Change by Planning Commission rejected in part after lengthy Council hearing. The City Council voted to approve the rezoning plan for a 135- block area of the Douglaston and Little Neck communities of Queens and rejected a portion of the modifications made by the Planning Commission.

City Planning initially proposed a complex rezoning and text amendment for the area that down-zoned blocks found to have a zoning that permitted out-of-scale buildings. It also reduced the depth that commercial uses could intrude on residential districts and allowed a new grandfathering system for residents who commenced alteration work on their homes prior to the rezoning. Overall, the proposal restricted over 65 percent of the down-zoned area to single-family home construction.

After a public hearing, the Planning Commission slightly modified the proposal, carving out areas east of Marathon Parkway and west of Little Neck Parkway to retain less restrictive zoning. When the proposal reached the City Council, residents and community groups split over which proposal to support.

that developers lay behind the push to modify the first plan, citing the fact that developers papered the community with fliers claiming the new zoning would prevent residents from modifying their homes. Others added that the community and Planning painstakingly worked out the original proposal and it had “logic” to it. Residents in favor of the modified proposal spoke about concerns for their homes’ resale value. (read more…)

Down-zoning proposed for 135- block area of northeast Queens. On July 10, 2006, the Planning Commission certified as complete City Planning’s proposal to rezone 135 blocks of the Douglaston and Little Neck neighborhoods in northeast Queens. The area is generally bounded by Grand Central Parkway to the south, Douglaston Parkway, Alley Pond Parkway and Alley Pond Park to the west, Long Island Sound to the north, and the Nassau County line to the east. Under the City’s land use review process, the proposal now goes to Queen’s Community Board 11 for review. The board tentatively scheduled a public hearing for September 5, 2006.

The proposal seeks to downzone lots currently zoned to allow development of all residential building types (R3-2) to a zoning limiting development to detached one- and two-family homes (R3-X). A large portion of blocks currently zoned for detached single-family homes (R2) would be further restricted as to height by an R2A zone, and the commercial zoning in the area would be reduced to prevent commercial uses from encroaching onto predominantly residential blocks. (read more…)