).
Creates a financial disincentive for the city to frequently rezone the same neighborhoods. , especially those previously rezoned within 15 years, potentially slowing down cycles of upzoning, downzoning, or policy shifts that can destabilize property values.
May impact city planning and public project costs. , as the city must budget for potential payouts whenever major zoning changes or new municipal projects abut residential neighborhoods, possibly making new developments more expensive or less likely.
Excludes properties with commercial overlays from compensation. , focusing the law’s protections on strictly residential areas and signaling a prioritization of single-family and low-density homeowners over mixed-use or commercial property interests.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Homeowners from Rezoning
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to cities
- Referred to cities
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1550
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 10, 2017
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation to rezoning and municipal building impacts in cities of one million or more
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The New York city charter is amended by adding two new sections 201-a and 201-b to read as follows:
§ 201-a. Rezoning. In cities of a million or more, when a municipality rezones or makes a zoning text change to an existing R1, R2, R3, R4 or R5 zone that has been previously rezoned within the past fifteen years, the municipality must pay a property owner three times the difference between the price paid for the property for any sale made subsequent to the effective date of the rezoning and the market value of the property as reflected on the last property bill issued prior to the effective date of a subsequent rezoning if the purchase price is less than the market value of the property as reflected on the last property bill issued prior to the effective date of the rezoning. This provision shall not apply to properties in existing commercial overlays in R1, R2, R3, R4, or R5 zones.
§ 201-b. Municipal building impacts and residential neighborhoods. In cities of a million or more, if a municipality constructs a municipal building that abuts an R1, R2, R3 or R4 district, a municipality must pay a property owner three times the difference between the price paid for the property for any sale made subsequent to the construction of the municipal building and the market value of the property as reflected on the last property bill issued prior to the completion of the construction if the purchase price is less than the market value of the property as reflected on the last property bill issued prior to the completion of the construction.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01002-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the New York city charter, in relation to rezoning and municipal building impacts in cities of one million or more
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends the New York city charter by adding two new section 201-a and 201-b that provide the following:
* 201-a. Rezoning. When a municipality rezones or makes a zoning text change to an existing RI , R2, R3, R4 or R5 zone that has been previously rezoned within the past fifteen years, the municipality must pay a property owner three times the difference between the price paid for the property for any sale made subsequent to the effective date of the rezoning and the market value of the property as reflected on the last property bill issued prior to the effective date of the subsequent rezoning if the purchase price is less than the market value of the property as reflected on the last property bill issued prior to the effective date of the rezoning. This provision will not apply to properties in existing overlays in RI, R2, R3, R4 or R5 zone.
* 201-b. Municipal building impacts and residential neighborhoods. If a municipality constructs a municipal building that abuts an R1, R2, R3 or R4 district, a municipality must pay a property owner three times the difference between the price paid for the property for any sale made subsequent to the construction of the municipal building and the market value of the property as reflected on the last property bill issued prior to the completion of the construction if the purchase price is less than the market value of the property as reflected on the last property bill issued prior to the construction.
Section 2 of the bill provides an immediate effective date.
Justification
The process of rezoning in the city of New York is a long and arduous one that often involves years' worth of extensive work by the Department of City Planning in conjunction with community input.
This process often takes on special meaning when it involves rezoning of residential neighborhoods because it directly affects small property owners who can be significantly impacted by a change in property values as a result of a rezoning.
A similar situation of financial instability can be brought on for residential property owners when the city constructs a municipal building directly abutting an RI, R2, R3 or R4 area.
This legislation will give residential property owners some form of protection when the city of New York decides to engage in another rezoning in their area within 15 years of a prior rezoning or when then city constructs a municipal building that abuts their area if their property losses its value as a result of the new rezoning.
Prior legislative history
2015-16: S.5044
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.