New York Mayor Proposes Zoning Amendments to Boost Housing Supply

New York’s City Planning Commission will begin weighing three zoning amendments proposed by Mayor Eric Adams that would lower barriers for development, encourage more housing production, and help the city achieve its climate goals.

According to a Politico article by Janaki Chadha and Danielle Muoio Dunn, “The Adams administration is seeking to remove zoning barriers that inhibit the city’s carbon reduction goals, via a raft of changes that would, among other things, make it easier to pursue environmentally-friendly retrofits to buildings and legalize solar canopies on more than 8,500 acres of parking lots.”

Last week, opposition from largely suburban state lawmakers led to the collapse of Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious and controversial proposal to expand housing options and build 800,000 new housing units in New York State in the next decade.

As the article explains, the amendments will make their way through public review throughout the coming year. “The second zoning amendment, which is expected to enter public review this fall, seeks to lift arcane and outdated zoning rules that can be onerous to businesses and limit economic growth. And the third proposal, slated to move into public review next spring, would offer a density-bonus for affordable housing and make other changes to boost residential development around the city.”