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Environmental Review Gets Overhaul
Changes give municipalities more control The state's 2019 climate law wasn't the only environmental legislation to get an overhaul in budget negotiations. It also amended the State Environmental Quality Review Act to exempt much of the new housing construction from the standard environmental review process. Gov. Kathy Hochul argued that SEQRA, enacted 50 years ago, is redundant because development projects undergo local review. The revision had support from some environmental groups, who hoped it would reduce sprawl while making it easier to build affordable housing. "SEQRA has improved a lot…
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