NYC Voters Approve Significant Changes to Accelerate Land Use Approvals

On November 4, 2025, New York City voters approved a series of charter amendments enacting the most significant restructuring of the city’s land use review process since the 1989 Charter revision abolished the Board of Estimate. All amendments will become effective when the election results are certified in the coming weeks.

These changes shift power away from the City Council toward the City Planning Commission and Borough Presidents, while creating new expedited pathways intended to accelerate affordable housing production and climate resiliency infrastructure. Projects that previously required 6-9 months of ULURP review can now be approved in as little as 90 days. Certain categories of projects will bypass City Council review entirely, with the CPC becoming the final decision-maker. The Board of Standards and Appeals gains new authority to modify zoning regulations administratively for certain publicly financed affordable housing projects without requiring traditional hardship findings.

Additionally, the charter revision includes an attempt to get around the historic practice of “member deference,” in which the local councilmember can effectively veto a project of citywide importance. To accomplish this, the Charter establishes a new Land Use Appeals Board—composed of the Mayor, Council Speaker, and affected Borough President—which can overturn Council disapprovals or modifications for single-borough applications, replacing the rarely-used mayoral veto for such decisions.

The amendments reflect the widespread belief that the current land use process has impeded affordable housing development in neighborhoods that have produced little such housing historically, and that climate-related infrastructure projects require faster approvals than the traditional ULURP process allows. By removing Council review for specified project types and shortening timelines, the amendments reduce opportunities for local opposition to delay or block projects deemed to serve citywide interests. The trade-off is reduced opportunity for community input, negotiation of project modifications, and securing of discretionary benefits through the Council review process.

The newly-approved Charter revisions are discussed below. If you’d like to discuss how these new process impact your projects, please contact authors David J. Rosenberg, Head of R&E’s NYC Zoning & Land Use practice; Daniel M. Bernstein, Head of R&E’s Tax Incentives & Affordable Housing Unit, or your trusted R&E attorney.

Fast Track for Affordable Housing

• Establishes an “Affordable Housing Fast Track” that identifies the 12 community districts with the lowest affordable housing production every five years and channels qualifying affordable housing projects in those districts through an expedited 90-day review ending at the City Planning Commission, with no City Council involvement.

• Authorizes the Board of Standards and Appeals to grant special permits modifying use, bulk, and parking regulations for certain publicly-financed housing projects, based on policy findings rather than traditional hardship standards. The first list of designated districts will be published October 1, 2026, with eligible applications accepted starting January 1, 2027.

Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP)

As the name implies, this amendment creates an expedited version of ULURP (generally 90-120 days) for certain residential rezonings that increase residential capacity by up to 30% or to modest-density districts (ELURP would also apply to climate resiliency projects, solar installations, open space creation, and various city property transactions). Once an application is complete, the local community board and borough president would have a 60-day concurrent review period, followed by a 30-day review period by the City Planning Commission for final approval, bypassing the City Council entirely. Applications requiring environmental impact statements are likely not eligible. The process is nominally available immediately, but will require agency rules and procedures to be promulgated for full implementation.

Land Use Appeals Board

The charter revisions establish a new three-member board consisting of the Mayor, Council Speaker, and affected Borough President (or their designees) with authority to review City Council decisions to disapprove or approve with modifications any land use application in a single borough (excluding urban renewal plans). Either the applicant or the board itself can trigger a 15-day review within five days of Council action. The board can approve a disapproved application or remove Council modifications to restore the application as approved by the City Planning Commission, but cannot craft compromise positions. This mechanism replaces the rarely-used mayoral veto for most applications. The board is operational immediately.

TIMELINE COMPARISON
Traditional ULURP vs. New Expedited Processes

Review Stage	Standard ULURP	Fast Track / ELURP	BSA Special Permit
Pre-Certification Notice	30 days to CB/BP	30 days to CB/BP	None (direct filing with BSA)
Community Board/Borough President	60 days +30 days	60 days (concurrent)*	60 days (concurrent)*
City Planning Commission	60 days	30 days	No CPC review
Board of Standards & Appeals	N/A	N/A	Public hearing within 30 days of review period, and decision within 30 days.
City Council	50 days	No Council review**	No Council review
Mayor/Appeals Board	5 days +15 day review for Appeals Board, if applicable	None—CPC decision final	None—BSA decision final
Total Minimum Timeline	200 days (~7-9 months typical)	90 days	90-120 days
Final Decision-Maker	City Council subject to Veto/Appeals Board)	City Planning Commission**	Board of Standards & Appeals

*Extended to 90 days if certified in June; 75 days if July 1-15; **Applications for dispositions to HDFCs have a 30-day City Council Review

What’s Next: Explore New Opportunities for Development Sites in Light of the Charter Revisions

Now is an ideal time for owners and lenders to connect with land use and tax incentives experts to uncover fresh possibilities for their properties. With the approval process for residential rezonings becoming more streamlined and favorable, there may be new avenues for successful residential projects. Reach out and discover how these changes can help you maximize the value and potential of your development sites.