FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2004
CONTACT: Rachaele
Raynoff, Press Secretary -- (212) 720-3471
CITY PLANNING PROPOSAL
TO PROTECT BELLEROSE NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER ENTERS
PUBLIC REVIEW PROCESS
March 22 - The Department of City Planning (DCP) today
certified a rezoning proposal designed to preserve
the neighborhood character of the Bellerose, Queens
community, City Planning Director Amanda M. Burden
announced. The proposed rezoning would ensure that
any new construction will match the mostly detached,
one- and two-family houses prevalent in the area. The
proposal responds to community concerns about possible
construction of multi-family homes that are allowed
under existing zoning established in 1961. It now goes
to Community Board 13, beginning the official public
review process.
"City Planning’s rezoning proposal in Bellerose
furthers the Bloomberg administration’s goal
of reinforcing the distinctive character of residential
neighborhoods," said Ms. Burden, "Our changes
will preserve the one- and two-story, free-standing
homes of the Bellerose neighborhood that its residents
prize."
The rezoning proposal would change the zoning for
22 blocks in the portion of the Bellerose neighborhood
situated between the Creedmoor State Hospital campus
and the Cross Island Parkway. The rezoning would replace
the current R3-2 zoning district, which permits a variety
of housing types including garden apartments, row houses,
detached and semi-detached homes as well as multi-family
apartment structures. Two new zoning districts would
be mapped in the area: R3A and R2.
The R3A zoning district is proposed for eight blocks
bounded by Hillside Avenue, the Cross Island Parkway,
87th Avenue and Creedmoor State Hospital. It will limit
new development to detached one- and two-family structures.
The R2 regulations would limit residential development
to single-family, detached homes on slightly larger
lots. It is being proposed for the 14 blocks bounded
by Hillside Avenue, the eastern Creedmoor State Hospital
property line, Union Turnpike, Commonwealth Parkway
and the Cross Island Parkway.
This rezoning action extends R2 and R3A zoning districts
from adjacent portions of the Bellerose neighborhood,
including areas that were rezoned in 1989 and 1991
from R3-2 and R4 to R3A, also to prevent inappropriate
development. The new rezoning proposal responds to
requests from Community Board 13, the Borough President’s
Zoning Task Force and Councilmember David Weprin to
similarly protect this portion of Bellerose from out-of-character
buildings.
DCP also certified an application today from the Royal
Ranch Civic Association and Community Board 13 to extend
an existing R2 zone to 13 additional lots of the Royal
Ranch development in the Floral Park section of Queens
that are currently zoned R3-2. The rezoning would permit
only single family homes ensuring that future development
will reflect the neighborhood’s character.
The community board now has 60 days to review both
proposals, after which they will go to the Borough
President, the City Planning Commission and the City
Council as part of the City’s Uniform Land Use
Review Procedure (ULURP).
The Department of City Planning website contains more
information on zoning and ULURP.
City Planning
The Department of City Planning is responsible for
the City's physical and socioeconomic planning,
including land use and environmental review; preparation
of
plans and policies; and provision of technical
assistance and planning information to government
agencies,
public
officials, and community boards.
Return
to the Press Release Archive |
