N.Y.C. Charter § 20: Section 20. Office of long-term planning and sustainability.

a. The mayor shall establish an office of long-term planning and sustainability. Such office may, but need not, be established in the executive office of the mayor and may be established as a separate office or within any other office of the mayor or within any department the head of which is appointed by the mayor. Such office shall be headed by a director who shall be appointed by the mayor or by the head of such department.

a-1.

Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Climate hazard. The term "climate hazard" means a physical process or event related to the climate that can harm human health, livelihoods, property or natural resources, including but not limited to:

1. an extreme storm, such as a hurricane, nor'easter, or blizzard;

2. sea level rise;

3. tidal flooding;

4. extreme heat;

5. extreme precipitation;

6. extreme wind;

7. a wild fire; or

8. a flooding surge event that may be associated with a storm.

Director. The term “director” means the director of long-term planning and sustainability.

Energy supply. The term “energy supply” means: (i) power plants, renewable energy facilities, and any other facilities that generate energy that is used in the city; (ii) infrastructure that transmits or distributes energy that is used in the city; (iii) any fuels that are used in buildings or facilities in the city; and (iv) distributed generation sources of electricity, including cogeneration and energy storage facilities that are used in the city.

Environmental justice area. The term "environmental justice area" has the same meaning as such term is defined in section 3-1001 of the administrative code.

Non-structural risk reduction approach. The term "non-structural risk reduction approach" means a program, policy, process, or incentive to safeguard communities from climate hazards or to remove a structure from a location at risk of a climate hazard, including wetlands preservation, creation, and restoration, densification in areas that are not prone to flooding, or other similar concepts.

Renewable energy. The term "renewable energy" means energy generated from: (i) hydropower, municipal solid waste, marine and hydrokinetic, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and biogas; (ii) any source that the director determines is renewable; or (iii) any source that is determined by the director to have a positive environmental impact or a substantially lower negative environmental impact than other sources of energy.

Resiliency and adaptation measure. The term "resiliency and adaptation measure" means a measure to enable a community or structure to withstand or avoid a climate hazard, including but not limited to a rip rap, groin, breakwater, levee, floodwall, marsh, wetland, erosion control method, natural resource beach nourishment and restoration, floodproofing, weatherization, cooling measure, rain garden, drainage improvement, water detention structure, permeable pavement, tree planting and urban forest maintenance and expansion, reflective roof, shade structure, building retrofit, or green roof.

b.

Powers and duties. The director shall have the power and the duty to:

1. develop and coordinate the implementation of policies, programs and actions to meet the long-term needs of the city, with respect to its infrastructure, environment and overall sustainability citywide, including but not limited to the categories of housing, open space, trees and the tree canopy, brownfields, transportation, water quality and infrastructure, air quality, energy, and climate change; the resiliency of critical infrastructure, the built environment, coastal protection and communities; and regarding city agencies, businesses, institutions and the public;

2. develop measurable sustainability indicators, which shall be used to assess the city's progress in achieving sustainability citywide;

3. take actions to increase public awareness and education regarding sustainability and sustainable practices; and

4. appoint a deputy director who shall be responsible for matters relating to resiliency of critical infrastructure, the built environment, coastal protection and communities and who shall report to the director.

c.

Sustainability indicators. No later than December thirty-first, two thousand eight and annually thereafter, the director shall identify a set of indicators to assess and track the overall sustainability of the city with respect to the categories established pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of this section and any additional categories established by the director, and prepare and make public a report on the city's performance with respect to those indicators. Such report may be prepared and presented in conjunction with the mayor's management report required pursuant to section twelve of this chapter. The report shall include, at a minimum:

1. the city's progress in achieving sustainability citywide, which shall be based in part on the sustainability indicators developed pursuant to paragraph two of subdivision b of this section; and

2. any new or revised indicators that the director has identified and used or will identify and use to assess the city's progress in achieving sustainability citywide, including, where an indicator has been or will be revised or deleted, the reason for such revision or deletion.

d.

Population projections. No later than April twenty-second, two thousand ten, and every four years thereafter, the department of city planning shall release or approve and make public a population projection for the city that covers a period of at least twenty-one years, with intermediate projections at no less than ten year intervals. Where feasible, such projections shall include geographic and demographic indicators.

e.

Long-term sustainability plan.

1. The director shall develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive, long-term sustainability plan for the city. Such plan shall include, at a minimum:

i. an identification and analysis of long-term planning and sustainability issues associated with, but not limited to, housing, open space, brownfields, transportation, water quality and infrastructure, air quality, energy, and climate change; and

ii. goals associated with each category established pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of this section and any additional categories established by the director, and a list of policies, programs and actions that the city will seek to implement or undertake to achieve each goal by no later than April twenty-second, two thousand thirty.

2. No later than April twenty-second, two thousand eleven, and no later than every four years thereafter, the director shall develop and submit to the mayor and the speaker of the city council an updated long-term sustainability plan, setting forth goals associated with each category established pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of this section and any additional categories established by the director, and a list of policies, programs and actions that the city will seek to implement or undertake to achieve each goal by no later than twenty years from the date each such updated long-term sustainability plan is submitted. No later than two thousand fifteen, and no later than every four years thereafter, the plan shall also include a list of policies, programs and actions that the city will seek to implement or undertake to achieve each goal relating to the resiliency of critical infrastructure, the built environment, coastal protection and communities. Such updated plan shall take into account the population projections required pursuant to subdivision d of this section. An updated plan shall include, for each four-year period beginning on the date an updated plan is submitted to the mayor and the speaker of the city council, implementation milestones for each policy, program and action contained in such plan. An updated plan shall report on the status of the milestones contained in the immediately preceding updated plan. Where any categories, goals, policies, programs or actions have been revised in, added to or deleted from an updated plan, or where any milestone has been revised in or deleted from an updated plan, the plan shall include the reason for such addition, revision or deletion. The director shall seek public input regarding an updated plan and its implementation before developing and submitting such plan pursuant to this paragraph. When preparing an updated plan, the director shall solicit the input of the advisory board for environmental justice established pursuant to section 3-1006 of the administrative code, which may provide recommendations regarding such plan. The director shall also provide to the advisory board for environmental justice a draft of the updated plan not less than 10 days before finalizing such updated plan. The director shall coordinate the implementation of an updated long-term sustainability plan.

f.

Review and reporting.

1. No later than April twenty-second, two thousand nine, and no later than every April twenty-second thereafter, the director shall prepare and submit to the mayor and the speaker of the city council a report on the city's long-term planning and sustainability efforts. In those years when an updated long-term sustainability plan is submitted pursuant to paragraph two of subdivision e of this section, such report may be incorporated into the updated long-term sustainability plan. The report shall include, at a minimum:

i. the city's progress made to implement or undertake policies, programs and actions included in the sustainability plan or updated sustainability plan required by subdivision e of this section, since the submission of the most recent plan or updated plan or report required by this paragraph; and

ii. any revisions to policies, programs or actions in the previous long-term sustainability plan, including the reason for such revision.

g.

Sustainability advisory board. There shall be a sustainability advisory board whose members, including, at a minimum, representatives from environmental, environmental justice, urban planning, architecture, engineering, coastal protection, construction, critical infrastructure, labor, business, energy, and academic sectors, shall be appointed by the mayor. The advisory board shall also include the speaker of the city council or a designee and the chairperson of the council committee on environmental protection or a designee. The advisory board shall meet, at a minimum, twice per year and shall provide advice and recommendations to the director regarding subdivisions b, c, e, f, k, and l of this section and any other topic at the request of the director.

h.

Website and reporting. The director shall post on the city's website a copy of each sustainability plan required by subdivision e of this section, and all reports prepared pursuant to this section, within ten days of their completion.

i.

Interagency green team.

1. There is hereby established within the office an interagency green team under the management of the director or the director's designee to facilitate the use of innovative technologies, design and construction techniques, materials or products that may have significant environmental and sustainability benefits and to assist innovative projects in addressing city agency regulatory requirements.

2. The interagency green team shall include as members the commissioners of buildings, environmental protection, transportation, design and construction, health and mental hygiene and the chairperson of the city planning commission, or their respective designees, and such other members as the director shall designate. The director shall also designate members from among the fire commissioner and the commissioners of parks and recreation, consumer and worker protection, emergency management, housing preservation and development, sanitation, and the chairperson of the landmarks preservation commission, or their respective designees, with respect to specific matters being considered by the interagency green team where the director determines it appropriate to do so.

j.

Food security indicators. The director or the director's designee, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of health and mental hygiene, the commissioner of the department of social services/human resources administration, or their respective designees, and community based organizations and service providers with relevant expertise and such other individuals as the director shall designate, shall establish a set of indicators to measure food security. Such indicators shall include but need not be limited to an analysis of existing federal data on food security and the use and impact of governmental nutrition assistance programs. The director, or the director's designee, shall prepare and present a report on such indicators to be included in the annual city food system metrics report required pursuant to section 3-120 of the code.

k.

Long-term energy plan. No later than April 22, 2027, the director shall publish a long-term energy plan. No later than April 22, 2029 and no later than every 4 years thereafter, the director shall include any subsequent long-term energy plan in the report on the city’s long-term planning and sustainability efforts for that year, as required by subdivision f of this section. Such long-term energy plan shall include, but not be limited to:

1. a review of the current energy supply and capacity;

2. a summary of the current citywide energy demand and a projection of the future citywide energy demand over the next four years, or such longer period as the director may deem appropriate, including:

i. an identification of factors that may affect demand;

ii. specific recommendations regarding the capacity that could be added to the current energy supply to meet such projected demand after consideration of such factors; and

iii. actions the city could take in connection with such recommendations;

3. a list of each governmental entity that regulates or exercises any authority over the energy supply, in whole or in part, and, for each such entity, a description of its role with respect to the energy supply;

4. an estimate of the renewable energy sources within or directly connected to zone J plus an accounting of energy efficiency measures and distributed generation that have been deployed in the city;

5. an assessment of energy costs, energy cost burden, and energy insecurity of low and moderate income households, the impacts that energy insecurity has on such households, and specific recommendations for reducing energy costs and energy insecurity;

6. specific recommendations for developing and integrating additional renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures to the maximum extent possible;

7. an assessment of the feasibility of replacing in-city gas-fired power plants associated with the bulk power system with battery storage powered by renewable energy sources in a manner that is consistent with the New York state public service commission energy storage deployment policy developed pursuant to section 74 of the public service law, and an assessment of when such replacement, if feasible, can take place; and

8. a review of potential technologies for battery storage of energy.

l.

Climate adaptation plan. No later than April 22, 2028 and no later than April 22 every four years thereafter, the director shall include a climate adaptation plan in the report on the city’s long-term planning and sustainability efforts for that year, as required by subdivision f of this section. Such plan shall not constitute a long-term sustainability plan for the purposes of subdivision e of this section, a plan for the purposes of section 197-a, or a comprehensive waterfront plan for the purposes of section 205. Such plan shall:

1. be developed in consultation with the department of city planning, the department of environmental protection, the department of transportation, the department of housing preservation and development, the department of education, the department of citywide administrative services, the department of buildings, and the department of parks and recreation;

2. consider and evaluate a range of climate hazards impacting the city, including its shoreline, and identify and recommend resiliency and adaptation measures, including any updates to the zoning resolution and the New York city construction codes, and non-structural risk reduction approaches to protect and prepare the city’s residents, property, and infrastructure, including telecommunications infrastructure;

3. identify areas of the city that the director determines are highly vulnerable to climate hazards and evaluate whether such areas should be prioritized for resiliency and adaptation measures and non-structural risk reduction approaches;

4. consider the potential impact of identified resiliency and adaptation measures and non-structural risk reduction approaches on environmental justice areas;

5. take into account recommendations contained in the assessment reports, technical reports, and working group reports issued by the intergovernmental panel on climate change and the New York city panel on climate change or any successor entities and recommendations included in the comprehensive waterfront plan, prepared pursuant to section 205; and

6. propose additional strategies to address climate hazards.