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SGCA Committee on the Proposed St. George Special Zoning District
Recommendations (revised 6-9-08)
ST. GEORGE CIVIC ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDATIONS
ON THE PROPOSED ST. GEORGE SPECIAL ZONING DISTRICT
The St. George Civic Association by its Committee on the proposed St. George Special Zoning District supports in concept the St. George Special Zoning District and recommends the following changes to the City Planning Commission proposal. 1. The changes in zoning be phased in over time. One of the most positive aspects of the plan is for reuse of existing underutilized office buildings throughout proposed district. Converting existing buildings to residential space should be the first priority, before building new towers. Phase1 should only allow for conversion of current buildings. Phase 2 should be area South of Hyatt St; Phase 3 should be area North of Hyatt Street.
2. Expanding the “no tower zones." We recommend that no tower zones be expanded to include streets perpendicular to the water (e.g. Wall Street). This would force the towers to be more central on the larger existing lots, preserving light and view corridors (both Manhattan & Verrazzano views) more effectively from a pedestrian vantage point.
3. Change of the maximum length of any side of a tower and base height. Based on the existing context of the neighborhood, 80' x 135' dimensions for the towers are too big in some of the areas of the district. We recommend a 50'- 60' maximum length of any side of the towers. Tower height is not as significant an issue as length of any side of the tower and the base height, especially if the size of the base can be reduced by increasing tower height. The proposal now allows for maximum base heights of 40', 60' and 85'. We recommend that base heights in the district should not exceed 40' except along Bay Street where taller structures already exist.
4. Controlling sites impacted by rezoning (soft sites). There is a need to identify and control number of sites affected by the rezoning proposal. Also there is a need to limit the warehousing of buildings for future construction and future tear downs. We recommend that the new rules be limited to existing building lots that meet the size requirement and exclude future assembled lots
5. An Artists/Studio Sub-District. There is a need for artists' studios and galleries. Artists give much of the character to the neighborhood. We recommend special use restrictions and incentives to encourage a Ferry Art District. We recommend that some of the buildings on Bay Street to be rehabbed as residential be earmarked for art related residences and small businesses. The artists need to not be gentrified out of the neighborhood and it would contribute to economic development.
6. Impact of other planned development. There are at least three major developments that are contiguous to or in the new planned district (Liberty Towers, National Lighthouse Museum Site, The Courthouse). The impact of these projects should be considered either in approving them or in designing the special zoning district.
7. School seat requirement. A provision be included similar to that in Article 10 Chapter 7 of the Zoning Resolution (for the Special South Richmond Development District) that provides for any development containing residential uses, the Department of Buildings shall be in receipt of a certification from the Chairperson of the City Planning Commission which certifies that sufficient school capacity exists to accommodate the anticipated primary, intermediate and secondary public school children of the development. CLICK FOR PRINTABLE WORD DOC OF THE REVISED RECOMMENDATIONS
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