Remedies for violation of FAR
There’s a building near me that I realzied excceeds FAR for the zoning on our block. Can DOB or another city agency force the owner to reduce the size of the building even if the building has been in that state for years or even decades? I figure there must be some type of grandfathering…
There’s a building near me that I realzied excceeds FAR for the zoning on our block. Can DOB or another city agency force the owner to reduce the size of the building even if the building has been in that state for years or even decades? I figure there must be some type of grandfathering or statute of limitations, but didn’t see anything on the Dep’t of City Planning site.
I am not considering reporting anyone for a relatively modest overage on FAR probably due to an extension built who knows when.
This regards a house that is on the market. I thought it was unwise to assume that anything would be grandfathered automatically, especially without being able to point directly to any specific approval of the construction of the extension.
Unfortunately I could not find a direct answer on the NYC zoning website, so I thought some people here would know the actual regulations in question (or that there are no regulations directly on point, but what customarily results as a amatter of course).
(Also sorry for the delay in reviewing the comments, but I was tied up all weekend.)
I second the question from cmu: exactly why is this an issue for you? If the answer is a, are you absolutely sure your own house is entirely in compliance with every part of the zoning? Do you actually think the zoning is strictly interpreted in every case, or that there aren’t many buildings that would be over the far if they were to be built today?
Are you planning to report your neighbor to the DOB for a ‘decades old’ condition? Or is this your house and you’re afraid someone else will? If the former, I don’t know what to say politely.
Figured right.
Information overload… Follow this link and type in address of building in question. It will give you FAR available, or not.
http://www.urbanresearchmaps.org/oasis/map.aspx
AFAIK if the building was legally built before the current FAR, it’s grandfathered in.