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...

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…