City of Yes: Summary of Zoning Subcomittee Modifications from City Council Hearing on November 20, 2024

Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Land Use Committee proposed modifications to the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity.

Below are my key takeaways in bullet form.

Note these are preliminary and we need to wait for the final draft text to confirm. The full Council is expected to vote on December 5th:

Here at PropertyScout we published?a linkable version of the City of Yes draft text from 8/15/2024, similar to the online zoning resolution. I've included links to specific regulations in this article. (A more recent version of the draft text is here. It is mostly the same as the text from 8/15/2024.)

At the bottom of this summary are:

• Parking chart and maps
• Links to our deep dive Linkedin posts on City of Yes with massing studies and graphics.

Major Bulk Regulations that were modified or maintained

FAR

FAR R1-R12

? R1-R5 maintained 23-211?

? R6-R12 maintained 23-221

UAP FAR Bonus R6-R12

? UAP FAR bonus maintained see 23-222

? When there is at least 10,000 sf of affordable floor area provided, 20% of the floor area need to be at 40% AMI. It’s still the blended average of 60% with a max of three income band and the highest being 100%.see 27-211

FAR bonus in R1-R5 with Commercial Overlay (Town Center Zoning)

? Town Center developments not allowed in areas where Commercial overlays are a single, isolated block, or on a block with a Commercial overlay that today is developed with mostly 1-2 family homes 35-31?

? 20% Affordability Incentive: Large projects (50+ units) can take full advantage of Town Center Zoning only if 20% is affordable at 80% Area Median Income (AMI)

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) FAR bonus

? R1 and R2 excluded 23-212?

? Reduce the TOD radius for outermost stations of the LIRR and Metro North within the City from .5 mile to .25 mile

? 20% Affordability Incentive: Large projects (50+ units) can take full advantage of Transit Oriented Development only if 20% is affordable at 80% Area Median Income (AMI)

HEIGHT

Sliver Law eliminated

? Sliver law only applies for height factor buildings 23-692 23-72

UAP FAR Height R6-R12 maintained

? Height & setback affordable 23-434?

Mostly stays the same except R8B, R6 and R7-1 narrow: Reduced height max 10 ft in R8B and on narrow streets in R6 and R7-1 and districts

? Height & setback eligible sites 23-435

YARDS AND LOT COVERAGE

Rear yard

? R6-R10: Reduced to 20 feet below 75 feet 23-342

? R1-R5: For lots less than 40ft. wide, maintain the required 30 ft rear yard for row-houses and semi-detached homes

Lot coverage

? R6-R10: 80 percent interior, 100% corner 23-362

? R1-R5: Adjust lot coverage rules to protect open space

Distance between legally required windows and lot lines

? R6-R10: 20 feet, reduced to 10 feet for shallow lot 23-372 (Big change from 30 feet / 20 feet per 23-861)

? R1-R5: 20 feet, reduced to 10 feet for shallow lot 23-372

PARKING

Parking: Tiered parking in 3 zones

? ZONE 1 - Inner transit zone/ MN core/ LIC: No parking req

? ZONE 2 - Outer transit zone: Parking reduced

? ZONE 3 - Beyond transit zones: Parking maintained

Note- Transit oriented development in Zone 2 and Affordable units will not not require parking

25-21?Parking - new building

25-22?Parking - existing building

OTHER REGS

Dwelling Unit Factor or Density:

? Eliminated in MN core (below 96th)

? Eliminated in downtown BK

? Rest of city: apply standardized DUF of 680

Conversions

? Buildings built before 1990 can follow article on chapter 5, i.e. the more lenient zoning and MDL regulations. See 15-01?Residential Conversion within Existing Buildings

Landmarked buildings

? Development rights can be transferred anywhere on the block, directly across the street (like today). However, there is a modification to height where a special permit for height increases greater than 25% is required

Bulk modifications for irregular sites

? changed from authorization to Special Permit see 74-95

Bulk modifications for non-complying buildings

? changed from authorization to Special Permit see 75-25

Here are links to my posts on City of Yes

City of Yes Nugget #6: R12 Massing at 18.0 FAR

City of Yes Nugget #4: Lot area and lot width regulations

City of Yes Nugget #5: Minimum distance between legally required windows

City of Yes Nugget #3: Height and setback for eligible sites

City of Yes Nugget #2: Transit accessible sites R3-R5

City of Yes Nugget #1: Air rights transfers from Landmarked sites

Brooklyn Development sites where > 40% FAR increase under City of Yes

Sliver law under City of Yes

Parking requirement Cheat sheet

source

Inner and Outer transit zone

If you have any questions about City of Yes, don't hesitate to reach out to us!