- Zoning reforms likely to spur affordable housing
development – The recently adopted "City of
Yes: Housing Opportunity" (COYHO) amendments to New York
City's Zoning Resolution aim to tackle the affordability crisis
through new initiatives such as increasing the base floor area
ratio (FAR) allowed in many mid- to high-density districts,
creating two new high-density districts, and establishing a
Universal Affordability Preference (UAP). The UAP permits the
construction of floor area in addition to the base allowed, as long
as the additional floor area is provided in the form of affordable
housing. When paired with the state's 485x real estate tax
abatement program and the additional building height allowed for
UAP projects, this could provide the financial incentive that many
developers of rental housing need to add affordable options.
- An expected uptick in office-to-residential conversions
– In the wake of the pandemic, older office
buildings are becoming increasingly attractive as candidates for
conversion to residential use. COYHO encourages this trend by
dramatically simplifying the conversion regulations of Article I,
Chapter 5 (the Chapter), which formerly governed such conversions
in Manhattan below 60th Street and in portions of Queens and
Brooklyn and applied only to buildings existing on Dec. 15, 1961
(or, for Lower Manhattan, prior to Jan. 1, 1977). Most
significantly, the recent changes extend the right to convert under
the Chapter to a much larger group of commercial buildings existing
on Dec. 30, 1990, in all five boroughs. The new rules also allow
offices to be converted to a variety of different housing types, in
addition to standard Class A apartment buildings. Single room
occupancy options (rooming units) and co-living conditions are
permitted, though a restriction remains on philanthropic
institutions with sleeping accommodations, which are required to be
Class A occupancy units.
- New parking rules could boost residential construction
– By rolling back costly parking mandates for
residential construction in areas near mass transit, the city has
removed a decades-old barrier to housing construction. The city now
requires zero parking for multifamily developments in most of
Manhattan and other areas close to a mass transit station (called
the Inner Transit Zone), and it has significantly reduced parking
requirements in parts of the outer boroughs that are either within
a quarter or half-mile of a mass transit station (called the Outer
Transit Zone). The removal or reduction of the parking mandate
could make many projects more financially feasible, as it would
enable developers to avoid costly excavation and sub-surface
development costs, while maintaining the flexibility to respond in
appropriate cases to market demand for parking. This approach has
been adopted in various forms throughout the state, including in
Buffalo, Rochester, and Ithaca, as well as dozens of towns and
cities nationwide.
- Manufacturing districts evolve to meet new demand
– A wider array of uses will now be permissible
within manufacturing districts that are remapped with a suffix
"A." Former factories and warehouses could find new life
as large retail outlets, entertainment facilities, research
laboratories, or universities, for example. A diversification of
uses permitted in commercial overlay districts has also been
authorized, as has the presence of some small-scale light
manufacturing, such as bakeries, in all commercial districts.
- Buildings encouraged to go greener – The city estimates that recent zoning changes focused on sustainability will facilitate environmentally friendly retrofits for more than 50,000 buildings. The changes include removing zoning impediments to rooftop solar and electrification installations, creating a more generous allowance for deductions from FAR for wall thickness that promotes enhanced energy efficiency, and increasing yard obstruction allowances for outdoor equipment such as electric heat pumps. The changes also allow for facilities additions to the energy grid in a wider array of zoning districts.
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