On September 11, 2023, the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) approved the first of several rezoning proposals from Mayor Eric Adams aimed at reducing carbon emissions to reach the city’s climate goals. Specifically, New York has set the year 2050 as the target date by which it hopes to reduce its carbon emissions by 80 percent. The rezoning proposal, called the “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality,” includes 17 citywide zoning changes that are designed to remove “barriers to greener energy, buildings, and water and waste systems,” according to Dan Garodnick, chair of the CPC and direct of the Department of City Planning. The proposed changes would be made to New York City’s Zoning Resolution, which was first enacted in 1961.
Specifically, the 17 citywide zoning changes are as follows:
- Allowing for solar awnings and canopies to cover covered parking areas by adding them as “permitted obstructions” in open space (Zoning Resolution 23-12);
- Establishing a new City Planning Commission authorization to modify waterfront bulk and public access area regulations to accommodate wind energy systems (Zoning Resolution 62-825).
- Helping with façade replacement and recladding for energy efficiency, create a new exemption from zoning floor area for additional wall thickness, provided the new wall complies with the latest thermal barrier requirements in the NYC Energy Code (Zoning Resolution 12-10);
- Allowing qualifying rooftop greenhouses to be added on top of non-residential buildings as-of-right, which are not counted as zoning floor area and are allowed to exceed the maximum permitted building height, eliminating the City Planning Commission certification currently required for rooftop greenhouses in ZR 75-01 (Zoning Resolution 12-10);
- Creating a new commercial use for public bicycle and micro-mobility parking (Zoning Resolution 32-15, 32-23) and allowing for outdoor bike storage lockers as permitted obstructions in yards and open spaces (Zoning Resolution 23-441);
- Allowing for required street trees to be planted within connected tree beds per Department of Transportation standards or raingardens per Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) standards, and allowing a DEP-compliant raingarden as a substitute for a required street tree (Zoning Resolution 26-41);
- Making some allowances for permitted obstructions that currently apply only within flood zones to also apply citywide, increasing the maximum allowed lot coverage and height for such equipment to up to 50percent of the building’s lot coverage at 15 feet above the maximum building height, and up to 30 percent of the building’s lot coverage at 25 to 55 feet above the maximum building height, depending on the zoning district (Zoning Resolution 23-662(c));
- Create the newly defined use “energy infrastructure equipment” (EIE), and add it to Use Groups 4, 6, and 14 (Zoning Resolution 12-10, 22-14, 32-15, 32-23). EIE includes renewable energy systems, such as solar or wind energy, and energy storage systems, such as fuel cells and batteries (ZR 12-10). This infrastructure would be as-of-right in Residence Districts, if no more than 10,000 square feet of lot area, and as-of-right in Commercial and Manufacturing Districts, at any size. Currently, a Board of Standards and Appeals special permit is needed for “electric utility substations” to be located in Residence Districts, and would still be required for all EIE of more than 10,000 square feet of lot area in Residence Districts (Zoning Resolution 73-14);
- Revising the “permitted obstruction” regulations to remove building coverage limits and setback requirements for rooftop solar panels, and applying a 15-foot maximum height limit to all solar installations on flat roofs and a 5-foot height limit on sloped roofs (Zoning Resolution 23-621);
- Allowing up to 20 percent of accessory parking spaces to be occupied in most Commercial Districts and all Manufacturing Districts by (1) car share vehicles, (2) car rental vehicles, (3) public electric vehicle charging spaces, or (4) commercial vehicle storage for vehicles not exceeding 20 feet in length, or any combination thereof (Zoning Resolution 36-41);
- Making it clear that any paving area may be paved with permeable paving (Zoning Resolution 25-65);
- Establishing that (1) composting can be an “accessory use” (Zoning Resolution 12-10), (2) recycling or organic material receiving facilities of up to 5,000 square feet per establishment are allowed in all Commercial Districts (Use Groups 6 and 14) (Zoning Resolution 32-15, 32-23), and (3) larger composting and recycling facilities remain restricted to Manufacturing Districts (Use Groups 17 and 18 (Zoning Resolution 42-14, 42-15)). The Zoning Resolution currently does not mention “recycling” or “composting:”
- Establishing that a 153-square foot floor area allocation per parking space in automated parking facilities would be applicable citywide. (Zoning Resolution 25-626);
- Expanding existing regulations allowing car sharing spaces in accessory parking facilities to allow facility owners to designate up to 20 percent of spaces (or 5, whichever is greater) for publicly available electric vehicle “charger sharing,” or car sharing, or any combination thereof (Zoning Resolution 25-42);
- Reclassifying electric vehicle charging facilities as a Use Group 6 and Use Group 14 use rather than Use Group 7, to be permitted as-of-right in all Commercial Districts (in addition to Manufacturing Districts, as currently allowed) (ZR 32-15 and 32-23), and allow electric vehicle charging facilities at all accessory off-street parking spaces (Zoning Resolution 25-44);
- Updating the existing “Zone Green” floor area deduction by providing a 5 percent deduction from zoning floor area for existing buildings that are “fully electrified buildings” and new buildings designed as “ultra-low energy buildings.” A “fully electrified building” is an existing building that complies or is retrofitted to comply with the requirements of Local Law 154 of 2021. Local Law 154’s requirements will apply to new buildings submitting a DOB application for approval of construction documents as of July 1, 2027. An “ultra-low energy building,” in addition to complying with Local Law 154, is a new building no greater than three stories that is a net-zero energy building which must produce energy onsite from renewable energy sources in an amount equal to or greater than such building’s total energy needs, or a new building greater than three stories that has (i) an energy use intensity that is no greater than 50percent or more below the energy use intensity of such a building if designed and constructed according to one of the approved modeling methods in ASHRAE 90.1, or (ii) a source energy use intensity not more than 38 kBTU per square foot per year (Zoning Resolution 12-10)
- Creating a new exemption from zoning floor area for additional wall thickness, provided the new wall complies with the latest thermal barrier requirements in the NYC Energy Code (Zoning Resolution 12-10)
Not all of these rezoning proposals have been met with approval, however. Some officials have expressed concerns about the proposal that would allow energy storage infrastructure built in residential areas in particular.
“The physical design of these facilities we have seen during the process, and the uncertain nature of the safety of them creates a whole host of issues that clearly is inconsistent with residential character and use,” said CPC Commissioner Alfred Cerullo. “The borough president noted that Staten Island elected officials have stated publicly that the current approach will decrease the quality of life for many families, potentially increase safety issues for both residents and firefighters, and diminish property values.”
Despite these concerns, the City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality proposal will now move forward in the approval process. Next up, it gets presented to the New York City Council for a public hearing and a final vote later this fall.