Fast Track

Fast Track aims to reduce the time required to proceed through Pre-Certification for simple, common applications. The goal of this process is to give Applicants more certainty over the timeline of their applications by streamlining DCP’s review and increasing the role of the Applicant in the process.

Projects appropriate for Fast Track are generally less complicated with fewer applications per project. They should be common application types that both DCP and the Applicant are familiar with preparing and reviewing. Applicants with experience in moving projects through DCP’s standard Pre-Certification process and working on simple projects will save time through Fast Track.

Specific qualifications for Fast Track include:

• CEQR Type II (certifications; ministerial actions; etc.);
• Common applications types;
• Actions finalized at or immediately following the informational meeting;
• Applicant identify their Type II qualification.

Exceptions to this list that disqualify applications from Fast Track:

• Waterfront Certifications with visual corridor drawings;
• Plaza/POPs application with design intense diagrams;
• Uncommon actions or unusual circumstances unlike any previously approved by the City Planning Commission.
• Actions subject to ULURP.

Examples of some projects that qualify for Fast Track include but are not limited to: FRESH Certifications, Greenhouse Certifications, Houses of Worship Certifications, Hudson Yards Certifications, Special Natural Area, Hillsides and South Richmond “Type II” applications.

If you have any questions about whether your project qualifies for Fast Track, you can contact your Borough Office or proceed to schedule an Informational Meeting.

Fast Track is an optional, expedited process for the review of simple Type II applications that meet specific criteria. The goal of this process is to streamline our standard Pre-Certification process for qualifying projects.

Identifying Projects that Qualify
The DCP Lead Planner will work with the Applicant to identify a Fast Track project at the earliest stages in the application process. This should occur before any documents are submitted to the Department. Since this process is optional, both the Department and the Applicant must agree to proceed under this process. 

Info Meeting Follow-Up and Timeline Expectations
Following the Informational Meeting, the DCP Lead Planner shares the project schedule with the Applicant for the review of the Applicant’s Land Use Application. Fast Track operates on an expedited timeline where DCP commits to review applications more quickly on the condition that Applicants submit their documents within the timeline set up at the beginning of the process. To remain in Fast Track, the Applicant must submit their deliverables according to timeframes outlined in the process diagram.

Draft Land Use Application and the Interdivisional Meeting
Once the Applicant has received confirmation from the DCP Lead Planner that they qualify for Fast Track, they should prepare a Draft Land Use Application along with the standard Land Use Application attachments.  One new attachment to the Draft Land Use Package will be the Fast Track Type II Request where the Applicant explains why their project is exempt from SEQR/CEQR Environmental Review.

Interdivisional Meeting (“IDM”)
After the Draft Land Use submission, the Lead DCP Planner will set up an Interdivisional Meeting (“IDM”) to be held between the Applicant and the DCP Project Team within 40 days of the submission. DCP will complete its internal review and return comments approximately two business days prior to the IDM. This is to enable a productive conversation at the Interdivisional Meeting focused on any required changes that should be made to the Filed Application.

Direct to File and End of Pre-Certification
Immediately following the IDM, the DCP Lead Planner communicates a clear set of required Application revisions to the Applicant Team and instructs the Applicant to file their application within 30 days (per the process diagram) following the same filing instructions and fee payments as required by the standard Pre-Certification Process.

The DCP Lead Planner will review the Filed Application within 15 days of filing and will contact the Applicant to provide final instructions on Public Review (including referral guidance) and end-of-process steps.

Applications that are required to be referred at the time of filing may have their projected timelines disrupted near the end of the Fast Track process. Please confirm with your DCP Lead Planner about what these requirements are and the impact to the project’ timeline.

DCP reserves the rights to remove projects from Fast Track at any point during the process. Reasons for removal include, but are not limited to:

• Submission a “fatally flawed” Draft or Filed Land Use Application
  • For the Draft Land Use Application:
    • Missing critical components;
    • illegible materials.
  • For Filed Land Use Applications:
    • Missing critical components
    • Application does not substantially address required comments from the Department.
• Late submission of application materials
• Submission of a revised Draft Land Use Application
• Substantial project changes:
  • Additional actions
  • New lots added.