08/23/2025
Bill A1890/S7358 - the Low Impact Landscaping Rights Act will ensure that homeowners are not prevented by HOAs from installing and maintaining beneficial low impact landscaping on their property, such as pollinator gardens, rain gardens, habitat gardens, or natural gardening that uses plants native to New York.
A1890: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A01890&term=2025
S7358: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S7358
The NY Senate & Assembly passed the bill, BUT IT NOW NEEDS GOV. HOCHUL’S SIGNATURE TO BECOME LAW! You can help by contacting the Governor’s office as soon as possible to say that you urge her to sign this bill. Don’t delay!
Here is the link to take action to contact Governor Hochul now:
https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form
SUBJECT: Bill A1890/S7358 - Low Impact Landscaping Rights for NY Homeowners in HOAs
MESSAGE: I respectfully urge Governor Hochul to sign A1890/S7358 into law when it is delivered to her desk. About 3.6 million New Yorkers live in communities run by homeowners associations (Source: Community Association Institute). This represents roughly 18.8% of NY State's population (Source: RubyHome.com), which is significant.
HOA bylaws typically restrict residential landscaping to grass lawn monocultures and nonnative plants which provide little to no benefit for pollinators, birds and other NY native wildlife, and require hazardous chemical pesticides, herbicides, and large amounts of constant watering.
Bill A1890/S7358 will enable households in HOAs to use beneficial low impact native plant landscaping techniques if they desire without interference from HOA bylaws.
As biodiversity loss and natural habitat loss continues, individuals and households across NY are increasingly making lifestyle and landscaping changes which will positively impact the environment and the biodiversity of New York.
Homeowners today require the right that Bill A1890/S7358 will provide to have yards and gardens comprised of mixtures containing NY native flowers, native ground cover, and rain gardens, such as:
1. pollinator gardens to attract and promote the health of pollinator species;
2. rain gardens to collect and retain rainwater and to filter and reduce runoff;
3. habitat gardens for benefit of native wildlife; or
4. natural gardening that uses plants native to New York.
Native plants are essential to New York ecosystems. They provide food and healthy habitat for pollinators, birds, and wildlife species that have co-evolved with native plants. Native plants also improve soil health, use less watering, less pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer than grass lawns, filter stormwater, and support climate resilience.
But despite their ecological value, native plants and low impact landscaping techniques are typically underrepresented in homeowners landscapes.
It is more important than ever to support low impact landscaping rights for homeowners to encourage biodiversity and to sustain native plant habitat in residential landscapes across New York. Thank you.
