Zoning for Flood Resiliency - DCP

Department of City Planning


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NYC Rezoning Commitments Tracker

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Brooklyn

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Staten Island

Citywide

NYC Rezoning Commitments Tracker


Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency

Update: May 12, 2021 – Approved

On May 12, 2021 the City Council adopted the Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency text amendment. The text is now in effect. View the adopted text.

Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency would improve homeowners’ and business owners’ ability to withstand and recover from future storms and other disaster events. It builds on years of collaboration with floodplain communities to support post-disaster recovery and promote long-term resiliency.

Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the City adopted temporary emergency zoning rules that made it easier for New Yorkers to rebuild. Zoning for Coastal Flood resiliency would update those rules with lessons learned and make them permanent.

The proposal would allow homeowners, business owners, architects and others to design resilient buildings that are better protected from flood risk and reduce flood insurance costs. It would protect and support public access to waterfront sites through resilient open space design. It would also help New Yorkers recover quickly from other future disasters, including the COVID-19 crisis.

Learn More

Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency was approved by the City Planning Commission on March 17, 2021 and adopted by City Council on May 12, 2021. The text is now in effect. View the adopted text.

One-page Summary

Project Description

Proposal Slides

Annotated Zoning Text

Applicability Maps

See where key provisions of Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency would apply within each community district’s floodplain.*

Not sure of your community district? Search for a neighborhood or use the map on Community District Profiles.

Bronx

Bronx Community District 1
Bronx Community District 7

Bronx Community District 2
Bronx Community District 8

Bronx Community District 3

Bronx Community District 9

Bronx Community District 4
Bronx Community District 10

Bronx Community District 5
Bronx Community District 11

Bronx Community District 6
Bronx Community District 12

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Community District 1
Brooklyn Community District 10

Brooklyn Community District 2
Brooklyn Community District 11

Brooklyn Community District 3

Brooklyn Community District 12

Brooklyn Community District 4
Brooklyn Community District 13

Brooklyn Community District 5
Brooklyn Community District 14

Brooklyn Community District 6
Brooklyn Community District 15

Brooklyn Community District 7
Brooklyn Community District 16

Brooklyn Community District 8
Brooklyn Community District 17

Brooklyn Community District 9
Brooklyn Community District 18

Manhattan

Manhattan Community District 1
Manhattan Community District 7

Manhattan Community District 2
Manhattan Community District 8

Manhattan Community District 3

Manhattan Community District 9

Manhattan Community District 4
Manhattan Community District 10

Manhattan Community District 5
Manhattan Community District 11

Manhattan Community District 6
Manhattan Community District 12

Queens

Queens Community District 1
Queens Community District 8

Queens Community District 2
Queens Community District 9

Queens Community District 3

Queens Community District 10

Queens Community District 4
Queens Community District 11

Queens Community District 5
Queens Community District 12

Queens Community District 6
Queens Community District 13

Queens Community District 7
Queens Community District 14

Staten Island

Staten Island Community District 1
Staten Island Community District 3

Staten Island Community District 2

*Please note: The maps above cover only key provisions that would apply within the 1%- and 0.2%-annual chance floodplain. Additional provisions, including those that would apply in upland areas, are not included.

For more information about flood risk across NYC, see the interactive Flood Hazard Mapper.

Public Review

ULURP Milestone
Dates

The City Council approved Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency. View the adopted text.

May 12, 2021

The City Planning Commission approved Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency. View the CPC report
March 17, 2021

The Final Environmental Impact Statement was published. View the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
March 5, 2021

The City Planning Commission held a Post-Hearing follow-up. View the Department of City Planning Post-Hearing presentation.
February 16, 2021

The City Planning Commission held a Public Hearing on the proposal. Watch the CPC Public Hearing.
February 3, 2021

The City Planning Commission held the Pre-Hearing presentation. View the Department of City Planning Pre-Hearing presentation.
February 1, 2021

Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency was referred out to all Community Boards, Borough Boards and Borough Presidents. View the Department of City Planning Referral presentation.
October 19, 2020

Overview

In 2013 and in 2015, the NYC Zoning Resolution was updated to include provisions from the Flood Resilience Zoning Text Amendment (the “2013 Flood Text”) and the Special Regulations for Neighborhood Recovery (the “2015 Recovery Text”). The 2013 Flood Text removed many regulatory obstacles that hindered new and existing buildings to comply with flood-resistant construction standards in Appendix G of the New York City Building Code, or prevented the reconstruction of storm-damaged properties (see Article VI, Chapter 4 ). The 2015 Recovery Text simplified the process for old buildings to document non-compliances, and established new rules that allow damaged homes located within small lots to be reconstructed (see Article VI, Chapter 4, Appendix A).

Since both text amendments were approved on a temporary, emergency basis in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to speed the recovery process from the storm, they include sunset dates. The 2013 Flood Text expires within one year of the adoption of new FIRMs, which are expected to be revised by FEMA in the next few years. The 2015 Recovery Text expired on July 23, 2020. Therefore, these zoning rules needed to be adopted on a permanent basis to continue to allow buildings to incorporate resiliency improvements and recover from potential future storms.

Additionally, aside from making these rules permanent, they needed to incorporate updates that had been drawn from lessons learned and initiatives implemented through the City’s recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy. These recommendations, which are laid out in the Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency publication, were developed based on analysis of resilient construction in the floodplain, through extensive coordination with partner City agencies, and community feedback that was received during an extensive public engagement process as laid out in the Community Outreach Summary document released in 2018.

Summary of Past Outreach

Workshop participants sharing their feedback on different zoning strategies for the floodplain.

DCP has engaged with communities located in the floodplain to learn from their experiences, hear their ideas, and collaborate on the potential solutions to achieve building-scale resiliency. You can read more about the input we heard from stakeholders — residents, Community Boards, civic and homeowners associations, non-profit organizations, property owners, businesses, architects and elected officials in our Community Outreach Summary, which informed our recommendations.

For more information or questions email us at ResilientNeighborhoods@planning.nyc.gov.

In the Rockaways, participants at a workshop creating their flood resilient building design

Participants at a workshop in Red Hook discussing the different options for resilient zoning strategies

Below is an overview of our events and workshops to date, as well as corresponding presentations where available in pdf format. The presentations are largely the same content, though each has been tailored with information on flood risk and zoning issues specific to the area. View additional resources used in our outreach, including information available in other languages.

Bronx

9/11/2019
Community Board Meeting: CB 1 Bronx - Presentation

7/30/2019
Briefing City Island Civic Association - Presentation

6/11/2019
Housing and Zoning Committee: CB 10 Bronx - Presentation

6/10/2019
Land, Zoning, Planning and Economic Development Committee: CB 9 Bronx - Presentation

6/4/2019
Environmental Subcommittee: CB 7 Bronx - Presentation

10/21/2017
Community Zoning Workshop: Eastern Bronx - Workshop Notes

10/11/2017
Bronx CB 1 Economic Development, Land Use, and Housing - Presentation

10/3/2017
Locust Point Civic Association - Presentation

9/26/2017
Throggs Neck Homeowners Association - Presentation

9/26/2017
City Island Civic Association - Presentation

6/20/2017
Hunts Point Resiliency Event

5/10/2017
Hunts Point Vision Plan Task Force (Biannual Meeting)

5/9/2017
Bronx CB 10 Housing and Zoning Subcommittee - Presentation

5/8/2017
Bronx CB 9 Land Use, Zoning, and Econ Dev Subcommittee - Presentation

4/27/2017
Bronx Borough Board - Presentation

Brooklyn

9/26/2019
Land Use Committee: CB 6 Brooklyn - Presentation

9/18/2019
Land Use Committee: CB 2 Brooklyn - Presentation

9/10/2019
Zoning Committee : CB 10 Brooklyn - Presentation

6/19/2019
Community Board Meeting: CB 18 Brooklyn - Presentation

6/4/2019
Land Use and Resiliency Committee CB 13 Brooklyn - Presentation

5/212019
Community Board Meeting: CB 15 Brooklyn - Presentation

12/20/2017
Brooklyn Community Board 13 - Presentation

10/18/2017
Community Zoning Workshop: Southern Brooklyn - Presentation
Community Zoning Workshop: Southern Brooklyn - Workshop Notes

10/3/2017
Brooklyn CB 1 Land Use Committee - Presentation

9/19/2017
Brooklyn CB 2 Land Use Committee - Presentation

7/10/2017
Resilient Red Hook Committee - Presentation

6/21/2017
Brooklyn Community Board 6 Environmental Committee - Presentation

6/17/2017
Community Zoning Workship: Red Hook Presentation
Community Zoning Workship: Red Hook - Workshop Notes

6/17/2017
Fresh Creek Civic Association - Presentation

6/15/2017
NHS Brooklyn at Beraca Church, Canarsie - Presentation

6/3/2017
Newtown Creek Visioning Public Meeting

5/24/2017
Gerritsen Beach Cares - Presentation

5/18/2017
Councilmember Treyger Town Hall

4/25/2017
Brooklyn Community Board 15 - Presentation

4/20/2017
Gowanus Sustainability and Resiliency Working Group - Presentation

4/19/2017
Brooklyn Community Board 18 - Presentation

4/19/2017
AIA Brooklyn - Presentation

4/19/2017
Brooklyn Community Board 1

4/4/2017
Brooklyn Borough Board - Presentation

3/22/2017
Manhattan Beach Community Group Presentation

3/2/2017
Climate Forum: The Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay - Presentation

2/2/2017
Brooklyn Community Board 13 Community Resource Night

Manhattan

6/5/2019
Community Board Meeting: CB 12 Manhattan | Land Use Committee - Presentation

11/21/2017
Community Zoning Workshop: Manhattan Retail - Presentation
Community Zoning Workshop: Manhattan Retail - Workshop Notes

9/13/2017
Manhattan Community Board 2 Land Use Committee - Presentation

6/14/2017
Manhattan Community Board 3 Land Use Committee - Presentation

6/12/2017
Manhattan Community Board 1 Land Use CommitteePresentation

6/7/2017
Manhattan Community Board 6 Land Use and Waterfront CommitteePresentation

5/19/2017
Manhattan District Service Cabinet - Presentation

5/15/2017
Manhattan Community Board 4 Land Use Committee (Chelsea) - Presentation

Queens

9/10/2019
Community Board Meeting: CB 14 Queens - Presentation

9/5/2019
Communtiy Board Meeting: CB 10 Queens - Presentation

9/4/2019
Community Board Meeting: CB 1 Queens - Presentation

5/30/2019
Community Board Meeting: CB 7 Queens - Presentation

10/17/2017
Community Zoning Workshop: Rockaways Presentation
Community Zoning Workshop: RockawaysWorkshop Notes

9/26/2017
Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic - Presentation

9/13/2017
Queens Borough President's Hurricane Sandy Task Force - Presentation

8/8/2017
LIC Core Study Open House - Presentation

7/18/2017
Community Zoning Workshop: Rockaways - Presentation
Community Zoning Workshop: Rockaways - Workshop Notes

7/10/2017
Rosedale Civic Board and Stakeholder - Presentation

6/29/2017
College Point Civic and Taxpayers Association - Presentation

6/22/2017
Old Astoria Neighborhood Association - Presentation

6/13/2017
Queens AIA - Presentation

6/13/2017
Queens Community Board 14 - Presentation

6/7/2017
Queens Community Board 1 Land Use and Zoning Committee - Presentation

5/30/2017
NYS Senator Sanders Flooding and Insurance Community Forum

5/18/2017
Queens Community Board 10, Land Use Committee - Presentation

5/17/2017
Queens Community Board 2, Land Use Committee - Presentation

5/17/2017
Queens Community Board 14, Land Use Committee - Presentation

5/15/2017
Queens Borough Board - Presentation

5/1/2017
Queens Community Board 11 - Presentation

5/8/2017
Queens Community Board 13 Land Use CommitteePresentation

5/3/2017
Queens Community Board 1 Land Use and Zoning Committee

5/2/2017
Queens Community Board 7 Zoning and Land Use Committee - Presentation

Staten Island

9/4/2019
Community Board Meeting: CB 2 Staten Island - Presentation

10/24/2017
Staten Island CB 1 Waterfront Committee - Presentation

10/24/2017
Northfield LDC Open House

10/12/2017
West Shore Business Improvement DistrictPresentation

10/11/2017
Staten Island CB 3 Land Use Committee

9/26/2017
East Shore Resiliency Open House - Presentation

9/5/2017
Natural Resources Protective Association - Presentation

6/14/2017
Midland Beach CivicPresentation

5/10/2017
Staten Island Community Board 3 Land Use Committee - Presentation

5/9/2017
Staten Island Community Board 1 - Presentation

5/2/2017
Staten Island Community Board 2 Land Use Committee

4/5/2017
VStaten Island Borough Board - Presentation

3/16/2017
Staten Island AIA - Presentation

Contact Us

For more information or questions, email us at ResilientNeighborhoods@planning.nyc.gov.