This week the City Planning Commission approved two zoning measures aimed at greening the city. One initiative boosts the PlaNYC goal of planting 1 million new trees in the city by 2017 and the other requires more planting in most front yards. The Commission made some significant changes to both measures that address concerns raised by many small homwowners during public review. The street-tree planting requirement will force developers to plant a street tree for every 25 feet of street frontage of the zoning lot, and the Parks Dept. will take care of tree maintenance after plantings. The measure was tweaked prior to approval so that, among other things, one- and two-family home enlargements of fewer than 400 square feet are exempt from the requirements. The front yards measure will require a minimum percentage of planting in front yards in most residential districts, based upon street frontage, ranging from 20 percent for narrow lots (less than 20-feet wide) to 50 percent for lots 60-feet wide or greater. This measure was changed following public review so that it now requires a minimum percentage of all front yards to be landscaped and prohibits steeply pitched driveways in front yards. There are plenty more details about the nitty-gritty of both initiatives on the city’s website, and they still need to be OK’d by the City Council. Might this be the beginning of the end for the unsightly curb cuts that’ve been growing like weeds all over Brooklyn?
Street Tree Planting Text Amendment [NYC.gov]
Yards Text Amendment [NYC.gov]
Should the City’s Million-Tree Plan Get Pruned? [Brownstoner]
Curbing Illegal Curb Cuts by Targeting Self-Certification [Brownstoner]