City Releases Draft Zoning Text Amendment for “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” Proposal; State Reaches Agreement for Proposed Housing Legislation

Authors: Carol E. Rosenthal, Zachary Bernstein, Aaron D. Kahen

The New York City Department of City Planning ("DCP") has released the draft text amendment to the Zoning Resolution in connection with its "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity" initiative, along with a 43-page illustrated guide. The text amendment would implement the initiatives previously announced by the City and discussed in our September 2023 bulletin. The City's initiatives include the following residential zoning changes and are intended to facilitate additional housing development:

• Higher FARs for Mixed-Income Development: Additional density (~20% more floor area) would be allowed to residential buildings for use as affordable or supportive housing in many medium- and high-density districts.
  
  
• Elimination of Parking Requirements: Parking would no longer be required for any new residential development; it would be optional for new residential development.
  
  
• Broadened Conversion Regulations: The more flexible zoning regulations in Article 1, Chapter 5 of the Zoning Resolution for converting older commercial buildings to residential uses would be extended citywide to buildings constructed before 1991. Currently, those flexible regulations are only available in parts of Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn and for buildings constructed up until 1961 (or 1977 in Lower Manhattan). The released draft zoning text eliminates the requirement to provide rooftop open space and introduces a discretionary action to allow these buildings to exceed underlying floor area or bulk limitations.
  
  
• Introduction of Higher Density Residential Districts: The released draft zoning text creates two new residential districts, R11 and R12, which allow for residential floor area ratios (FARs) higher than the maximum 12 FAR currently permitted for residential use, following state action amending the current residential FAR cap in the Multiple Dwelling Law.

• Campus Infill: New envelope regulations applicable to infill development on large sites would make such infill projects much more feasible than they are currently.

• Streamlining of Bulk Regulations: The proposal updates the regulations on height and setback, yards, and other bulk regulations with the goal of facilitating new development.

Next Steps

The zoning text amendment is expected to commence an approximately seven-month public review process by May of 2024, making it likely that City Council will vote on the proposal by the end of the year. Throughout the public review process, the City Planning Commission and City Council may revise certain aspects of the amendment in response to public comments.

At the state level, Governor Hochul recently announced agreement with the legislature on housing-related state legislation as a part of the Fiscal Year 2024 Executive Budget. The legislation has not yet been released, but if enacted, is expected to include, among other important changes, a tax incentive program for the construction of affordable housing and potentially address the 12 FAR cap on residential use.

Our land use team will continue reviewing the proposed text amendment and the pending state initiatives. Please contact us with any questions.

This communication is for general information only. It is not intended, nor should it be relied upon, as legal advice. In some jurisdictions, this may be considered attorney advertising. Please refer to the firm's data policy page for further information.