Housing could be on the ballot in NYC. Here’s what New Yorkers may be voting on.

The report takes specific aim at the city’s lengthy — and, for developers, costly — land use review process for making changes to the zoning code, often to allow for new housing that isn’t permitted under existing rules.

Nearly all of New York City’s mayoral candidates have made housing policy a key part of their campaign platforms. But this November, housing itself could appear on the ballot in the form of measures put forward by a 13-member panel of mayoral appointees.

That body, known as the Charter Revision Commission, is tasked with proposing amendments to the city’s governing document — its charter — for voters to then decide on. A report issued by the commission last week suggests what some of those proposals might be — with rule changes intended to streamline housing development at the forefront but already facing criticism from some civic groups and the City Council.

Charter Revision Commission Chair Richard Buery, CEO of the antipoverty group Robin Hood, called the 104-page preliminary report “an ambitious document” based on input from members of the public at a series of hearings in recent months.

Their recommendations, Buery said, will “ensure that New York City remains an engine of opportunity, prioritizing inclusivity for all New Yorkers, especially as we seek to make housing more accessible and affordable across all five boroughs.”

Mayor Eric Adams convened the commission to tackle the city’s affordable housing crisis, which has fueled record-high homelessness and rising rents.

The report takes specific aim at the city’s lengthy — and, for developers, costly — land use review process for making changes to the zoning code, often to allow for new housing that isn’t permitted under existing rules. It notes that the commission is considering ways to bypass or “fast track” the monthslong process for relatively small housing developments or for “categorically beneficial projects,” like apartment buildings where all the units are reserved for low- and middle-income renters.

The commission will also consider strategies to neutralize a City Council custom known as “member deference,” in which the full Council aligns with local members on land use proposals in their districts. The tradition effectively gives individual councilmembers the power to veto or reduce the size of new apartment buildings and other projects in their districts.

The report quotes a 2020 op-ed from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, himself a former councilmember, who said member deference makes a councilmember like “a feudal lord who gets to arbitrarily rule over public land as though it were a personal fiefdom.”

But, the report adds, member deference remains “one of the most important ways that local priorities — channeled through a community’s elected councilmember — shape proposals for development and secure community investments.”

Charter Revision Commission Executive Director Alec Schierenbeck said the report recommendations meet demands from New Yorkers, including hundreds who attended public hearings.

“New Yorkers want a government that can act with the urgency and scale that our challenges require, and I hope this report points the way to necessary reforms,” said Schierenbeck, who previously served as counsel to former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer.

The recommendations around the land use review process, and member deference in particular, have further stoked ongoing tensions between Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and the City Council. The body, led by Speaker Adrienne Adams, a candidate in the Democratic mayoral primary, has criticized the commission as a political maneuver to undercut the Council’s own attempts to change the charter.

The dispute traces back to last year, when Mayor Adams hastily assembled a previous commission of political allies to create new ballot measures after the Council proposed its own ballot question that would require its approval for mayoral nominees to lead city agencies. The mayor’s commission took precedence over the Council’s.

Now they see the current commission as an attempt to undercut their authority on land use decisions.

In response, City Council spokesperson Benjamin Fang-Estrada issued a statement highlighting the various land use changes approved by the Council over the past three years, which could lead to the creation of 120,000 new homes. Councilmembers also secured $5 billion in city and state funding for new affordable housing and other programs in exchange for supporting the mayor’s plan to change citywide zoning rules last year.

Fang-Estrada advised the Adams administration to look inward if it is concerned with stalled housing development. He referred to First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro’s decision to stop the eviction of a garden located on city-owned land in Lower Manhattan, where developers received approval to build an affordable senior housing complex.

“This report conveniently omits the role a mayoral administration can play in politically interfering in the creation of new housing, as the mayor’s recent delay of the Elizabeth Street Garden housing project approved six years ago by the Council underscores,” he said.

The report isn’t just about housing, however. It delves into other topics, including strategies to protect New Yorkers from the impact of climate change and major electoral reforms.

The commission is considering ways to permit the city to acquire properties, including homes vulnerable to flooding for which the city may offer buyouts, without a monthslong review process. As Gothamist first reported last year, the city is pursuing a plan to buy a collection of mostly two-family homes on low-lying land surrounded by Kissena Park in Flushing, where three people were killed by flooding during Hurricane Ida in 2021. It would mark the first time the city purchased inland properties, away from the coastlines, to limit the risk of flooding.

And the report notes that the commission is considering two other recommendations meant to boost participation in local elections. The first, would change local elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years in line with federal elections, like the presidential race or congressional midterms. That would also require a change to state law.

The commission is also weighing the idea of open primaries, where all eligible voters, regardless of their party affiliation, can cast ballots in primary elections. The current system locks out more than 1 million New Yorkers who are registered as independents and thus unable to vote in the Democratic or Republican primaries.

The commission will next meet May 14 before a series of public hearings on the recommendations begins on May 19.