Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) joined fellow Assembly Minority colleagues today to stand against the governor’s proposed high-rise plan, which would force urban building in otherwise non-urban environments like suburban communities and rural farmlands. Local governments would be unable to stop any zoning law oversteps in this proposal. Hawley finds the proposal outrageous.

“This state government’s solution to everything is to treat a problem with a broad brushstroke, which has led to many other problems being born,” Hawley said. “This high-rise plan is another instance of a state government enforcing its will on localities whether they like it or not. It will undoubtedly lead to further problems like overcrowded schools, accelerated strains on local roads and bridges and the overtaking of land that could be dedicated to farming or small enterprise.”