Bill Text: NY S08914 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Prohibits local governments from prohibiting the construction, installation, or operation of carport-mounted solar energy systems with a nameplate capacity of five megawatts or less, in any non-residential zoning district or mixed commercial and residential zoning district of any such city, town or village, provided however, if the zoning district is a certified agricultural district the agricultural impacts of the projects shall be minimized to the extent practicable.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-29 - PRINT NUMBER 8914A [S08914 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S08914-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8914--A IN SENATE March 27, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni- cations -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to siting of carport-mounted solar energy systems The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new arti- 2 cle 5-M to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 5-M 4 CARPORT-MOUNTED SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS 5 Section 119-hh. Legislative intent. 6 119-ii. Carport-mounted solar energy systems. 7 § 119-hh. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby declares that it 8 is the policy of this state to foster and encourage the development of 9 solar energy generating systems, to take advantage of a safe, abundant, 10 renewable and non-polluting energy resource; to decrease the cost of 11 electricity to the owners of residential and commercial properties, 12 including single-family houses; to increase employment and business 13 development in the state, to the extent reasonably practical, by 14 furthering the installation of solar energy systems; and to provide for 15 the development of solar energy systems in non-residential zoning 16 districts and mixed commercial and residential zoning districts. 17 § 119-ii. Carport-mounted solar energy systems. 1. For the purposes of 18 this article "carport-mounted solar energy system" shall mean a solar 19 energy system not to exceed five megawatts of generating capacity which 20 is located and mounted on a roof or structure above real property exclu- 21 sively in use for vehicle parking. 22 2. No local government shall under any zoning ordinance, zoning law, 23 or law or ordinance of general applicability which determines permissi- 24 ble uses in city, town, or village zoning districts, prohibit the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14983-03-4S. 8914--A 2 1 construction, installation, or operation of a carport-mounted solar 2 energy system with a nameplate capacity of five megawatts or less, in 3 any non-residential zoning district or mixed commercial and residential 4 zoning district of any such city, town or village, provided however, if 5 the zoning district is a certified agricultural district the agricul- 6 tural impacts of the projects shall be minimized to the extent practica- 7 ble. 8 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 9 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
