Albany, NY Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)

Energy efficient development. New development of a principal building that is registered, designed, and documented for a LEED Platinum or LEED Gold certification, or equivalent as determined by the Chief Planning Official, shall receive the following benefits.

(i) The project may increase the maximum impervious lot coverage by 20%; and

(ii) The project may increase the maximum height of any principal building (or part of a principal building) located more than 100 feet from a residential zoning district other than the R-M District by one story.

(b) Affordable housing incentive. New residential or mixed-use development of a site in which at least 10% of all new dwelling units are rent or deed restricted so that they are affordable to households earning no more than 70% of the area median household income for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area as determined by affordability methods used by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, shall receive the following benefits:

(i) The minimum number of off-street parking required by § 375-405 may be reduced by 100%; and

(ii) The project may increase the maximum height of any principal building (or part of a principal building) by one story.

(iii) In any permitted three-or-more unit dwelling, a development shall be allowed to exceed the maximum number of dwelling units otherwise permitted by the Unified Sustainable Development Ordinance, but in no event by more than 20%.