Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes (R,C-Caledonia) joined members of the Assembly Minority Conference led by Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) along with local officials and environmental advocates at a press conference held inside the State Capitol today to discuss the impact the governor’s housing mandate would have on local communities across the state. As proposed in her Executive Budget, Hochul’s housing mandate requires suburban and rural communities to increase construction of multi-unit affordable housing buildings, whether or not they are wanted or needed by the local community.

Byrnes supports maintaining local control of zoning, and issued the following statement:

“While it is welcome news that the Assembly did not include this plan in its One-House Budget Proposal, we must wait to see what the final budget agreement contains. The impact of the governor’s plan on rural and suburban communities cannot be overstated. Communities upstate are not prepared for sudden population growth. Our infrastructure does not support it. Our environment does not support it. In my district, our water largely comes from wells – which can only support a small number of people before they run dry. In our villages, parking is already a problem. Local zoning laws were created to ensure the protection of resources as well as to maintain quality of life. They must be upheld.”