Hochul's housing order should offer menu of local options

Is the third time the charm?

Gov. Kathy Hochul's new executive order on housing could boost Long Island communities,   those that choose to prioritize new construction, and potentially damage those that don't, simply by changing how the state distributes its existing funding streams.

The consequences could be significant, but there are too many details still unknown. 

After failing to get her Housing Compact into the state budget, and then failing to make a deal on housing with the State Legislature, Hochul is trying to go at it alone. The executive order includes elements of Hochul's previous efforts, but rightly appears to focus more on incentivizing communities, using state land, improving state environmental reviews and gathering data.

The centerpiece of the executive order is a plan to designate "Pro-Housing Communities" and give them first dibs in winning money from various state discretionary funding pots. That includes the $10 million annual Downtown Revitalization initiative and other contests where communities apply for significant funding. Under the executive order, meeting the state's housing guidelines will give a town or village a leg up in those processes.

Those guidelines haven't been established yet. Hochul's order keeps the percentages by which a community should grow its housing stock the same as they were in her original proposal — at 3% downstate. But if the state makes its standards too stringent, it'll quickly fall back into the mandate trap.

Such a posture will push local officials away. Instead, a broad menu of options for how a village or town can become "Pro-Housing" certified is the best move. These options could include adding transit-oriented development, allowing accessory dwelling units, remaking office or mall space or improving permitting and zoning. And add ways for existing housing-friendly spots to get credit for work they've already done.

Among the programs for which a community could receive priority is the Long Island Investment Fund, which still has about $200 million to distribute. But right now, the LIIF process doesn't include housing. Hochul should widen the LIIF rules to include regionally significant housing developments. 

Other elements of the governor's plan are important, too. Hochul's spotlight on the possibility of using state land could benefit the Island in several key spots. To know where, the state should provide a detailed list and map of potential sites. That might include Metropolitan Transportation Authority parking lots or state Department of Transportation property, along with State University of New York land and other swaths. Hochul's talk of streamlining regulations, meanwhile, will only help if the state can really refine and speed up its own processes for environmental reviews, affordable housing funding and more.

Local officials have rejected every previous version of a state housing plan. But if Hochul can finally tailor a program to meet the Island's needs and interests, the region can move forward with adding varied housing stock it so desperately needs. 

CORRECTION: Gov. Kathy Hochul’s latest housing executive order has the same downstate growth target as her original Housing Compact — 3% over three years. An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly described the target.