Community groups expressed concern that 128-block rezoning would displace low-income residents. On September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 128 blocks of Brooklyn’s Sunset Park in order to address recent out-of-scale development inconsistent with the area’s predominantly residential character. The plan replaces the neighborhood’s R6 zoning with contextual zoning districts — R4A, R4-1, R6B, R6A, and R7A — that match the area’s context and also establish maximum height limits. The plan includes applying R6B zoning to portions of 121 residential side streets and rezoning 101 partial commercial blocks along Fourth and Seventh Avenues to R7A. To promote the construction of affordable housing, the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program will apply to the R7A district.

At the City Planning Commission’s July 1 hearing, representatives of the Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors (SPAN) testified in opposition. They claimed that Planning did not properly consider the potential displacement of current residents. Residents argued that height limits along the avenues were too high and would block views of downtown Brooklyn. The Commission approved the plan without modifications, noting that it had been refined through a thorough public review. 6 CityLand 122 (Sept. 15, 2009). (more…)