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New Industrial Zoning Passes - Questions Remain
May 25, 2016
The City Planning Commission today voted to approve the amended application for a mixed industrial-commercial development at 25 Kent Avenue. As ANHD has written in previous posts, the 25 Kent Avenue development could be a bellwether of future zoning reforms.
The City Planning Commission today voted to approve the amended application for a mixed industrial-commercial development at 25 Kent Avenue. As ANHD has written in previous posts, the 25 Kent Avenue development could be a bellwether of future zoning reforms.
The City Planning Commission today voted to approve the amended application for a mixed industrial-commercial development at 25 Kent Avenue. As ANHD has written in previous posts, the 25 Kent Avenue development could be a bellwether of future zoning reforms.
The Industrial Policy Working Group, a coalition of community-based groups and advocates, believes that the amendments voted on today reflect an openness from the Department of City Planning to address some of the concerns raised about the proposal that would limit its effectiveness as a tool to facilitate the development of new industrial and manufacturing space. However, there are several serious shortcomings which should be addressed by the City Council before any final approval of the proposal. The de Blasio Administration deserves great credit for focusing on preserving and expanding the industrial/light manufacturing sectors as a key strategy for increasing economic opportunity and decent-paying jobs for the communities that most need it.
As Crain's New York reported earlier this month, the amendments to the approved application include a scaling back of the 14 block Enhanced Business Area (EBA) to a 1 block Industrial Business Incentive Area (IBIA) and new signage and transparency requirements. The Industrial Policy Working Group believes that several significant shortcomings in the enforcement of the uses and the affordability of the industrial space remain unresolved:
- The dedicated industrial and manufacturing component of a building within the IBIA, now just 25 Kent Avenue, is a small portion of the overall development space (roughly 17%), especially given that a stated goal of the IBIA is to "maintain the light industrial and manufacturing character of the area, while allowing a mix of other uses that are permitted on an as-of-right basis within the existing M1-2 zoning district" (EAS, A-7).
- The ratio of commercial, light industrial, and as-of right uses was derived by the developer, not by any public study.
- It is unclear if the financial analysis for the 25 Kent Ave proposal was based upon rents that are actually affordable for industrial and manufacturing businesses being displaced from the neighborhood.
- Most importantly, there are no affordability restrictions on the industrial spaces to ensure that they are affordable for truly industrial businesses that will create the employment-dense light-manufacturing uses that is the primary public benefit of the proposal.
- The added requirement of signage that denotes uses and a website with additional information does not ensure compliance of uses at an IBIA building.
- No agency has been identified to monitor and enforce the uses defined by the zoning text amendment or its special permits.
Despite changes in terminology, the zoning text amendment facilitating the development of 25 Kent Avenue still has ramifications for the broader citywide industrial policy discussion. The Administration outlined its priorities in last November's Industrial Action Plan, including "new models for flexible workspace and innovation districts."As the 25 Kent proposal moves to the City Council for review, it is important for elected officials to consider the concerns raised by both the local community board and advocates across the city when weighing whether or not this zoning text amendment is the kind of model other neighborhoods would benefit from seeing. Additionally, the Administration and Council should advance the important reforms outlined in the Action Plan, such as the limiting of hotels and personal storage and a zoning tool to bolster core industrial areas, both of which have yet to move forward while this experimental tool has advanced through ULURP.
We strongly support the efforts by the Administration to strengthen the industrial and manufacturing sector, and believe that the Industrial Business Incentive Area tool should be further amended and strengthened so it can provide the necessary protections for industrial and manufacturing growth, and increased employment opportunities for working New Yorkers.