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New state exemptions could spare small Beacon housing projects from SEQRA review
Summary
Presenters said the amended state law exempts certain housing projects from SEQRA if they meet criteria (public water/sewer, previously disturbed site, commercial cap) and that Beacon's urban designation means a 300-unit cap applies locally.
At the workshop, presenters told Beacon planning officials the statutory amendments create a pathway to exempt many housing projects from SEQRA environmental review when they meet a set of criteria, including connection to community water or sewer, being located on a "previously disturbed site," and limiting nonresidential uses to 20% of the development.
Presenter 2 emphasized that municipalities designated as urban areas by the U.S. Census (which "is an urban area," the presenter said) are subject to a 300-dwelling-unit threshold. "So so your limitations would be the the 300," Presenter 2 said, noting that Beacon's designation makes the larger cap locally relevant. The presenters encouraged applicants to confirm whether specific building permits or two-lot subdivisions qualify under the new exemptions.
