Navigating the complexity of zoning laws can be tricky. One key issue is determining what counts as a new building versus an alteration.
Zoning rules can vary drastically by town or city in order to meet the needs of specific communities. Understanding these nuances can be critical to a real estate investor’s ability to maximize the potential of their properties.
Zoning Districts
Zoning laws are the rules and regulations that determine how properties can be used. They determine building height, location and parking regulations as well as other details like street hierarchy. They help balance and organize real estate, making the city more pleasant for residents to live in.
New York City has a wide range of zoning districts. Residence districts, for example, include everything from single-family homes set on wide lawns on the outskirts of town to soaring skyscrapers in Manhattan. Similarly, commercial zoning districts range from restricted retail outlets to sprawling malls. In addition, each district has its own unique zoning controls.
For example, a new residential project in an R1 district may have stricter height and story restrictions than one in an R4 district. In these situations, it’s important to hire a land use lawyer who can navigate the city’s complex zoning ordinance. The City’s sky exposure plane regulations also play a role in how buildings can be built and what they look like, requiring specific setback amounts to ensure shadows don’t interfere with pedestrian areas or roadways.
The city has a number of contextual commercial districts, including C2, C5 and the Special Lower Manhattan District. These districts have special requirements such as street wall height, permitted bulk and density, and allowable lot coverage. These specialized requirements help the city preserve its historic character and promote growth.
Additionally, the city has a number of incentive zoning districts where developers are awarded a floor area ratio (FAR) bonus in exchange for investing in public spaces. These bonuses can be used for things such as adding a public plaza, building subway improvements, or renovating theaters. The City has also created a number of special purpose districts to achieve particular planning and urban design objectives.
Uses
As New York City begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and many businesses are reopening, some regions and neighborhoods are progressing with rezoning. This process enables a variety of uses to be constructed in neighborhoods where they were previously limited.
These essential projects include hospitals, homeless shelters, and affordable housing. Even with these exceptions, contractors still need to adhere to all construction regulations. Governmental agencies like the NYC Department of Buildings have the power to inspect and issue stop work orders for private construction sites that violate zoning laws, governing agreements, or are blatantly unsafe.
It is no secret that New York has a serious housing crisis. The problem is not a lack of demand, but rather the long, cumbersome, and expensive land use review process that limits New York’s ability to grow jobs and build more homes.
Height
A building’s height is the maximum vertical distance from the base plane or street to the top of the roof (except for permitted obstructions such as elevator bulkheads). Building height is regulated by bulk regulations, which are a combination of controls including lot size, floor area ratio, lot coverage, open space and yard requirements.
A “zero lot line” building* is one that abuts only a side lot line of its zoning lot. The building may not abut any other buildings on the zoning lot or any adjacent lots. A commercial overlay district is a special district superimposed over another district that establishes different height, setback and yard regulations than the underlying district.
Use groups are a standardized set of regulations that categorize 18 different uses according to their functional characteristics and nuisance impacts. The uses are then classified as either residential (Use Groups 1-2), community facility uses, retail and service uses, amusement/entertainment uses, waterfront/recreation uses or heavy automotive uses.
New York City zoning rules define the limits within which the City can grow, determining where and how much housing stock is built. Since 2010, most of the City’s residential construction activity has occurred in neighborhoods rezoned for growth, including Downtown Brooklyn, Jamaica and Long Island City. By contrast, neighborhoods that were downzoned to stop development such as Bensonhurst have seen their permitting rates decline.
A redevelopment area is an urban renewal zone that enables developers to build higher, denser buildings than would otherwise be allowed in a given zoning district. A redevelopment area’s boundaries are defined by the City Planning Commission, with public participation through the public review process known as ULURP. A redevelopment area can be approved as a whole or by neighborhood zoning districts.
Setbacks
The 1916 Zoning Resolution created setback requirements that required developers to notch their buildings back from the streets. They were meant to allow light into narrow streets and prevent overshadowing from tall buildings. Rather than a design ideal inspired by the City Beautiful movement and Burnham’s “city of towers,” it was a pragmatic and functional document that sought to make buildings more accessible to residents, and protect public spaces.
This approach focuses on the public benefits of development and tries to avoid the costs and risks associated with environmental reviews. It makes sense, and is in fact, a common practice used by many cities across the country. However, New York’s zoning laws are not well equipped to address the current challenges facing the City.
For example, rezoning and variance processes are often lengthy and complex. This can limit the capacity for as-of-right construction, and can slow down efforts to address the City’s aging infrastructure, falling affordable housing stock and climate-related challenges.
In addition, the City’s zoning code requires developers to undergo a full environmental review before building any project. While the review process is necessary to ensure a project complies with the City’s land use laws, it also adds to the cost and time of a project. New York’s zoning laws need to be updated to provide more flexibility and streamline the process for as-of-right construction. By focusing on the benefits of a project, and reducing the scope of the environmental review, the City could save time and money and speed up the process for approving projects. It would also be easier to secure zoning changes that facilitate development projects that help achieve the State’s climate goals.
Parking
Whether you’re driving your own car or renting a ZipCar, U-Haul or a friend’s car for a visit, you’re going to have to park it somewhere. And in NYC, finding parking can be tricky. Tens of thousands of people crowd the streets of the five boroughs daily, fighting for the approximately 4 million NYC parking spots. That means the odds aren’t ever in your favor when it comes to scoring a free spot.
And that’s even before you consider the rules and regulations for parking in New York City. There are all sorts of restrictions, including alternate side parking, commercial bus stop zones, metered parking and more. Not following these rules will result in a hefty ticket, so it’s important to be aware of them and plan accordingly.
For instance, you shouldn’t park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, no matter the signage that says otherwise. And you should also avoid parking on a curb that’s been cut, lowered or made to accommodate access to the sidewalk. And don’t forget that you can’t park in the same zone as a school bus, a taxi stand, or on the day(s) and hours specified on a bus stop sign.
In some cases, it’s better to pay for parking in a garage or parking lot rather than risk the hassle of trying to find a space on the street. You can use an online app to locate parking spaces in your area and reserve them ahead of time. That way, you’ll have more peace of mind knowing that your car will be safe and sound when you get back to it. Then you can just focus on what brought you to the Big Apple.
