Zoning and Roof Construction

Hi there,

We am writing to try to get some information/assistance related to interpretation of the City’s zoning code. This is for an R-7 district (no front yard setback required, residential).

In the City’s zoning code for this type of district there are certain limitations on building height (as to be expected). This is controlled using setbacks and the sky exposure plane. For R7 there are two codes that apply. In the first scenario (Article 2 Chapter 3 Section 63-2), new construction of additional structures must be set back from building street walls (20 feet). From this the sky exposure plane is also set. In the second scenario (Article 2 Chapter 3 Section 64), there are different regulations that say if there is a front setback (minimum 15 feet) then there is not a max building height but rather a sky exposure plane that cannot be penetrated that starts a certain distance (60 feet) up from the street.

There is also the ‘Sliver Law’ which regulates narrow buildings to max heights. However, within this there is a clause that states if there are directly abutting buildings with heights above 60 feet then you can construct to the lower of these max heights.

We are looking to purchase an apartment with roof rights. The abutting buildings have roof construction above the building front. However, the Sliver Law only ‘supersedes’ the second scenario. So under the first scenario, there would be a required setback from the front streetwall (which we could not do because it would encroach upon part of the roof that is not ours).

So our questions are:
1) How do we know if the building falls into the second scenario? There is a setback from the curb but not for the whole lot line because there are brownstone stairs up to the first floor. The City’s yard code says stairs are a permitted obstruction but only to the first level above the basement (Article 2 Chapter 3 Section 44). In brownstones that is confusing because the garden apartment is below the street level but the first floor is definitely more than one story above the basement.
2) If stairs are permitted, where is the setback measured from? The code says perpendicular to the front lot line and the corresponding figure is from the street but it seems this would actually be from the sidewalk.
3) If the building falls into the first scenario (Sliver Law does not supersede) and there are abutting buildings over the max height under the first scenario (but constructed before the max height zoning code was set) can we go over 60 feet within the required setback if the additional structure does not penetrate the sky exposure plane?

Apologies for the long (and somewhat convoluted) post. We love the apartment and plan to purchase it but are trying to get an idea of our post-purchase expansion options.

Thanks for the time to read the post — comments from those with experience are very much appreciated!!