DCP outlines Citywide "Housing Opportunity" zoning changes; board presses for enforcement details

Nate Hefron, senior rural planner in the Bronx office of the Department of City Planning, presented the citywide Housing Opportunity zoning text amendment (commonly described in public materials as "City of Yes") to the Community Board 11 land use committee on Tuesday, April 15.

The Department of City Planning said the package aims to increase housing production and variety across New York City by allowing new forms of housing in lower-density neighborhoods, incentivizing permanently affordable units in denser areas, easing conversions of underused buildings, and changing parking and unit-size rules. "Even with the modifications, we still expect over 80,000 new homes to be built over the next 15 years across the entire city," Hefron said during his presentation.

The package includes multiple components intended to address the citywide housing shortage. For lower-density districts the plan adds allowances for transit-oriented development near mass transit stops (eligible lots generally described as at least 5,000 square feet and within a quarter-mile of qualifying transit after City Council modifications), town-center zoning for small-scale residential-over-retail development on commercial corridors, expanded rules for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) with added flood-risk exclusions, and targeted "district fixes" to ease yard and bulk…