Amendment restricts residential- only development in commercial districts. The City Council rezoned three areas of Staten Island and approved a text amendment to insure lower density commercial development in portions of the borough. The three areas rezoned are located along Castleton Avenue, New Dorp Lane, and Arthur Kill Road.

The Planning Department initiated the rezoning proposals and text amendment in response to recommendations made by the Staten Island Growth Management Task Force. After finding that Staten Island’s commercial areas were overdeveloped with residentialonly projects, the task force identified three main goals: discouraging inappropriate residential development, encouraging appropriate commercial development, and encouraging Staten Island’s legacy of town centers.

The approved Castleton and New Dorp Lane actions primarily replaced C4-2 districts with R3-2 districts, including commercial overlays on a total of 14 blocks. The actions also preserved the neighborhoods’ character by limiting purely commercial buildings to two stories, prohibiting ground floor residential units, and setting a 35-foot maximum height for mixed-use buildings. (more…)

Council approves new lower density and contextual zoning to preserve the existing neighborhood scale. On December 21, 2005, the City Council approved the Planning Department’s rezoning plan for 311 blocks located in the Whitestone, Beechhurst and Robinwood neighborhoods of Queens. The rezoned area is bounded by the Whitestone Expressway to the west, the Clearview Expressway and Little Neck Bay to the east, 25th and 26th Avenues to the south and the East River to the north.

The rezoning, like other recent down-zonings in Queens, was proposed to address overdevelopment and out-of-character construction, retain the area’s low density character, and prevent commercial uses from encroaching onto residential streets. The approved action replaced existing R3-1, R3-2 and R2 zoning districts with four districts (R1-2, R2A, R3X and R3A) that will generally limit future development to mostly one-family detached homes in R1-2 and R2A districts and some two-family detached homes in R3X and R3A districts. The new districts specifically limit lot coverage, perimeter wall heights, garage size, attic heights, and building heights to eliminate the means available in an R2 zoning district to double the permitted floor area. (more…)

Mall-type retail center to be developed on site of Bronx Terminal Market. The NYC Economic Development Corporation and BTM Development Partners obtained Council’s approval for six actions related to development of a one-million square-foot, multi-level retail center at the site of the Bronx Terminal Market in West Concourse, Bronx. Two approved map amendments eliminated streets between River and Cromwell Avenues and rezoned the project site from M2-1 to C4-4 to permit large scale retail development. The Council also approved three special permits to allow a six-building retail center and 250-room hotel, a connected 6-level public parking garage with 2,610 spaces, and signage exceeding the allowable square footage. The sixth action approved disposition of the 19-acre project site from the City to the EDC for subsequent disposition to the real estate management firm Related Companies, Inc.

At the Council’s January 23, 2006 Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises hearing, a representative for Assemblywoman Aurelia Greene, along with local residents and merchants supported the project and emphasized the need to revitalize the neighborhood and create jobs. Friends of Brook Park also spoke in favor of development, but urged the Council to support the creation of a park with waterfront access next to the site. Opponents criticized the EDC’s failure to disclose names of potential tenants, expressed concern over the lack of commitment to minority and union jobs, and argued that retailers such as Wal-Mart and BJ’s would be detrimental to the community. Opponents also urged the Council not to approve an aesthetically out-of-context, suburban-type mall that would fail to serve the lower income community and create excess traffic. (more…)

Unique Bronx neighborhood down-zoned. On December 8, 2005, the City Council rezoned 39 blocks in Olinville, Bronx and, in a separate action, created a new R5A district which can be applied citywide. The Planning Department initiated the rezoning proposal in response to Bronx Community Board 12’s and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr.’s concerns over the increasing replacement of Olinville’s single-family homes with new, significantly out-of-character, high-density apartments.

When first developed in the early 19th century, Olinville was known for its tapestry mills, which were later replaced with modest single-family homes as Olinville became an early residential suburb of the city. Although the area primarily has one and two-family homes, current zoning allows for high-density apartment buildings.

The proposal down-zoned 962 lots, and seeks to retain low-density development and prevent commercial use on residential side streets in an area bounded by East 219th Street and Gun Hill Road, White Plains Road and Boston Road, Burke and Adee Avenues, and Bronx Boulevard. Under the approved proposal, new residential construction will be limited to lower density development consistent with the existing neighborhood character. (more…)

Citizens’ challenge dismissed. In February, 2005, five Brooklyn residents and the Coalition to Revitalize Our Waterfront filed a petition seeking to void the City’s approval of an Ikea superstore in Brooklyn’s Erie Basin, arguing that the environmental study was flawed, the zoning change constituted “spot zoning”, and the development was inconsistent with the City’s zoning plans. 2 CityLand 29 (Mar. 15, 2005).

Justice Karen S. Smith denied the petition, finding that the map amendment was part of a comprehensive, multi-goal plan for the area and therefore not an instance of “spot zoning.” Further, the environmental study properly addressed the areas required under the city’s environmental quality review manual. (more…)