Home > ADVOCACY > Smart Growth Veto

August 27, 2010


Mr. Peter J. Kiernan, Esq.
Counsel to the Governor
Executive Chamber
State Capitol
Albany, New York 12224 

Dear Mr. Kiernan:

On behalf of the 2,500 employer members of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, I write to urge a gubernatorial veto of S.5560-B/ A.8011-A, the so-called “smart growth” legislation that is currently awaiting action by Governor Paterson.
For more than a decade, the Partnership has been a key player in the adoption and subsequent implementation of the Framework for Regional Growth, a bi-county agreement between Erie and Niagara counties which calls for development through the most responsible use of our impacting resources.

Our leadership in the Framework clearly shows our support of this legislation’s underlying objective of “smart growth” that, especially given the current business climate in New York State, cannot be extended to the specifics of this bill. Businesses are already grossly overburdened with taxes, mandates and project criteria to which they must comply. So, we believe that “smart growth” is a development principle that needs to be incentivized, not mandated. Moreover, it makes no sense for the state to require adherence to “smart growth” policies that mandate the adaptive re-use and redevelopment of existing infrastructure while simultaneously deferring both the Brownfield Redevelopment and Historic Preservation Tax Credits (among others), which were designed to enable specific “smart growth” projects. 

To make NYS attractive to job creators again, Albany must begin to view employers as the customer, and craft economic development priorities that treat them as such. As Erie County’s IDAs have done locally, New York can incentivize “smart growth” as a way to entice strategic investment that in turn, will boost job opportunities.

Regardless of the intent of this legislation, the state’s continued excessive taxation and stifling regulations have created an environment in which our investment attraction and retention efforts are suffering.  The Partnership remains committed to “smart growth” principles and the strategic re-use of existing infrastructure in a way that lowers taxes, protects greenspace and enhances the quality of life for all New Yorkers but not through job and investment-killing mandates. For these reasons, the Partnership urges the Governor’s veto of S.5560-B/A.8011-A.

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Rudnick