Tell the New York State Assembly: Pass A7269!

Under current law, any change to the more than 2,400 parks in New York State is forbidden without a municipality first requesting an act from the Legislature. This includes any changes to the airspace directly above real property being used for vehicle parking, even though no parkland is actually sacrificed. The process is cumbersome, expensive, and has led to developers and others avoiding consideration of park-based canopies.

Assembly Bill 7269 would eliminate this obstacle and give municipalities the opportunity to produce decades of clean renewable power. Moreover, these canopies would actually generate revenue rather than costing municipalities money. By utilizing unused air space above parking lots at municipal and state parks for solar energy projects, we can:

• Decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by creating hundreds of megawatts of clean renewable power close to existing utility distribution systems, thereby avoiding the high costs and local opposition that typically exists when considering new transmission systems
• Avoid the cutting of trees that is often required to develop options such as solar farms, since the land is already clear
• Create new revenue streams for local municipalities at no cost through programs like New York State’s Build-Ready program, community solar, and others, saving local residents and businesses money. The airspace is typically leased to a solar power developer, and in return, discounts are often applied to individual, commercial and municipal electric bills.
• Provide another opportunity for the installation of much needed EV charging stations in parks by incorporating them into the solar installation
• Demonstrate local commitment and support for the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act
• Protect the cars of park visitors - having a shaded structure enables vehicles to be cool in the summer and dry during rain and snow

A.7269 is common sense legislation with bipartisan support, which has already passed the State Senate three times. If you agree that the Assembly should pass this legislation this year, please enter your information below to sign the petition.