WHEREAS, the City of Rensselaer has completed extensive planning that recognizes the importance of protecting environmentally sensitive streams and their biodiversity in the City, including the Comprehensive Plan, Open Space Plan, Natural Resource Inventory and Brownfield Opportunity Area Study; and
WHEREAS, based on that planning foundation, the City was selected to participate in a conservation overlay zoning project with Cornell University Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, with funding from the Environmental Protection Fund through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program; and
WHEREAS, through that project, an ad hoc committee of Rensselaer residents and officials worked with technical consultants to develop a Stream Protection Overlay District; and
WHEREAS, the Stream Protection Overlay District (the “SPO District”) has been delineated to encompass stream corridors in the City along the Mill Creek, Quackenderry Creek, and unnamed tributaries in the northern portion of the City based on multiple overlapping conservation priorities; and
WHEREAS, the SPO District encompasses the stream corridors identified in the Rensselaer Comprehensive Plan, Open Space Plan, and Natural Resources Inventory for the contribution of their habitat, flood mitigation, pollution filtration, and recreational values to the character of the City; and
WHEREAS, the SPO District regulations focus on arranging future development in a way that maintains the contiguity and quality of habitat, and natural flood and pollution mitigation, while accommodating new homes and businesses; and
WHEREAS, the SPO District regulations apply only to parcels within 100 feet of the designated streams, and the established buffer only applies to the 50 feet closest to the designated streams because the focus is on maintaining and restoring the tracts of vegetation and habitat that lie primarily along the stream corridor and avoiding pollution that could affect streams; and
WHEREAS, within the SPO District, new construction must generally be set back 50 feet from streams; and
WHEREAS, the SPO District requires that new residential and commercial development must adhere to a conservation design process that involves identifying and prioritizing important natural areas, and using that information to determine which areas of a site are most suitable for development; and mitigation of past disturbance is also prioritized; and
WHEREAS, the SPO District also adds specific requirements designed to protect the identified resources, including minimizing tree removal, controlling stormwater, and reducing pollution; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council has determined that the proposed regulations will achieve the goal of protecting Rensselaer’s natural resources while accommodating development; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council has determined that the Zoning Code may be amended to add the new sections by local law in accordance with the authority vested in the Common Council by Section 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it
RESOLVED, that the Common Council hereby accepts Proposed Local Law 10 of the Year 2026 for the purposes of commencing the local law adoption process; and be it further
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the provisions of SEQRA the Common Council hereby determines that the adoption of Proposed Local Law 10 is a Type I action (see, 6 NYCRR 617.4[b][2]), and the Common Council accepts the attached SEQRA FEAF Part 1 for the proposed action; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Common Council determines that it will be the only agency with approval authority over the proposed action and therefore declares itself to be the Lead Agency for conducting the environmental review under SEQRA; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Common Council directs the City Clerk to forward Proposed Local Law __ to the Rensselaer County Planning Board for its review and advisory opinion pursuant to Section 239-m of the New York State General Municipal Law; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Common Council directs the City Clerk to forward Proposed Local Law 10 to the City of Rensselaer Planning Commission for its review and advisory opinion pursuant to Section § 179-88 (B) of the Rensselaer City Code; and be it further
RESOLVED, that a public hearing on said Local Law will be held on September 2, 2026 at the City Hall of the City of Rensselaer located at 62 Washington Street, Rensselaer, New York, at 6:30 p.m., so as to the allow the Common Council to hear Public Comment on proposed Local Law No. 10 of 2026; a. pursuant to Chapter 23 of the City Rensselaer City Code.