Automated compliance to accelerate permits is central to NYC’s housing agenda

At Symbium, we believe affordability is won or lost in the implementation layer. Our CEO, Leila Banijamali, recently co-authored an op-ed with Patrick McClellan, the Policy Director at NY League of Conservation Voters, Automated Permitting is Vital to Mamdani’s Housing Agenda, where they make the case that New York’s housing agenda needs a permitting strategy that can keep pace with the urgency of housing delivery, not slow it down. Early signals like a new city task force focused on removing permitting barriers, along with the broader push to modernize permitting statewide, point to a real opening for change.

The central point of this critical and timely op ed is that a digital portal is not modernization if it still produces upload and wait. Real modernization is automated compliance, where code checks happen as an application is completed, so common projects can be approved quickly and correctly. Think of it like spellcheck for building codes: the system flags issues while the applicant is still working, rather than weeks later after time and money have already been spent.

At Symbium, we believe that such a system must also be accurate.

Why this matters

• Permitting delays quietly inflate costs through rework, re-submittals, and timeline uncertainty.
• Automation can reduce friction for high-volume upgrades like solar, heat pumps, and other home retrofits by catching errors earlier and standardizing interpretation.
• This is already working in practice, with examples such as Bakersfield adopting automated permitting across multiple permit types and dramatically reducing review time, and Colorado demonstrating what statewide momentum can look like across many jurisdictions.

What we want policy leaders to do next

Proposed state policy would require automated permitting for residential solar statewide as one example of the direction leaders seem to be taking. Mandates certainly have their place but, most importantly, the mandates themselves should be technology-agnostic (I.e. no more SolarAPP+ laws!) and stated goals should have specific measurable outcomes, including speed, consistency, and homeowner savings, while building the foundation for broader housing delivery improvements over time.

The principle we will not compromise on

Laws should promote competition and innovation. Policy should define the outcome, such as automated compliance and transparent standards, then let multiple solutions compete to deliver it. We oppose mandates that pre-select marketplace winners or create any form of regulatory capture, because they freeze progress at the moment the law is written and shut the door on better tools that arrive next.