NYC Zoning Heights (attorney, buying, school)

[BlakeJones]

Was randomly browsing the very nicely done NYC Zoning map:
https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/zoning-district/C5-3

I'm no land use attorney so I'm pretty confused by zoning regulations. For example in midtown, the area around Grand Central is zoned C5-3 allowing for an F.A.R. of up to 15. How is it then possible that buildings routinely go up for many dozens of stories if the zoning regs cap the height at 15 times the lot?

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by BlakeJones

Was randomly browsing the very nicely done NYC Zoning map:
https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/zoning-district/C5-3

I'm no land use attorney so I'm pretty confused by zoning regulations. For example in midtown, the area around Grand Central is zoned C5-3 allowing for an F.A.R. of up to 15. How is it then possible that buildings routinely go up for many dozens of stories if the zoning regs cap the height at 15 times the lot?

FAR has nothing to do with height

FAR pertains to building floor area, i.e. max sq ft that bldg can occupy on lot

Start with the zoning glossary

[BlakeJones]

Originally Posted by SeventhFloor

FAR has nothing to do with height

FAR pertains to building floor area, i.e. max sq ft that bldg can occupy on lot

Start with the zoning glossary

Far has everything to do with height, start with basic math.

Many midtown buildings occupy the entire footprint of the lot. But let's say a building only occupied an average of 75% of the lot including setbacks. The effective permitted height under a 15 FAR would then be 15 / .75 = 20 stories high.

I'm just trying to understand how buildings get to that 40-50 stories. Is it a variance thing, is it buying neighboring lot air rights, etc...

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by BlakeJones

Far has everything to do with height, start with basic math.

Many midtown buildings occupy the entire footprint of the lot. But let's say a building only occupied an average of 75% of the lot including setbacks. The effective permitted height under a 15 FAR would then be 15 / .75 = 20 stories high.

I'm just trying to understand how buildings get to that 40-50 stories. Is it a variance thing, is it buying neighboring lot air rights, etc...

Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
The floor area ratio is the principal bulk regulation controlling the size of buildings. FAR is the ratio of total building floor area to the area of its zoning lot. Each zoning district has an FAR which, when multiplied by the lot area of the zoning lot, produces the maximum amount of floor area allowable on that zoning lot. For example, on a 10,000 square foot zoning lot in a district with a maximum FAR of 1.0, the floor area on the zoning lot cannot exceed 10,000 square feet.





I love how ppl come on here asking for help, and then try to school you
Like I said, start with the zoning glossary

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/zoning/glossary.page

[Gantz]

Originally Posted by BlakeJones

Far has everything to do with height, start with basic math.

Many midtown buildings occupy the entire footprint of the lot. But let's say a building only occupied an average of 75% of the lot including setbacks. The effective permitted height under a 15 FAR would then be 15 / .75 = 20 stories high.

Setbacks are usually more than 25%, especially on buildings with multiple setbacks.

I'm just trying to understand how buildings get to that 40-50 stories. Is it a variance thing, is it buying neighboring lot air rights, etc...

That too. Plus some buildings may have been constructed before current zoning regs and got grandfathered in.

[BlakeJones]

Originally Posted by SeventhFloor

Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
The floor area ratio is the principal bulk regulation controlling the size of buildings. FAR is the ratio of total building floor area to the area of its zoning lot. Each zoning district has an FAR which, when multiplied by the lot area of the zoning lot, produces the maximum amount of floor area allowable on that zoning lot. For example, on a 10,000 square foot zoning lot in a district with a maximum FAR of 1.0, the floor area on the zoning lot cannot exceed 10,000 square feet.





I love how ppl come on here asking for help, and then try to school you
Like I said, start with the zoning glossary

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/zoning/glossary.page

Which is exactly what I wrote, but thanks for playing

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by BlakeJones

Which is exactly what I wrote, but thanks for playing

FAR has nothing to do with height

The pictures I posted clearly shows examples of 3 buildings, all different heights, but they all have the same FAR

Are you that dense? No pun intended.

Nevertheless, ppl study the Zoning Resolution for years

It's nothing to understand on a message board.