Zoning and Land Use

Zoning and Land Use

New York City has positioned itself as the capital of the world. The City is the world's financial capital and is playing a global command post in the business services, fashion, media, and culture and technology sectors. The City is also a popular tourist destination. According to the Strategic Policy Statement delivered by the Mayor in 1999, New York City will build on its economic successes in the past and continue to pursue its policies of lowering business taxes, streamlining regulations and improving public services to secure economic growth and opportunity Zoning is the way the governments control the physical development of land and the kinds of uses to which each individual property may be put. Zoning laws typically specify the areas in which residential, industrial, recreational or commercial activities may take place. For example, an R-1 residential zone might allow only single-family detached homes as opposed to duplexes or apartment complexes. On the other hand, a C-1 commercial zone might be zoned to permit only certain commercial or industrial uses in one jurisdiction, but permit a mix of housing and businesses in another jurisdiction

Besides restricting the uses that can be made of land and buildings, zoning laws also may regulate the dimensional requirements for lots and for buildings on property located within the town, the density of development, and whether you can have pigeons, dogs, sheep or llamas. (Herbert H. Smith, The Citizen's Guide to Zoning, Amer Planning Assn; (July 1983))Some zoning ordinances also regulate the extraction of natural resources from land within the zoned area, others provide space for hospitals, parks, schools, and open space and still others protect places of historical significance within the community The purpose of zoning is to protect public health, safety, and welfare. For a zoning resolution to be legal, it must be wholly in the concept of general welfare. The "public purpose" is to prevent landowners or tenants from using their site to the detriment of the general welfare of the community at large. Actions that have no bearing on public health, safety, and general welfare are outside the scope of zoning. (Richard F. Babcock, Zoning Game: Municipal Practices and Policies, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy; (December 1966))

Zoning regulation must be reasonable. For example, the size and location of signs may be regulated, but to ban them completely is considered unreasonable. Most development or use of unimproved land need meet only the provisions of the Zoning Resolution to be granted a building permit as a matter of right. This means that a developer may build a structure "as-of-right" if the Department of Buildings is satisfied that the structure complies with the Zoning Resolution and the Building Code. In this case no action or approval is required by the City Planning Commission, Community Boards or the public. The developer files plans with the Department of Buildings and can begin construction as soon as a building permit is granted.

The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, better known as ULURP, is part of the New York City Charter and governs when a development requires amendments to the zoning map (e.g., building a residential building in an industrial area). Amendments to the zoning text, which may also be sought in the case of new development, do not require ULURP per se, but go through a similar process of public review.

First, an application for zoning changes must be filed with the Department of City Planning (DCP). The Department itself, Borough Presidents, any taxpayer, community board or borough board may submit such an application, which then must be certified by DCP before the ULURP process begins. There are then public hearings, held by the affected community board and the City Planning Commission. Amendments must be considered and Okayed by the community board, the borough board, the Borough President, and then finally the City Council. (This rule is the primary source of Community Board and City Council power.)New York City employs a zoning system which offers a high level of certainty. The Department of City Planning believes that it is very important to give communities, developers and regulators a clear sense of what is and is not allowed in a given district. The City enacted United States' first comprehensive zoning resolution in 1916 and the City continues to be a leader in zoning policy in the States. The 1916 Zoning Resolution separated functionally incompatible uses and established height and setback controls. The ordinance became a model for urban communities throughout the United States

The Zoning Resolution of New York City is divided into two parts: zoning text and zoning maps. The text establishes zoning districts and sets forth the regulations governing land use and development. There are three basic zoning districts: residential, commercial and manufacturing. Detailed regulations in the zoning text set out the use permitted, building density, parking requirements and other detailed design guidelines. Manufacturing uses and certain intense commercial uses are also subject to performance standards which limit noise, air pollution and other nuisance-creating activity

Within the broad commercial zoning district category, office buildings are allowed in two out of the eight specific commercial districts: "Restricted Central Commercial Districts, C5" and "General Central Commercial Districts, C6." The remaining six specific commercial districts are for retail, entertainment and recreational uses at different scale and location. The broad manufacturing zoning district can be further divided into three specific manufacturing districts: "Light Manufacturing Districts, M1," "Medium Manufacturing Districts, M2" and "Heavy Manufacturing Districts, M3," based on performance standards.