Residents sought rezoning to halt subdivisions and out-of-character residential development. On March 22, 2006, the Planning Commission unanimously approved a rezoning impacting 82 blocks of the Bayswater and Far Rockaway neighborhoods in Queens. The rezoned areas are predominately residential and border the Far Rockaway commercial district. The rezoning was proposed in response to overdevelopment concerns caused by the subdivision of large lots and replacement of one- and two-family homes with multi-family homes.

Existing R2, R3-2, R4, and R5 districts will be rezoned R1-2, R3A, R3X, R4A, and R4-1 to ensure that new development will match existing density and housing types. The new zoning restricts residential development to one- or two-family detached residences with height limited to 35 feet (R3A, R3X, R4A, and R4-1) or based on the sky exposure plane (R1-2). Minimum lot size requirements within the rezoning are 5,700 sq.ft. (R1-2), 2,375 sq.ft. (R3A and R4-1), 3,325 sq.ft. (R3X), and 2,250 sq.ft. (R4A). (read more…)