Sunset Park Rezoning Review Begins

Roughly two years after first announced its intention to evaluate the zoning in Sunset Park and about a year after it introduced the draft rezoning plan, the City Planning Commission yesterday kicked off the 60-day public comment period that is a standard step in the ULURP process. The rezoning would apply to a 128-block area and introduce new height limits while providing incentives for the creation of both affordable housing and commercial development where appropriate. (We’ve cut-and-pasted the nitty gritty on the jump for those who are deeply interested.) Mayor Bloomberg and I promised the Sunset Park community that City Planning would work closely with the neighborhood and Council Member Gonzalez to develop a proposal that would protect Sunset Park’s established row house character, said Commissioner Amanda Burden. We have met extensively with the community and today’s proposal will establish height limits for new development and meet a need for affordable housing. When the comment period is over, the proposal will move on to the Borough President’s office before going back to the City Planning Commission and finally the City Council.
Sunset Park Rezone Plans Meet the Community [Brownstoner]
Sunset Park One Step Closer to Rezoning [Brownstoner]

The rezoning proposal would:

• Preserve the row house character of Sunset Park’s side streets by introducing a contextual zoning district (R6B) with height limits of 50 feet for over 120 mid-blocks within the rezoning area
• Address and fine-tune some lower density areas with lower-density zoning districts for detached and semi-detached housing
• Maintain the existing streetwall by requiring buildings to line up with adjacent structures
• Establish height limits for all new development. Sixth Avenue and portions of Fifth Avenue would be mapped R6A, resulting in buildings ranging from four to seven stories. Permitted FAR would remain the same (3.0) and residential and community facility uses would continue to be permitted.
• Create opportunities and incentives for the development and preservation of affordable housing through the Bloomberg Administration’s successful Inclusionary Housing Program. Well served by transit and appropriate for growth, new development along Fourth and Seventh Avenues would be subject to inclusionary housing regulations and mapped R7A. Heights would be capped at 80 feet. Under the inclusionary housing program, developers are only able to build the maximum allowable floor area if they provide permanently affordable rental housing and will be subject to the same height limits for the respective zoning district. A city-wide zoning text under public review would add a new affordable home ownership option for inclusionary zoning, expanding the options for developers and households seeking affordable housing opportunities. The inclusionary zoning bonus, together with tax abatements and public financing, provides a strong incentive to include affordable housing in new buildings that might otherwise have been built as entirely market rate housing. Since the program’s establishment in 2005, approximately 1,800 units of permanently affordable housing are in construction or have been completed, of which more than 850 are in Brooklyn.
• Expand and encourage commercial opportunities. Along Fifth Avenue between 47th and 57th Streets, the proposal would rezone the existing commercial center on Fifth Avenue to a contextual commercial zone, C4-3A and extend the commercial district an additional four blocks. The new zone would allow for more flexibility in the commercial mix of the street as well as commercial uses not only limited to the ground floor, but on the second floor as well. To maintain commercial character, residential uses would only be allowed above these commercial uses. Heights would be capped at 70 feet.
• New commercial overlays are also proposed at specific locations along Seventh Avenue where stores already exist, but where no commercial zoning is present to permit new businesses. In addition, new commercial overlays would be mapped along Fourth Avenue to create a more cohesive commercial corridor along the entire length of the avenue.
• Adjust the boundaries of commercial overlays on avenues to reflect existing development patterns and preclude commercial intrusions into residential mid-blocks.