The City Planning Commission wants to raise the fee for the simplest city environmental review from $110 to $850, and set new fees of $2,000 and $3,000 for two fast-track categories. A public hearing is set for Dec. 2 at 120 Broadway.
The $110 fee has not been updated in more than 15 years, the notice says. That works out to a roughly sevenfold jump.
Who pays
The fees apply to applications under City Environmental Quality Review, or CEQR, the process that checks whether a project needs a full environmental study.
The proposal targets three project types that get lighter review:
- Type II actions: $850, up from $110
- SEQRA Qualified Actions: $2,000 (no fee exists today)
- Residential Type II (Green Fast Track): $3,000 (currently charged as an ordinary Type II)
Why now
Earlier this year, New York State overhauled its environmental review law and created a streamlined category called the Qualified Action. City rules set no fee for it.
In 2024 the commission created Green Fast Track, a Type II lane meant to speed small and medium green housing projects. City rules don’t charge it differently from other Type II actions.
The commission says the new fees would cover staff time and resources needed to review projects and make sure they are complete. So the faster lane would carry the bigger bill.
The rule would also retitle a subchapter and make minor technical edits. The notice says the rule wasn’t on the commission’s regulatory agenda because it was not contemplated when that agenda was published.
What the notice does not say
It gives no effective date, no count of applications filed each year and no estimate of how much new revenue the fees would bring in.
📅 Wednesday, December 2, 2026
🕐 10:00 a.m.
📍 City Planning Commission Hearing Room, 120 Broadway, Lower Concourse, Manhattan
💻 By phone: 877-853-5247, Meeting ID 618 237 7396; video details on the CPC calendar one hour before; livestream on DCP’s YouTube channel
📧 planningrules@planning.nyc.gov or rules.cityofnewyork.us
⏰ Written comments due Dec. 2, 2026; accommodation requests by Nov. 18
Speakers get up to three minutes, and the hearing is for testimony only, not questions and answers.
Related coverage
Tip about a hearing or contract in your neighborhood? howard@nycinfocus.com
Details as filed. Verify times and locations before attending.
