Key Points

• New SEQRA exemptions for housing: New York’s ‘Let Them Build’ law creates categorical SEQRA exemptions for residential developments of up to 250–500 units in New York City and up to 300 units statewide, significantly reducing environmental review delays for qualifying housing projects on previously disturbed land.
• Strict review timelines now in effect: The reforms impose the first-ever statutory deadlines on SEQRA review, including a 120-day determination period for exemptions, a one-year limit for significance determinations, and a two-year cap on Environmental Impact Statement completion.
• Immediate opportunity for developers: Effective now without further rulemaking, these landmark SEQRA reforms give real estate developers a statutory basis to bypass lengthy environmental reviews, reducing litigation risk and accelerating project timelines for a wide range of residential and mixed-use development.

New York’s recently enacted "Let Them Build" agenda, included in the Fiscal Year 2027 New York State Budget, makes the most consequential reforms to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) since the act’s passage in 1975. The law is designed to cut red tape and eliminate duplicative environmental reviews for housing and critical infrastructure projects across New York State, with the stated goal of making it easier and more affordable to build the housing and infrastructure that New Yorkers need.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office estimates SEQRA reviews can add as much as two years to the development timeline and increase costs by approximately $82,000 per unit in New York City. Signed into law on May 27, 2026, the reforms are now in effect.

How should project developers respond to the SEQRA reforms?

Developers should immediately evaluate whether their residential projects meet the statutory criteria for SEQRA exemption outlined below, assessing unit thresholds, previously disturbed land, water/sewer connectivity, flood zone restrictions, Phase I ESA requirements, and applicable non-residential use limits. For exempt projects, the removal of SEQRA review substantially de-risks the entitlement process and accelerates the path to construction. Environmental and land use counsel should document site conditions to support "previously disturbed" eligibility determinations and should note that the 120-day exemption determination timeline carries an express Article 78 enforcement remedy, while the one-year significance and two-year EIS deadlines do not. Finally, the interplay between these SEQRA reforms, Local Law 97, and the City of Yes zoning reforms should be tracked for cumulative impacts on multifamily development.

Let’s dig into the details.

What are the SEQRA exemptions for qualifying housing projects?

The centerpiece of the reforms is the creation of categorical SEQRA exemptions for qualifying residential developments. The bill adds a new subdivision 5-a to Environmental Conservation Law § 8-0111, establishing a list of “qualified actions” that are exempt from SEQRA review upon determination by the responsible agency that the action meets the statutory criteria. Unlike the existing Type II classification under 6 NYCRR Part 617, these exemptions are codified directly in the statute and do not require further administrative rulemaking.

The exemptions apply at the following unit thresholds based on geography:

• New York City: Up to 250 units citywide; up to 500 units within zoning districts where the standard maximum residential building height exceeds 45 feet, or where there is no maximum building height.
• Urbanized areas outside of New York City: Up to 300 units.
• Non-urbanized areas: Up to 100 units.
• Areas without zoning: Up to 20 units.

To qualify for the exemption, housing projects must satisfy the following conditions:

• The project must be located on “previously disturbed” land.
• The project must be connected upon occupancy to existing public water and sewer systems.
• The project must not be located in an area zoned exclusively for industrial uses (in New York City) and must not exceed applicable non-residential use limits (50,000 square feet of commercial/non-residential uses in New York City; 20% of gross floor area outside New York City).
• The project must not be located in a FEMA-designated 100-year floodplain or special flood hazard area (outside New York City) or a flood hazard area as defined in the New York City Building Code (in New York City), unless the municipality has adopted an ordinance requiring new construction to be elevated above the base flood elevation as defined by FEMA.
• The project must not consist solely of construction of a single-family residence on a parcel of one-half or more acres (in New York City) or one or more acres (outside New York City).
• For applications other than land use actions, zoning amendments or variances, the applicant must certify that a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment has been conducted in accordance with EPA all appropriate inquiries regulations under CERCLA (40 CFR § 312) and that the applicant has followed or will follow all applicable recommendations and hazardous waste laws.

The statute defines “previously disturbed” site as a parcel of land that meets all of the following criteria:

• Has been substantially altered by an occupied, formerly occupied, or demolished building or by another improvement or use at least two years prior to the application.
• For parcels located outside urban areas in municipalities with fewer than one million persons, must abut, adjoin, or be opposite from another parcel that is or has been occupied by a building or other improvement (provided such abutting parcel is not occupied by an industrial or agricultural use).
• Is not located in a FEMA-designated 100-year floodplain (outside New York City) or flood hazard area as defined in the NYC Building Code (in New York City), unless the municipality requires new construction be elevated above base flood elevation.
• Is not currently being used for agricultural purposes and has not been used for such purposes within the immediately preceding two years (or three of the last five years) before the application was filed.
• Is not located in a designated coastal erosion hazard area.

Importantly, the law does not supersede other environmental requirements (e.g., the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)), permitting obligations or local zoning.

What are the new exemptions under SEQRA for critical infrastructure?

The law also adds SEQRA exemptions for the following categories of infrastructure projects:

• Clean water infrastructure: Critical water infrastructure projects that avoid impacts to natural resources.
• Green infrastructure: Nature-based stormwater management and retrofitting of existing structures to incorporate green infrastructure.
• Parks and trails: Public parks and recreational bicycle/pedestrian paths on previously disturbed land.
• Public schools in New York City: New public school buildings constructed by the School Construction Authority.

Notably, childcare centers are not included in the final exemption list, reportedly because childcare facilities do not have their own zoning category.

How does the law reform SEQRA’s procedural timelines?

In addition to the categorical exemptions, the law establishes binding timelines for SEQRA review. These are the first statutory deadlines imposed on the environmental review process since SEQRA's enactment and include:

• 120-day determination period: A responsible agency must determine whether a project qualifies for the statutory exemption within 120 days, unless the agency otherwise extends in writing if additional time is necessary to make such determination (subject to further limitations).
• One-year limit on significance determination: A lead agency must decide within one year whether an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required for actions subject to SEQRA.
• Two-year EIS completion timeline: Any EIS must be completed within two years from the date a draft environmental impact statement is determined to be required, with limited extensions permitted for changes by the applicant to the project design, additional actions not reasonably anticipated during scoping, or the applicant’s failure to timely provide necessary information.
• Clarification on statute of limitations: The time to bring an Article 78 SEQRA challenge begins when the agency determination to approve or disapprove the action becomes final and binding upon the petitioner.

While these timelines represent a significant advancement, practitioners should note important distinctions regarding enforcement. For the 120-day exemption determination, the bill provides an express enforcement mechanism: if the responsible agency fails to make a determination within the time limits, an applicant may institute a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules seeking appropriate relief, which may include a court order directing the agency to make a determination by a court-specified deadline. However, the law does not appear to provide a comparable enforcement mechanism or administrative default remedy for the one-year significance determination or two-year EIS completion deadlines. Furthermore, these SEQRA exemptions do not, in and of themselves, override local zoning. A project must still comply with all local zoning and other laws. However, a project that seeks a zoning change, special permit or similar approval can still qualify for a SEQRA exemption. Lastly, while these exemptions do not require further administrative rulemaking on the state level, local agencies must still determine their processes for applying them. Specifically, the exemptions will likely require applicants to articulate, via a reasonable worst-case development scenario memo, the realistic potential bulk and use of the project to evaluate whether the exemptions apply.

How is real estate impacted?

The SEQRA exemptions create significant new opportunities for developers and investors by removing what has historically been one of the most significant sources of delay and cost uncertainty in the New York development process. Because the exemptions are codified directly in state law, developers now have a statutory basis to claim exemption, eliminating agency discretion and reducing litigation risk at the classification stage.

What are the environmental and land use considerations?

The reforms are limited to projects meeting the specified unit thresholds and eligibility criteria. Larger developments, greenfield projects or those lacking water/sewer connections remain subject to full SEQRA review. A key area of interpretation will be the statutory term "previously disturbed." Practitioners should carefully evaluate site history, including prior agricultural use and proximity to designated coastal erosion hazard areas, to assess whether the exemption applies. Environmental justice considerations and other environmental standards continue to apply to non-exempt projects, and project-focused due diligence remains critical. The law expressly preserves local zoning authority and all other local and state permitting requirements. Projects that require NEPA review would remain subject to such review.

What are the key SEQRA timelines?

The SEQRA exemptions are now in effect. Responsible agencies have 120 days to determine whether a project qualifies for the exemption (subject to limited extension rights). The procedural timeline reforms (one-year significance determination and two-year EIS completion) are also now in effect.

The reforms were enacted through New York Senate Bill S9008C, Part R (2025–2026 Session).

For additional information on New York’s landmark SEQRA reforms, contact the co-authors Elizabeth Bennett at ebennett@foxrothschild.com, George Duke at gduke@foxrothschild.com, Ethan Goodman at egoodman@foxrothschild.com or Eric Knowles at eknowles@foxrothschild.com.

This information is intended to inform firm clients and friends about legal developments, including the decisions of courts and administrative bodies. Nothing in this alert should be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. Readers should not act upon the information contained in this alert without seeking the advice of legal counsel. Views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily this law firm or its clients.