Bill Text: NY S05709 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to biodiversity in planting projects; requires municipalities to follow the 10-20-30 principle for planting projects.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S05709 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S05709-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5709

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government

        AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation  to  biodiversity
          in planting projects

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 96-b of the general  municipal  law,  as  added  by
     2  chapter 686 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 96-b. Tree conservation.  1. The legislature hereby finds that there
     4  is a direct relationship between the planting of trees, shrubs and asso-
     5  ciated  vegetation  in  sufficient  number  in  populated  areas and the
     6  health, safety, and welfare  of  communities,  and  as  related  to  the
     7  natural,  scenic,  and  aesthetic  values  of trees and the physical and
     8  visual qualities of the environment which municipalities are  authorized
     9  to protect. Trees and such vegetation abate noise, provide welcome shade
    10  to  people, preserve the balance of oxygen in the air by removing carbon
    11  dioxide and fostering air quality, and add color and  verdure  to  human
    12  construction.  They  also stabilize the soil and control water pollution
    13  by preventing soil erosion and flooding, yield advantageous microclimat-
    14  ic effects, and provide a natural habitat for wildlife.  The destructive
    15  and indiscriminate  removal  of  trees  and  related  vegetation  causes
    16  increased municipal costs for proper drainage control, impairs the bene-
    17  fits  of  occupancy  of  existing residential properties and impairs the
    18  stability and value of both improved and unimproved real property in the
    19  area of destruction, and  adversely  affects  the  health,  safety,  and
    20  general  welfare  of  the  inhabitants  of the state. However, when tree
    21  removal is necessary to stop  the  spread  of  invasive  species  it  is
    22  crucial  that  municipalities  replant  lost trees and vegetation, while
    23  maintaining biodiversity in planting  projects  to  avoid  future  loss.
    24  Biodiversity  ensures resistance against mass susceptibility to invasive
    25  species.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10010-01-3

        S. 5709                             2

     1    2. In addition to any power or authority of a municipal corporation to
     2  regulate by planning or zoning laws or regulations or by local laws  and
     3  regulations,  the  local  legislative  body of any county, city, town or
     4  village is hereby empowered to provide for the protection and  conserva-
     5  tion of trees and related vegetation.  Such legislative body may require
     6  appropriate  conditions applicable to any activity involving the removal
     7  or destruction of trees or the substantial  alteration  of  grade  level
     8  around  trees  may  include,  where  appropriate,  requirements that the
     9  activity be done as specified in an approved landscape plan and that the
    10  removed trees be replaced by the  planting  of  the  same  or  alternate
    11  species  of  trees,  and  may provide, in connection therewith, required
    12  plantings for screening purposes. Such regulations,  special  conditions
    13  and  restrictions, adopted in the exercise of the police power, shall be
    14  reasonable and appropriate to the purpose.  The municipality may require
    15  the posting of  a  performance  bond  to  assure  compliance  with  this
    16  section.  All charges and expenses incurred under this section by a town
    17  shall be a charge upon the taxable property of that  part  of  the  town
    18  outside any incorporated village.
    19    3. When a municipality, parks department, highway department, or other
    20  local  entity  undertakes  a  tree planting project in public locations,
    21  they shall select and plant biologically  diverse  types  of  trees.  To
    22  satisfy  sufficient  biodiversity,  the  municipality  shall  follow the
    23  10-20-30 principle when  the  municipality  is  planting  new  trees  or
    24  replanting  in  an area. The 10-20-30 principle states that a tree popu-
    25  lation shall include no more than ten percent of any one species, twenty
    26  percent of any one genus, or thirty percent  of  any  one  family.  This
    27  percentage  shall  be measured by the tree population as a whole, not by
    28  any one planting project solely.
    29    § 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026 or on the two  hundred
    30  seventieth day after it shall have become a law, whichever is later.
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