City of Yes for Housing Opportunity Update

On November 21, 2024, the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee (by a vote of 4-3) and Land Use Committee (by a vote 8-2 vote and one abstention) approved the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment (COYHO), with modifications. COYHO is the final piece of Mayor Eric Adams’s City of Yes vision, a trio of legislative packages that seek to modernize and update the city’s zoning regulations (the first being the City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality to promote sustainability, which passed in December 2023, and the second being the City of Yes for Economic Opportunity to support economic growth and resiliency, which passed in June 2024). 

Below is a summary of several of the major modifications made to the COYHO text, as well as a couple of the “wins” that were left intact:

Residential Parking Mandates:

• The original COYHO proposal eliminated all residential parking requirements for new developments.
• The City Council modifications scaled this back, and established three parking zones.
  • Zone 1: Residential parking requirements will be eliminated for new residential developments in all of Manhattan (except Inwood), in Long Island City, and parts of Western Queens and Brooklyn (specifically, Queens districts 1 and 2, and Brooklyn districts 1-4, and 6-8), (i.e., areas in the Inner Transit Zone, the Manhattan Core, and LIC).
  • Zone 2: Residential parking requirements will be reduced in areas that have access to transit, but have longer commute times and a greater reliance on cars (i.e., the Outer Transit Zone).
  • Zone 3: Residential parking requirements will largely remain as they are today in areas beyond the above-stated geographies, that have greater car dependency (i.e., outside the Inner and Outer Transit Zones).

Low Density Transit Oriented Development:

• The original COYHO text allowed for 3-5 story apartment buildings in Low Density (R1-R5) districts. The City Council was concerned that this proposal did not include any affordable housing development incentives, and was also concerned that the geography did not match actual commuting patterns.
• The City Council modification now will (1) exclude R1-R2 single family districts from Transit Oriented Development eligibility, (2) reduce the Transit Oriented Development radius from 0.5 miles to 0.25 miles from subway/public transit, and (3) provide a 20% affordability incentive, whereby large projects of 50 units or more can take advantage of Transit Oriented Development if 20% of the units are affordable at 80% AMI.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs):

• The original COYHO text allowed for, among other things, ground floor and basement ADUs, detached and attached backyard ADUs in many residential districts, and concerns around property speculation.
• The City Council modifications now will (1) prohibit ground floor ADUs and basement ADUs in coastal flood zone and other vulnerable flooding areas, (2) prohibit ADUs in R1A, R2A, R3A districts outside the Greater Transit Zone, in historic districts, and in attached or row-houses, prohibit ADUs from covering more than 33% of a rear yard, and require that ADUs are 1 story unless parking is provided on the first floor, (3) require that the homeowner live on the property in order to have the ADU, and (4) provide programs to assist homeowners as part of the City For All commitments.

Universal Affordability Preference (UAP):

• The original COYHO text did not require deep-affordability units under UAP, and in some districts permitted height increases greater than 20%.
• The City Council modifications now will (1) require 20% of UAP units in projects of at least 10,000 sq. ft. of UAP floor area to be allocated to 40% AMI households, and (2) reduce the maximum allowable height for UAP in R8B districts, and on narrow streets in R7 and R7-1 districts by 10 feet.

Dwelling Unit (DU) Factor:

• The original COYHO text would have eliminated the DU factor within the Inner Transit Zone, and reduced the DU factor to 500 sq. ft. outside the Inner Transit Zone.
• The City Council modifications now will (1) maintain the DU factor for existing apartment buildings, (2) eliminate the DU factor in Manhattan below 96^th street and in downtown Brooklyn, and (3) apply a standard 680 DU factor everywhere else.

Shared Housing:

• City Council did not make any modifications to the original COYHO text, but the City Council will need to pass legislation to amend the New York City Administrative Code and establish rules and regulations for shared housing (which will occur sometime after COYHO passes).

Landmark Transfers:

• The original COYHO text was left largely intact – floor area will be able to be transferred from other lots on the same block or directly across the street, the existing special permit will be downgraded to a certification with bulk modifications via authorization, and floor area increases on a receiving site will be capped at 20%.
• The City Council modification will require a special permit for height increases greater than 25%.

Conversions:

• City Council did not make any modifications to the original COYHO text. As such, non-residential buildings constructed prior to 1991 would be allowed to be converted into housing (including supportive housing and dormitories). Conversions would be allowed anywhere that housing is allowed under zoning.

The modified COYHO text will now be reviewed by City Planning, to determine whether the modifications are within the land use and environmental scope proposed for the original text amendment. After this, the COYHO text will be sent back to the City Council for a vote. The full City Council vote is scheduled to take place on December 5^th, 2024. 

Critical to the passage of COYHO in the City Council’s Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee and Land Use Committee, was the commitment of $5 billion in public funding, of which $4 billion will come from the City and $1 billion will come from the State. The public funding will be distributed as follows: $2 billion will be allocated towards sewers, flood protection, streets and open space investments, $2 billion will be allocated towards housing related-capital funds, and $1 billion will be allocated to tenant protections and flood monitoring, over a ten year period.

We will continue to monitor the advancement of COYHO as it completes the public review process, as well as these other related City and State commitments.