Amendment requires wide range of developments to provide indoor bicycle parking space. On April 22, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s bicycle parking text amendment. The amendment requires developers to include secure indoor bicycle storage space in new buildings, conversions to residential use, and enlargements of 50 percent or more. The new requirements apply to multifamily residential, community facility, and commercial uses, as well as public parking garages. The number of spaces required differs among uses and will not count against floor area limitations. 6 CityLand 25 (March 15, 2009).

The City Planning Commission revised the proposal to address concerns raised during its public review of the plan. The modifications allowed the Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development to grant a waiver or reduce the requirements for affordable housing developments, and changed the formula used to calculate the required storage space for dormitories in order to make enforcement less challenging. 6 CityLand 43 (April 15, 2009). (read more…)

Amount of bicycle parking spaces required for affordable housing developments could be waived or reduced. On March 4, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved, with several modifications, the Department of City Planning’s proposed bicycle parking text amendment. The amendment would require developers to provide secure, enclosed bicycle parking facilities in new buildings, enlargements of buildings of 50 percent or more, and conversions to residential use.

Although the Commission expressed support for the proposal, it believed revisions were necessary to address concerns raised during its February 4th public hearing. 6 CityLand 25 (March 15, 2009). The Commission modified the text to allow affordable housing developers to allocate less space, or no space at all, for bicycle parking that would otherwise be required. The reduction or waiver would apply to cases where the development lacked space for the required number of parking spaces, the additional space could not reasonably be constructed based on the amount of financing available, and the reduction was the minimum necessary to address financial limitations. The Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development would be required to make these three findings before Buildings could grant the waiver or reduction. (read more…)

Public comments focus on added construction costs and impact on affordable housing. On February 4, 2009, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s proposed bicycle parking text amendment. The proposal would mandate the addition of secure bicycle parking for new buildings, enlargements of 50 percent or more, and conversions to residential use. The regulations would apply to multi-family residential, community facility, and commercial uses, as well as public parking garages. The required number of spaces would differ among uses, but affected buildings would be required to provide 15 sq.ft. per bicycle parking space or as little as six sq.ft. if a more efficient layout were submitted to Buildings. The space would not count against floor area limitations, and the requirements could be waived for smaller buildings such as residential buildings with 10 units or less.

At the public hearing, a representative of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer testified that Stringer supported the proposal and believed that the amendment would promote PlaNYC 2030’s initiatives for increasing bicycle ridership and reducing traffic congestion. He also stated that more bicycle lanes and signage should be implemented to protect riders. An AIA representative expressed support for the proposal, but offered recommendations to make the regulations less burdensome on developers. Among these suggestions were expanding and simplifying the waiver process, and applying a graduated scale to cap the total number of spaces for large commercial buildings. (read more…)