Since the early 1990s, CHPC's Zoning Committee has analyzed, commented and testified on Department of City Planning initiatives and new directions in zoning policy. CHPC's Zoning Committee is comprised of some of the most influential and knowledgeable professionals involved in housing and planning in New York City, from developers and planners to architects and lawyers.
The CHPC Zoning Committee is very active and has recently commented on a number of proposed text amendments to the Zoning Resolution. This page details the work of the committee as it occurs.
July 2010
Car Share Zoning Text Amendment
DCP proposed a zoning text amendment to define car sharing in the Zoning Resolution and establish clear rules to allow car sharing vehicles to park in public parking facilities, as well as in parking facilities accessory to residential, commercial, and other uses.
CHPC's Zoning Committee met with DCP to discuss this initiative jointly with AIANY at the Center for Architecture. The Zoning Committee sent a letter of full support for this amendment to the City Planning Commission.
Read our letter of support here.
March - August 2010
Amending the definition and usage of "development" and "building" throughout the Zoning Resolution
In 2007, the Department of City Planning rejected the application of an owner of an upper east side townhouse to convert his basement into a garage with a curb cut. The applicant sued, contesting the usage of the term "development" when his townhouse was, in fact, an existing building. The State Supreme Court agreed and this decision prompted City Planning to rethink the definintion and the usage of both of these incredibly important terms.
The CHPC Zoning Committee is now one of the few organizations who are reviewing hundreds of pages of altered Zoning Resolution text. We are striving to identify errors, oversights, and lack of clarity in the language, and to highlight any unintended consequences that we believe may occur from the changes.
January 2010
Residential Streetscape Preservation Text Amendment
The Department of City Planning put forward a citywide zoning text amendment to preserve and enhance the streetscape character of residential neighborhoods. The text amendment closes loopholes in front yard planting requirements, responds to concerns of Community Boards and elected officials related to inappropriate curb cuts and front yard parking pads, and clarifies parking requirements for new dwelling units created in existing homes and for older residential buildings developed before there were parking requirements.
CHPC's Zoning Committee met with DCP to discuss this initiative and also moderated a DCP presentation of the rezoning jointly with AIANY at the Center for Architecture on January 15th. We testified against a major part of this testimony at both the DCP and the subsequent City Council hearing.
Read our comments here.
City Council testimony
Update: During public review, the City Planning Commission modified the language regarding the removal of parking spaces from buildings created before 1961 in response to CHPC's testimony. We expressed concern that this amendment would restrict the NYCHA strategy to develop on their underutilized land. DCP agreed to a language change that now states:
“For dwelling units or rooming units constructed pursuant to the zoning regulations in effect after July 20, 1950 and prior to December 15, 1961, off-street parking spaces accessory to such dwelling units or rooming units cannot be removed if such spaces were required by such zoning regulations, unless such spaces would not be required pursuant to the applicable zoning regulations currently in effect.”
October 2009
Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program
The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program is designed to facilitate the development of stores selling a full range of food products with an emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and other perishable goods. It provides zoning incentives for neighborhood grocery stores to locate in some of the most underserved neighborhoods in the City with primarily pedestrian-oriented, local shopping districts.
CHPC's Zoning Committee testified and submitted written comments on this program on October 26, 2009, suggesting modifications to provide more of an FAR incentive to potential grocery developers and to provide for ongoing review of the project by the CPC.
Read our comments here.
Update: During public review, the City Planning Commission eliminated a requirement that residential stories have a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 8 feet 6 inches in mixed-use buildings that include a FRESH food store, a change based on CHPC’s recommendation in its submitted comments.
The eliminated requirement would have added 6 inches per story to the 8 foot minimum required under the NYC Building Code, detracting from the additional 15 feet for the maximum building height provided by the FRESH zoning FAR incentive.
On December 9, 2009, the City Council adopted the FRESH text amendment, available here.
September 2009
Broadway Triangle Rezoning
In September, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the rezoning of Broadway Triangle, a tract of land at the intersection of Bed-Stuy, Bushwick and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The rezoning, an initiative of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, has garnered considerable attention in the press. CHPC's Zoning Committee submitted comments on the proposed text amendment, focusing on density issues, the role of the Pfizer site in the rezoning, and the likely impact on local small businesses.
Read our comments here.
April 2009
Bicycle Parking Text Amendment
The Department of City Planning proposed a Zoning Resolution text amendment to mandate bicycle storage in all new construction. In January 2009, CHPC submitted a full Policy Brief and testified in opposition to this proposal. Our testimony centered on the unprecedented cost burden that this would place on developers and the lack of demonstrated benefit for such a significant amendment.
Read our testimony here.
Read our Policy Brief here.
Update: Following our testimony, the City Planning Commission modified the amendment. One modification provided for a reduction or waiver of the bicycle parking requirement by the Commissioner of Buildings for affordable housing developments, provided that the Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development has submitted a letter certifying that:
- at least 50% of the dwelling units are income restricted through a subsidy program;
- there is insufficient space within the building for an accessory parking garage;
- construction of additional space for bicycle parking would conflict with subsidy limitations; and
- the number of bike parking spaces would be reduced by the minimum amount necessary.
On April 22, 2009, the City Council adopted the Bicycle Parking Text Amendment, available here. |
