On April 13, 2026, the New York City Planning Commission voted to approve rules to implement the Affordable Housing Fast Track, one of three housing-related amendments to the New York City Charter approved by voters last November.

The new rules establish a methodology to identify the 12 of 59 community districts that have permitted the fewest affordable housing units in the preceding five years. The methodology will calculate the number of affordable housing units developed in the applicable five-year period as a percentage of the total housing units existing at the start of such five-year period to determine each community district’s rate of affordable housing development.

Land use applications for projects that include the development of affordable housing pursuant to the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program in any of the 12 community districts identified pursuant to the methodology above will be subject to a modified, shorter version of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). Specifically, the fast-track public review process for such qualifying projects would be capped at 90 days, rather than six to seven months, and would not be subject to City Council review.

The Department of City Planning must issue the list of the 12 community districts with the lowest rates of affordable housing development by October 1, 2026. The list will be published on the Department’s website. Affordable Housing Fast Track will be in effect in those community districts for a five-year period beginning January 1, 2027. The Department will review all community districts’ rates of affordable housing development every five years, and the community districts in which the Affordable Housing Fast Track applies will be updated accordingly.