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A home under construction on Staten Island. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\n\u201cTo truly lower the cost of living, the city must start using automated compliance checks to approve\u00a0housing, retrofit, and energy projects in real-time.\u201d<\/p>\n
A home under construction on Staten Island. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\n
On his first day in office, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the launch<\/a> of the Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development (SPEED), a task force to remove bureaucratic and permitting barriers that drive up costs and slow\u00a0housing\u00a0construction. Less than two weeks later, in her State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul called for modernizing permitting systems across state agencies to help tackle the affordability crisis. <\/p>\n To truly lower the cost of living, the city must start using automated compliance checks to approve\u00a0housing, retrofit, and energy projects in real-time\u2014a move that would rapidly\u00a0speed\u00a0deployment and save New Yorkers money.\u00a0<\/p>\n The existing permitting process is broken. While many municipal departments allow permits to be submitted online, the actual review of those documents remains a painfully slow process with long wait times and unpredictable outcomes. Many permits are kicked back to the applicant to correct minor errors, often taking months to complete the entire process. For a homeowner trying to install a heat pump or solar panels, these delays act as a hidden tax, making essential clean energy upgrades more expensive and difficult than they should be. There is a better way!\u00a0<\/p>\n The future of construction and renovation lies in automated compliance and fast, if not instant, project approvals. New technology can perform this task on virtually any clean energy upgrade and residential retrofit with 100 percent accuracy. Unlike basic digital portals that just store and distribute files, automated compliance technologies verify that a project meets every rule as the application is being filled out and ensures that every submission is correct and complete the first time around, effectively acting as a project prescreening service. This shift allows for immediate verification, ensuring that project outcomes are predictable from day one.<\/p>\n Automating permitting technology is already delivering results in cities across California and Colorado. For example, the city of Bakersfield has adopted automated permitting for nine permit types, including solar panels, residential re-roofing, and water heaters, slashing the time required for plan review from several weeks to just a few seconds. And in Colorado, the administration has adopted a state-level permit submission platform, which allows instant permitting for projects in dozens of cities, providing builders and homeowners with real-time feedback that allows them to fix errors instantly rather than waiting weeks for a rejection letter. This standardized approach also removes the inconsistencies inherent in human interpretation, ensuring the law is applied consistently to every applicant.<\/p>\n The New York State Legislature is currently considering S5781<\/a>, which would require automated permitting for residential solar projects in jurisdictions across the state. If enacted, this bill will help property owners\u00a0save more than $2,000 on the cost of installing a new residential solar system and between $1,300-$2,300 on electricity bills\u00a0each year<\/a>. What\u2019s more, automated permitting systems can be set up at no cost to local governments, making this a win-win policy decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n Passing this measure will be a vital step, and it is important that the law remains technology-agnostic to allow for constant improvement. By focusing on automated compliance rather than a specific software platform, the state can encourage a competitive market that delivers the best possible tools for New Yorkers.<\/p>\n New York City has the power to lead on this issue right now, even before state intervention. The Mamdani administration can integrate automated compliance into the city\u2019s existing building systems today. Starting with high-volume and high-value projects like renewable energy retrofits would provide an immediate win for the climate and a blueprint for fixing the broader\u00a0housing\u00a0crisis. This is a practical, scalable way to make the city more affordable.<\/p>\n Ultimately, an affordability agenda is only as strong as the system that implements it. Moving to automated permitting is more than just a technical fix; it is a way to make the government work more effectively for the people it serves while ensuring our regulations help build a sustainable and affordable future rather than standing in the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n Patrick McClellan is the policy director at NY\u00a0League\u00a0of Conservation Voters. Leila Banijamali is CEO at Symbium. \u00a0<\/p>\n \tWe want to hear from you!<\/p>\n Take a short anonymous survey to help us deliver content to empower our community.<\/p>\n![\"CityViews](\"https:\/\/citylimits.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/trx_addons\/components\/lazy-load\/images\/placeholder.png\")
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