Distance from Property Line?
A house on 1st Street between 8th and PPW has removed all trees and is excavating the rear yard. Workmen say the new owners are going to build a full extension that will run right up to the rear property line. Does anyone know what, if any, rules dictate how close to the rear property…
A house on 1st Street between 8th and PPW has removed all trees and is excavating the rear yard. Workmen say the new owners are going to build a full extension that will run right up to the rear property line. Does anyone know what, if any, rules dictate how close to the rear property line borwnstones can be extended?
Zoning regulations are very very complicated and there is no general answer.
In general the following applies:
If it is for commercial / community facility then they would be allowed up to the property line for a maximum height of 1 story up to 23 feet.
For residential they will need a 30′ rear yard and the additional restriction of maximum lot coverage which varies by zoning district.
The 30′ rear yard requirement in general is being waived within 100′ feet of a corner but it still needs to comply with lot coverage pertaining to corners and 30′ for light and air.
If they can find a solution for light and air (which is possible) then they can build up to the property lines provided that lot coverage os not being overbuilt.
Floor area also needs to be taken in consideration regardless.
You can get the zoning handbook for atrters at city planning store in Manhattan at 22 Reade Street
Did you see if a permit was pulled? There is a zoning challenge process that you could look into. It is possible that it was certified incorrectly and has slipped through the cracks and/or has not been audited.
is it possible they are building out below grade (as in a cellar level?) and then putting an earth surface on the top? It seems scenarios like that are all the rage in Manhattan… I am working on at least 3 built out cellar levels with a ‘yard’ on top… They are all for pools.
If the owner has serious money, then that could be what’s happening.
If all else fails, throw rocks.
its called FAR it means maximum allowable square foot….but the formula includes and excludes things…ask Scarano…..
Isn’t there a maximum # of square feet a house can be? what’s that called? Acra? i remember it coming when we were talking about renovations to our kitchen.
Smokychimp is right. Still, in Brooklyn, you can’t seem to get a DOB permit to excavate to plant a tulip from DOB without some substantial paperwork these days. It has something to buildings falling down due to gravity and caution by DOB.There should either be a paper trail in DOB or stop work order out there.
Someone on our block tried to do something similar & got variances but neighbors banded together & got it stopped w/ the help of CB6.
The answer is “it depends” — if the ground floor is zoned for commercial use, then the commercial use can extend all the way to the rear property line. But that would be allowed for only one story, the commercial story only, so in many situations pretty pointless. Where you do see this happen most often is restaurants extending their seating area into what was at one time a rear yard of a building.
If the building is not within a commercial zone, forget it they would have to comply with the residential setback rules and lot coverage % rules.