Bill Text: NY A06317 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the low impact landscaping rights act, preventing homeowners' associations from adopting or enforcing any rules or regulations that would effectively prohibit, or impose unreasonable limitations on, the installation or maintenance of low impact landscaping.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-07 - REFERRED TO RULES [A06317 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06317-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6317

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      April 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. GLICK, DINOWITZ, KELLES, COLTON -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Housing

        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to enacting the  "low
          impact landscaping rights act"

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

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "low impact landscaping rights act".
     3    §  2.  The real property law is amended by adding a new article 9-e to
     4  read as follows:
     5                                  ARTICLE 9-E
     6                      LOW IMPACT LANDSCAPING RIGHTS ACT
     7  Section 344. Legislative intent.
     8          344-a. Certain covenants, conditions, and restrictions of  home-
     9                   owners' associations prohibited.
    10    §  344.  Legislative  intent.  It  is  in the interest of the state to
    11  encourage biodiversity in the natural landscapes across New York.  Resi-
    12  dential lawns compose a significant portion of  localities'  landscapes,
    13  and  the  turfgrass  monocultures that are typically cultivated on lawns
    14  adversely affect biodiversity of flora and fauna. Turfgrass monocultures
    15  provide little to no benefit for pollinators and other native  wildlife,
    16  and require pesticides, herbicides, and large amounts of water to retain
    17  the artificial environment. This legislation will ensure that homeowners
    18  are  not prevented by homeowners' associations from installing and main-
    19  taining beneficial low impact landscaping on their property.
    20    § 344-a. Certain covenants, conditions, and restrictions  of  homeown-
    21  ers'  associations  prohibited. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this
    22  section:
    23    (a) "restriction on use" means any covenant, restriction, or condition
    24  contained in:
    25    (i) a deed;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10502-01-3
        A. 6317                             2

     1    (ii) a contract;
     2    (iii) the by-laws of a homeowners' association;
     3    (iv) any rules or regulations adopted by a homeowners' association;
     4    (v) a security agreement; or
     5    (vi)  any  other  instrument affecting the transfer or sale of, or any
     6  interest in, real property.
     7    (b) "low impact landscaping" means:
     8    (i) pollinator gardens designed to attract and promote the  health  of
     9  pollinator species;
    10    (ii)  rain  gardens  designed  to collect and retain rain water in the
    11  soil and to filter and reduce runoff;
    12    (iii) habitat gardens designed to attract and promote  the  health  of
    13  native wildlife; or
    14    (iv)  natural  gardening  that  uses plants native to the state of New
    15  York.
    16    2. A homeowners' association shall not adopt or enforce any  rules  or
    17  regulations  that  would  effectively  prohibit,  or impose unreasonable
    18  limitations on, the installation or maintenance of low impact  landscap-
    19  ing.  A  restriction on use which effectively prohibits the installation
    20  or maintenance of low impact  landscaping  shall  be  unenforceable  and
    21  shall be void as contrary to public policy.
    22    3.  Notwithstanding  subdivision  two  of  this section, a homeowners'
    23  association may adopt or enforce a restriction on use  to  prohibit  the
    24  installation or maintenance of low impact landscaping that is:
    25    (a)  located  on property owned by the homeowners' association or that
    26  is located on property owned in common by the members of the homeowners'
    27  association;
    28    (b) not reasonably maintained by the homeowner; or
    29    (c) not designed within reasonable expectations regarding public safe-
    30  ty, and regarding encroachment on common space and  neighboring  proper-
    31  ties.
    32    4.  Any denial of a homeowner's installation of low impact landscaping
    33  by a homeowners' association shall include a detailed description of the
    34  exact basis for rejection in writing  with  specific  examples  of  such
    35  homeowners' association's concerns, if applicable.
    36    §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    37  have become a law.