Interesting Things about New York City Zoning and Analysis
Indeed, the New York City Zoning program is a policy initiative by New York’s Department of Planning. The ideals that inspired and led to the consequent establishment of the department include the need to provide order and control in the City, the need to ensure efficiency in construction and development of facilities, and the overwhelming necessity to restrict and govern operations of individuals with diverse interests and understanding. However, in the quest to satisfy these objectives, one cannot help but identify interesting features in the program.
First, zoning entails the allocation and distribution of the land to various uses economic or otherwise. New York City planners have zoned the land into three main categories. Interestingly, these categories though related and interdependent, do not overlap at all. Each category sits on its own territory. As such, an interested developer in any given category must, therefore, confine himself to the respective province. The categories include manufacturing, residential and commerce. These three categories form the basic districts and division of the larger New York City. Interestingly, the basic districts are further zoned into sub categories that attract particular interest. They are lower, medium and higher density zones.
As their naming suggests, sub categories are divided as per the level of population or settlement they accommodate. One is left wondering aloud why an area should be zoned with respect to population requisites and capacities. However, zoning experts explain the rationale applied citing that some areas, due to their terrain and location, cannot accommodate high densities. In addition, service planners generally apply the zoning information in the distribution and supply of services. Supplying water to a higher density area, for instance, necessitates the application of advanced infrastructure as opposed to supply to lower density areas.
Interestingly, the zoning districts have been charged with the mandate to regulate permitted uses of land, restriction of the size of building to the benchmarks agreed upon, and observe the distance requirements as it appertains to buildings and fronts, permitted parking areas and other features applicable to commercial, residential and manufacturing districts respectively. The interesting bit lies in the fact that the districts take the trouble to oversee these regulations and non-compliance necessarily occasions a course of action which could be costly to developers. One may query the spirit of such stringent observations and argue for an amendment of the laws and policies to be of more incentive to developers.
However, New York City planners and their supporters alike would have you understand the beauty of the laws and policies. They cite the fact that since the adoption of the comprehensive zoning ordinance in 1996, the City of New York has known no disorder and has been characterized by proper development accompanied by efficient services supply. This, they argue, is only possible against the backdrop of huge populations because of elaborate zoning. However, experts assert that the opportunity costs incurred in preference to the zoning policy cannot be ascertained. As such, no one can tell where New York City would have been in the otherwise situation.
One cannot help but notice the Zoning Text, which has thirteen articles providing the operating law that guides zoning. In addition, the Amendment Index documents all amendments to the Zoning Text since 1993. The fact that the Zoning Text has been subjected to amendments interestingly brings out the dynamism in the New York society. Additionally, they appreciate the inevitability of change and aspire to be part of the change is laudable. It also demonstrates the fact that zoning policies and attendant laws are not cast on stone and hence can be subjected to change in line with societal needs at the prevailing time.
Finally, while the noble zoning policies continue to find appreciation and utility in New York City and the world at large, it is also interesting to note that the constrains of overpopulation continue to exert pressure towards comprise in order to accommodate everyone in the limited space.
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