NYC's 2025 Charter Reform: ELURP, the Fast Track, and the Affordable Housing Appeals Board

In November 2025, New York City voters approved a set of City Charter amendments designed to speed up approvals for housing. Three of them change how private rezonings and affordable housing projects move through public review:

• ELURP, an expedited review for modest housing rezonings.
• A fast track for affordable housing in the community districts that have produced the least of it.
• An Affordable Housing Appeals Board that can reverse a City Council rejection.

None of them changes the Zoning Resolution. They change the process for getting a zoning change approved.

Why this matters

Under ULURP, a private rezoning goes through the community board, the borough president, the City Planning Commission, and the City Council, and then to the Mayor. That public review takes about seven months after the application is certified. For most projects, the local Council member's position decides the outcome.

The Charter amendments create paths where the City Planning Commission makes the final decision and the City Council does not vote.

ELURP: the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure

ELURP is for modest housing rezonings. It covers, for example, residential density increases of 30 percent or less in higher density districts, and certain small map changes in lower-density areas. Projects that need a full Environmental Impact Statement do not qualify, but that rarely rules out a private rezoning: most are reviewed with an Environmental Assessment Statement or are exempt.

The ELURP clock:

• Community board and borough president: 60 days, running at the same time. Both recommendations are advisory only.
• City Planning Commission: 30 days to hold a hearing and make the final decision.
• City Council and Mayor: no vote and no review.

That is roughly three months from certification, compared with about seven under ULURP.

One point is easy to miss: ELURP does not shorten pre-certification. The Informational Interest Meeting, the Pre-Application Statement, environmental review, and the draft application rounds with the Department of City Planning work the same way as under ULURP. The time saved comes from public review.

The fast track for low-producing districts

The second amendment targets the 12 community districts with the lowest rate of affordable housing production. The list is based on a city report and updated every five years. In those districts:

• Rezonings with Mandatory Inclusionary Housing get a concurrent 60-day community board and borough president review. The City Planning Commission then decides within 30 days, or 45 days if an Environmental Impact Statement is required. The City Council does not vote.
• Fully affordable, publicly financed projects can go to the Board of Standards and Appeals. The BSA holds a hearing within 30 days after the community board review ends and decides within 30 days after that, or 60 days if the project needs a redesign.

The BSA path is an option, not a requirement. A 100 percent affordable project can still go through the Department of City Planning with a ULURP action, or an ELURP action where it qualifies, like any other rezoning.

The Affordable Housing Appeals Board

When the City Council rejects or modifies a land use application that facilitates affordable housing, the applicant can ask for review by a new board made up of the Mayor, the Council Speaker, and the borough president where the project is located.

• The applicant must request review within 5 days.
• The board holds a public meeting and acts within 15 days.
• It can reverse the Council's decision by a two-thirds vote.

The board applies to projects within a single borough.

What this means for a rezoning

The first question on any rezoning is now which path it qualifies for. That depends on the district requested, how much density the rezoning adds, where the site is, and whether the project is affordable housing. Sometimes a small change in the proposal, such as the district or the boundary, is the difference between ULURP and ELURP.

Community engagement still matters on every path. The community board and borough president still review. Their recommendations are advisory only, but the City Planning Commission weighs what they say.

For how a rezoning works from start to finish, see our page on ULURP in New York City. To talk through whether your site could qualify for ELURP, email us at alexia@thelandlaw.com.

This post is general information about New York City land use procedure and is not legal advice for any specific property.