The Pratt Center for Community Development, on the other hand, believes the flaw in the process is not its pace but its lack of meaningful community engagement. "The shortage of affordable housing despite a glut of condos, overcrowded schools and subways lines, and even a shortage of space for industrial jobs all point to the fact that the city's decision making process for land use has broken down," says Adam Friedman, Pratt's director. The process, he added, "is broken for numerous reasons including the planning department's failure to capitalize on the expertise of residents who know their neighborhoods better than anyone, and the need to weave together the city's various objectives into a comprehensive framework."
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Nor is the land use debate separate from other topics on the Charter Revision Commission's plate: The argument over whether borough presidents are still relevant, for instance, revolves largely around whether they have too much or not enough power in the land use process. Manhattan BP Scott Stringer, among others, has pushed for beeps to have more sway.
Mayor Bloomberg earlier this month took steps to streamline the environmental review process, like creating a "one-stop shop" for information relating to environmental reviews.
With so many ideas on the table, and so many other issues on the commission's plate, it's unclear whether Thursday's session on land use policy will lead to concrete proposals in the near future, or a second stage of consideration next year. The charter commission has not announced whether it will propose charter changes to the voters this November, or wait until November 2011 or 2012. If it wants to get a proposal on the 2010 ballot, it must finalize language by early September.
"I'm guessing that the commission will tackle term limits and maybe non-partisan voting and punt on everything else unless it's completely innocuous," says Fisher. "I'd be surprised if the commission had enough time to fully develop and articulate changes to the land use process this year. "
