N.Y. General Municipal Law § 694: Urban development action area project and approval thereof

§ 694. Urban development action area project and approval thereof. 1.

Following or in conjunction with the designation of an area or the

waiver of an area designation pursuant to section six hundred

ninety-three of this article, the agency shall prepare or cause to be

prepared, with provisions which, where appropriate, are expressly

designed to encourage and stimulate businesses experienced in the

development of one to four family low-rise residential structures or

minority or women-owned business enterprises in proposed projects, a

project summary for a proposed urban development action area project.

2. A proposal for an urban development action area or for a part or

portion of such area, shall be submitted to the commission which shall

certify, after a public hearing held on due notice, its unqualified

approval, its disapproval, or its qualified approval with

recommendations for modifications therein. The commission shall forward

its certification to the governing body.

3. Following receipt of the commission's certification after a public

hearing held on due notice, the governing body may:

(a) if the commission shall have certified its unqualified approval,

approve the area designation by a majority vote;

(b) if the commission shall have certified its disapproval

nevertheless approve the area designation, but only by a three-fourths

vote;

(c) if the commission shall have certified its qualified approval

together with recommendations for modifications, approve the area

designation together with the modifications recommended by the

commission by a majority vote, or approve the area designation without

such modifications but only by a three-fourths vote.

4. In order to approve the proposal for an urban development action

area the governing body must by resolution first find that: (a) the

present status of the area tends to impair or arrest the sound growth

and development of the municipality;

(b) the financial aid in the form of tax incentives, if any, to be

provided by the municipality pursuant to section six hundred ninety-six

of this article, is necessary to enable the project to be undertaken;

and

(c) the area designation is consistent with the policy and purposes

stated in section six hundred ninety-one of this article.

5. Any approval of an urban development action area project shall be

in conformance with the standards and procedures required for all land

use determinations pursuant to general, special or local law or charter.

In a city having a population of one million or more, the governing body

may require that the agency incorporate into the project any or all of

the following: (i) the proposed number of residential units; (ii)

whether such units are home ownership units, rental units or condominium

or cooperative units; (iii) a best estimate of the initial rents or

selling prices for such units; (iv) the proposed income restrictions, if

any, on renters or purchasers of such units; and (v) the basis on which

the consideration for the sale or lease of the property is to be

determined. Provided, however, that if the proposed urban development

action area project consists solely of the rehabilitation or

conservation of existing private or multiple dwellings or the

construction of one to four unit dwellings or, until June thirtieth, two

thousand twenty-seven, for up to six urban development action area

projects in any calendar year, the construction of up to ninety dwelling

units financed by the federal government and restricted to occupancy by

the elderly or by persons with disabilities without any change in land

use permitted by local zoning, the governing body, or the commission

where so authorized to act by the governing body, may waive any such

standards and procedures required by local law or charter.