Maximum height limit reduced from 150 to 120 ft. in portions of proposed C4-5X district. On March 24, 2009, the City Council approved, with one modification, the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone and create the Special Forest Hills District within a 10-block area in Forest Hills, Queens. The rezoning area, roughly bounded by Queens Boulevard to the north, the Long Island Rail Road to the south, Ascan Avenue to the east, and Yellowstone Boulevard to the west, had originally been zoned C8-2, C4-2, and R7-1 in 1961. The C8-2 and C4-2 districts allowed for further development of the predominant uses in the area, which were automotive, commercial, and mixed-use. Over time, the auto repair shops and gas stations gave way to retail businesses and restaurants, and the area transformed into the commercial core of Forest Hills. Despite the change in neighborhood character, the outdated zoning remained, and developers increasingly sought variances from BSA to construct large, residential and commercial buildings.

Local residents and elected officials became increasingly concerned with the possibility of haphazard, out-of-character development. They feared developers applying for variances would endeavor to construct buildings that did not reflect the current neighborhood context. Council Member Melinda R. Katz and Queens Community Board 6 requested that Planning devise a rezoning for the commercial core that better reflected current uses and development patterns in the area. Two years later, Planning proposed to rezone the area to R5D/C2-3, C4- 4A, and C4-5X, and to establish the Special Forest Hills District within the entire 10-block area. (more…)

Plan will preserve low-density character. On October 29, 2007, the City Council approved, City Planning’s plan to rezone 41 blocks in the southern portion of the Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens.

The plan, drafted in consultation with Queens Community Board 6, the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association, and Council Member Melinda Katz, aims to preserve the low-density character within the triangle-shaped area generally bounded by Union Turnpike, 69th Avenue, and Kessel Street. Although the old, R3-2 zoning allowed a range of housing types, the area is developed by mostly one-and two-family homes.

A new R3A zoning district will cover 31 blocks, some north of Metropolitan Avenue west of Ascan Avenue, and others south of Metropolitan west of 74th Avenue. A new R3X district, located on three contiguous blocks south of Kessel Street and east of Ascan Avenue, will also better reflect the dominant character of houses in the area, while accounting for larger lot sizes. Lastly, a new R3-1 district, consisting mainly of one block at the eastern edge of the district, will restrict development to one- and two-family detached homes but also allow for semi-detached homes.

To prevent commercial intrusion on the newly rezoned residential side streets, the City will rezone C1-2 and C2-2 commercial overlays along Metropolitan Avenue to C1-3 and C2-3 and reduce the overlay from 150 feet to 100 feet.

At the Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning & Franchises hearing on October 23, 2007, Council Member Katz, whose district includes Forest Hills, stated that the area needed rezoning to avoid “commercial creep” from Metropolitan Avenue. Barbara Stuchinski, president of the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association, also testified in support of the plan. No speakers testified in opposition. The full Council approved the plan without modifications on October 29, 2007.

ULURP Process:
Lead Agency: CPC,Neg.Dec.
Comm.Bd.: QN 6,App’d, 31-0-0
Boro.Pres.: App’d
CPC: App’d, 12-0-0
Council: App’d, 49-0-0

Council: Forest Hills South Rezoning (Oct. 29, 2007). CITYADMIN