South Richmond Zoning Relief

Staten Island homes  with cars in drive ways

NYC Planning is closely collaborating with a working group of Staten Island community members to find ways to improve zoning rules in South Richmond.

Read preliminary recommendations here to make rules more streamlined, homeowner-friendly and up-to-date with today’s environmental science.

We are seeking feedback from all Staten Island community members to help us refine these recommendations as we work towards a formal zoning amendment proposal.

 


Submit feedback on the recommendations

 

Ongoing and Previous Public Engagement

Public environmental review launched on Dec. 21, 2020 which began the process is known as the City Environmental Quality Review, or CEQR. 

On Jan. 28, 2021, the Department of City Planning held a scoping meeting for the public to give comments on the environmental scoping materials and inform the environmental review process.

Following the public scoping process, NYC Planning released a Final Scope of Work and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on April 7, 2023, and the project entered public review on April 10, 2023.

A public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was held on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at 10:00 am in conjunction with the City Planning Commission’s public hearing. To continue to allow for broad public participation, the Department of City Planning (DCP) held the public hearing accessible both in-person and remotely via the teleconferencing application Zoom. Written comments on the DEIS were accepted by the Lead Agency through 5:00 pm, Monday, July 10, 2023.

On July 28, 2023, the New York City Department of City Planning, on behalf of the City Planning Commission as lead agency, issued a Notice of Completion for a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the South Richmond Zoning Relief Proposal. The FEIS incorporates responses to the public comments received on the DEIS and updated analysis conducted subsequent to the completion of the DEIS.

To view the South Richmond Zoning Relief FEIS Notice of Completion and full FEIS and Appendix, navigate to the South Richmond Zoning Relief project page in ZAP and select Public Documents, then "FEIS_Notice of Completion" and "FEIS_20DCP130R".

DCP hosted two webinars in summer 2020 to discuss the preliminary recommendations with the Staten Island community and take questions and feedback.

DCP has been collaborating and conducting research with a working group of community members and organizations since 2015. There were 18 working group meetings between April 2015 and May 2020 where we analyzed the existing special district conditions, identified goals to improve the current rules and test out proposed solutions on real sites, culminating in the preliminary recommendations above.

The working group continues to collaborate while we seek feedback on the preliminary recommendations.

Read the working group’s November 2022 progress update here.

Working Group Members

  • Staten Island Community Board 3
  • SI Taxpayers Association
  • SI Borough President’s Office
  • SI Chapter – American Institute of Architects
  • SI Building Industry Association
  • NYC Parks – Natural Resources Group
  • Protectors of Pine Oak Woods
  • Department of Buildings
  • Professional Landscape Architects and Planners
  • Council Member Borelli

Alongside the working group and Staten Island community, DCP is coordinating with the Department of Buildings (DOB) to ensure that proposed new zoning rules would result in clear and enforceable rules for smaller properties in the special district. DCP is also working with the following groups to develop a modernized approach to natural resource preservation in the special districts.

  • Department of Parks and Recreation’s Natural Resources Group
  • Natural Area Conservancy
  • NYC Fire Department
  • Department of Environmental Protection
  • NY State Department of Environmental Conservation