Amendment allows the transfer of residential floor area from the High Line subdistrict.  On May 19, 2015 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises approved an amendment to the Special West Chelsea District zoning text to allow a transfer of residential floor area from the High Line Transfer Corridor subdistrict.  The applicant, 22-23 Corp c/o Park It Management, sought the amendment to allow transfer residential floor area from its property at 510-512 West 23rd Street, where current zoning text would only permit transfer of the property’s commercial floor area.

On March 16, 2015 Manhattan Community Board 4 recommended approval on condition the Department of City Planning certify the change conforms to DCP’s original intent with the High Line, that the change would apply to the two properties in the High Line north and south of West 23rd Street, and that DCP draft language limiting the amount of transferable floor area to the maximum allowable for as-of-right use at the time of West Chelsea’s creation.  Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer issued a letter on the same day recommending approval, and the City Planning Commission approved the application on May 6, 2015.

At the Zoning public hearing, Jeremiah Candreva testified on behalf of the applicant.  Mr. Candreva stated the proposal was now in line with the recommendations made by CB4 and argued the residential floor area of the properties has remained unchanged since 1999, well before the Board’s requested cap of when West Chelsea was created in 2005.

Councilmember and Zoning chair Mark Weprin read a statement from Councilmember Corey Johnson, who represents West Chelsea, into the record.  Councilmember Johnson’s statement supported the proposal with a suggested modification limiting the transfer to the greater of commercial or residential floor area at the time of the West Chelsea District’s creation.    The subcommittee voted unanimously to approve the amendment as modified and report it to the full Land Use Committee.

City Council:  LU 0223-2015 (May 19, 2015).

By:  Michael Twomey (Michael is the CityLaw Fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2014).