Last week, Governor Hochul signed an important reform to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). An important victory in her "Let Them Build" housing agenda, this new legislation aims to address New York's housing affordability crisis by cutting bureaucratic red tape and removing drawn-out environmental reviews for low-risk developments, such as those on previously disturbed land in urban areas. For example, the bill mandates a maximum two-year timeline for a local lead agency to finish a project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This one feature alone is welcome change for developers who’ve seen their projects often die due to expensive, drawn-out, open-ended reviews. While new housing projects must still go through environmental reviews, they will now (hopefully) move at a more streamlined pace.

The theory behind "Let Them Build” goes something like this — increase the supply of housing, which will in turn create a more competitive sellers’ market, which will help drive down housing costs. It’s basically supply and demand at work, and it’s been proven to work, in New York State (Yonkers is a local example) and around the nation. Housing experts make clear that our state’s byzantine regulations have been a major contributor to New York’s low home construction rate in comparison to the rest of the nation. By getting more new homes built, older and more marginal homes will generally see less demand because there’s more to choose from. This helps to drive down housing costs. Rentals should also see price relief. The new rules will encourage more multi-family rental construction. Since Kingston doesn’t have a “booming” population, like a Phoenix or Austin, any new housing added will definitely loosen up local availabilities and cool prices longer term. This is what the SEQRA housing reform is intended to do, and most applaud this change. But not all are not happy with the new legislation, and it exposes a deepening divide amongst environmental groups.

Not all environmentalists think the same, naturally, and the SEQRA changes have highlighted a growing divide within their ranks. On one side are Green Urbanists, the “compromisers” who recognize a need to balance social and environmental needs. Green Urbanists, arguably like Kingston Mayor Steve Noble, say that building denser, transit-oriented housing in cities is the most effective way to fight climate change. Kingston’s new zoning moves the city resolutely in this direction. Among other things, the new zoning generally allows for more multi-family units and fewer single-family homes. An important goal of Green Urbanists is to restrict suburban sprawl that destroys natural habitats and locks people into car-dependent lifestyles. Groups like Scenic Hudson, Open Space Institute, the NY League of Conservation Voters, and the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development have come out in support the new SEQRA reform.

In contrast, we have the Absolutists — the traditional “every tree is sacred” approach to conservation. This group opposes the new state SEQRA reform. Some groups offer a fig leaf of cover by citing their opposition based on Albany proceduralism. But overall, these groups seek not fewer but more regulations and eschew subjects like economic development. While Absolutists recognize the housing crisis, they view it very narrowly, seeing it as simply an “affordability crises,” one best solved through more government funding and browbeating developers and landlords. Groups like Kingston Citizens, the Sierra Club, Citizens Campaign for the Environment and Riverkeeper are against the new SEQRA housing reform. In the case of Riverkeeper, they heavily recruited locally elected Hudson River municipal officials, like Kingston’s Common Council, into opposing SEQRA reform. Now that it passed, groups like Kingston Citizens have already declared plans ways to stymie the new SEQRA rules with creative delay tactics.

The ideology of Absolutists is noble in its cause for omnipresent environmental conservation, but the approach seems disconnected from real-life needs. In the case of housing, not everything can be solved by writing a government check. The government already gives out considerable housing vouchers and is building “affordable housing” to the tune of $530,000 per apartment to build (subsidized by taxpayers) — such as at Golden Hill and the former Quality Inn conversion. Assemblymember Shrestha and state Sen. Hinchey recently announced a $8 million award for a “Green Social Housing” pilot project in Ulster County, with rents capped at 25% of a tenant’s income. I wonder how many units that will pay for? 12? Chock full of the latest and greatest in green tech and construction, projects like these cost astronomical sums to build. How can we afford this?

Of course, not every stalwart environmentalist falls neatly into any one category. Several of our local elected officials and environmental groups hedged on the issue of SEQRA housing reform. They were against it before they were for it, but wish it did more for (fill in the blank). But we can’t let perfection get in the way of progress. It’s called leadership, and Hochul has shown us that in this case.

New York State’s SEQRA reform is the first of many steps needed by our state and county to get out of our metaphorical circular firing squad that inflates housing costs and divides our communities. As time goes by, no doubt environmentalist groups will continue to part between the Absolutists and Green Urbanists. But I think in the end the views of Absolutists will become more and more marginalized and rarified. And while older people, like myself, will likely give up their car only “from our cold, dead hands,” the Green Urbanist approach seems far more compelling, inclusive and, most importantly today, hopeful.

Postscript: Two-Year Anniversary

This week marks the second-year anniversary of my Kingston Wire column — time flies! A sincere word of thanks to the Kingston Wire, especially its editor and publishers, for the opportunity and privilege. While everyone may not agree with everything I write, my hope has always been to encourage dialogue, community discussion and challenge orthodoxy. Thank you for following my journey thus far.