BILL NUMBER: S6129
SPONSOR: SCARCELLA-SPANTON
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
structures built within an erosion hazard area or a tidal wetland adja-
cent area
 
PURPOSE:
To allow for existing structures within a coastal erosion hazard area.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the environmental conservation law to allow structures
built with local permitting to remain in an erosion hazard area.
Section 2 provides an effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The 1988 New York State Coastal Erosion Hazard Area law ("CEHA Act")
prohibits building any structures seaward of a line that DEC drew on an
aerial photo in the mid-1980s. On Staten Island, that line cuts through
numerous homes, pools, yards, coastal protective measures, and other
structures that homeowners built after the effective date of the 1988
CEHA Act, with approval from the NYC Department of Buildings and DEC
wetland permits. Homeowners are now at risk of losing existing struc-
tures and shore protective features, due to new enforcement of CEHA
permitting the owners were not made aware of.
This legislation will make an exception for those homeowners, who built
with the permits that were requested of them at the time, saving them
from economic harm and future damage to their property, given evolving
coastal conditions.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

Statutes affected:
S6129: 34-0107 environmental conservation law, 34-0107(4) environmental conservation law