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Our attorneys stay on top of changes in legislation, agency regulations, case law, and industry trends—then craft timely legal alerts to keep clients up to date on legal developments important to their business.

June 26, 2020

New NYS Law Authorizes Extension of Building Permits, Other Approvals up to 120 Days

On June 17, Governor Cuomo signed NYS Senate Bill S8236A into law. The new law is brief but potent. The brevity also invites questions on how the law’s authority will be implemented.

For active building permits, zoning board approvals, and planning board approvals issued before March 7, the law allows local governments to extend the approvals “pursuant to a single resolution” for a period of up to 120 days beyond the stated expiration date. The extension authority doesn’t appear to be limited to a specific municipal board or body, nor does the law provide additional procedural requirements. It’s unclear whether this authority includes granting extensions requested by individual applicants, in contrast to blanket extensions. Further, if blanket extensions are issued, the law is silent on what, if any, steps an affected applicant must take to ensure a particular permit or approval has been duly extended.

The law was enacted to help local governments and applicants with “outstanding building permits and active approvals that may have been delayed as result of business shutdowns which occurred because of the COVID-19 emergency.” Consequently, the law expires December 31, 2021. 

If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Jeff Palumbo, Land Use & Zoning Practice Area chair, at jpalumbo@barclaydamon.com; Corey Auerbach, partner, at cauerbach@barclaydamon.com; or Ari Goldberg, associate, at agoldberg@barclaydamon.com.

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