74-962 Floor Area Increase and Public Plaza Modifications in Industrial Business Incentive Areas

In Industrial Business Incentive Areas, the City Planning Commission may increase the maximum floor area ratio on a zoning lot in accordance with the Table in this Section.

For developments or enlargements in the district indicated in Column A, the base maximum floor area ratio on a zoning lot, Column B, may be increased by 3.5 square feet for each square foot of required industrial uses up to the maximum floor area ratio for all uses on the zoning lot, Column E, provided that such development or enlargement does not include a transient hotel, and that such additional floor area is occupied by required industrial uses and incentive uses up to the maximum floor area ratio set forth in Column C (Maximum Additional Floor Area Ratio for Required Industrial Uses), and Column D (Maximum Additional Floor Area Ratio for Incentive Uses), respectively.

FLOOR AREA INCREASE PERMITTED IN INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS INCENTIVE AREAS

For such developments or enlargements that, pursuant to this Section, increase their permitted floor area, and provide a public plaza, the Commission may also increase the maximum height of such development or enlargement and may modify the requirements for public plazas set forth in Section 37-70 (PUBLIC PLAZAS).

Applications for such floor area increases and modifications are subject to the requirements, conditions and findings set forth in this Section.

(a)        Application requirements

All applications for a special permit pursuant to this Section shall include the following:

(1)        site plans and elevations which shall establish distribution of floor area, height and setback, sidewalk widths, primary business entrances, including parking and loading, yards and public plazas, signage and lighting;

(2)        floor plans of all floors which shall establish the location, access plan and dimensions of freight elevators and loading areas and the location of floor area dedicated to required industrial uses and incentive uses;

(3)        drawings that show, within a 600 foot radius, the location and type of uses, the location, dimensions and elements of off-site open areas including streets, waterfront and upland parcels, elements of a Waterfront Access Plan, as applicable, and the location of street trees and street furniture and any other urban design elements. The plans shall demonstrate that any public plaza provided meets the requirements of paragraph (b)(5) of this Section; and

(4)        for zoning lots in flood zones, flood protection plans, which shall show base flood elevations and advisory base flood elevations, as applicable, location of mechanical equipment, areas for storage of any hazardous materials and proposed structural or design elements intended to mitigate the impacts of flood and storm events.

(b)        Conditions

(1)        Minimum amount of required industrial uses

Required industrial uses shall occupy a minimum of 5,000 square feet of horizontally contiguous floor area and shall be served by loading areas and freight elevators with sufficient capacity.

(2)        Minimum sidewalk width

All developments and horizontal enlargements that front upon a street line shall provide a sidewalk with a minimum width of 15 feet along the entire frontage of the zoning lot. Such sidewalk, and any open area on the zoning lot required to meet such minimum width shall be improved as a sidewalk to Department of Transportation standards; shall be at the same level as the adjoining public sidewalk; and shall be accessible to the public at all times. For the purposes of applying the street wall location requirements and the height and setback regulations of paragraph (b)(3) of this Section, any sidewalk widening line shall be considered to be the street line.

(3)        Height and setback

The height and setback regulations of the applicable zoning district shall apply as modified by the provisions of this paragraph.

(i)        The street wall of any building shall be located on the street line and shall extend to a height not lower than a minimum base height of 40 feet and not higher than a maximum base height of 75 feet or the height of the building, whichever is less. At least 70 percent of the aggregate width of such street wall below 12 feet shall be located at the street line and no less than 70 percent of the aggregate area of the street wall up to the base height shall be located at the street line. However, up to a width of 130 feet of such street wall located on the short end of the block may be set back from the street line to accommodate a public plaza.

(ii)        The height of a building or other structure, or portion thereof, located within 10 feet of a wide street or within 15 feet of a narrow street shall not exceed a maximum base height of 75 feet. Permitted obstructions as set forth in Section 43-42 shall be modified to include dormers above the maximum base height within the front setback area, provided that on any street frontage, the aggregate width of all dormers at the maximum base height does not exceed 50 percent of the street wall and a maximum height of 110 feet. Beyond 10 feet of a wide street and 15 feet of a narrow street, the height of a building or other structure shall not exceed a maximum building height of 110 feet. All heights shall be measured from the base plane. Where a public plaza is provided pursuant to paragraph (b)(5) of this Section, such maximum building height may be increased to 135 feet.

(iii)        Along the short dimension of a block, up to 130 feet of such street wall may be set back from the street line to accommodate a public plaza, and a street wall located at the street line that occupies not more than 40 percent of the short end of the block may rise without setback to the maximum building height.

(4)        Ground floor design

(i)        The ground floor level street walls and ground floor level walls fronting on a public plaza of a development or horizontal enlargement shall be glazed with transparent materials which may include show windows, transom windows or glazed portions of doors. Such transparent materials shall occupy at least 50 percent of the surface area of such street wall, measured between a height of two feet above the level of the adjoining sidewalk or public plaza and a height of 12 feet above the level of the first finished floor above curb level. The floor level behind such transparent materials shall not exceed the level of the window sill for a depth of at least four feet, as measured perpendicular to the street wall. The ground floor transparency requirements of this paragraph (b)(4)(i) shall not apply to uses listed in Use Groups 11, 16, 17 and 18, or to accessory loading berths or garage entrances; or  

(ii)        For zoning lots within flood hazard areas, in lieu of the requirements of paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this Section, the provisions of Section 64-22 (Transparency Requirements) shall apply; and

(iii)        For any street wall greater than 40 feet in width that does not require glazing, as specified in paragraphs (b)(4)(i) or (b)(4)(ii) of this Section, as applicable, the facade, measured between a height of two feet above the level of the adjoining sidewalk and a height of 12 feet above the level of the first finished floor above curb level, shall incorporate design elements, including lighting and wall art, or physical articulation.

(5)        Public plazas

A public plaza shall contain an area of not less than 12 percent of the lot area of the zoning lot and a minimum of at least 2,000 square feet in area. All public plazas shall comply with the provisions set forth in Section 37-70, inclusive, except that certification requirements of Sections 37-73 (Kiosks and Open Air Cafes) and 37-78 (Compliance) shall not apply.

(6)        Signs

(i)        In all Industrial Business Incentive Areas, signs are subject to the regulations applicable in C6-4 Districts as set forth in Section 32-60, inclusive. Information signs provided pursuant to paragraph (b)(6)(ii) of this Section shall not count towards the maximum permitted surface area regulations of Section 32-64 (Surface Area and Illumination Provisions), inclusive.

(ii)        An information sign shall be provided for all buildings subject to the use restrictions of this special permit. Such required sign shall be mounted on an exterior building wall adjacent to and no more than five feet from all primary entrances of the building. The sign shall be placed so that it is directly visible, without any obstruction, to persons entering the building, and at a height no less than four feet and no more than five and a half feet above the adjoining grade. Such sign shall be legible, no less than 12 inches by 12 inches in size and shall be fully opaque, non-reflective and constructed of permanent, highly durable materials. The information sign shall contain: the name and address of the building in lettering no less than three-quarters of an inch in height; and the following statement in lettering no less than one-half of an inch in height, "This building is subject to Industrial Business Incentive Area (IBIA) regulations which require a minimum amount of space to be provided for specific industrial uses." The information sign shall include the Internet URL, or other widely accessible means of electronically transmitting and displaying information to the public, where the information required in paragraph (e) of this Section is available to the public.

(c)        Findings

In order to grant an increase of the maximum permitted floor area ratio and modification of public plaza regulations, the Commission shall find that such increase or modification:

(1)        will promote a beneficial mix of required industrial and incentive uses;

(2)        will result in superior site planning, harmonious urban design relationships and a safe and enjoyable streetscape;  

(3)        will result in a building that has a better design relationship with surrounding streets and adjacent open areas;

(4)        will result in a development or enlargement that will not have an adverse effect on the surrounding neighborhood; and

(5)        of the public plaza requirements will result in a public plaza of equivalent or greater value as a public amenity.

The Commission may prescribe appropriate additional conditions and safeguards to minimize adverse effects on the character of the surrounding area.

(d)        Compliance and recordation

Failure to comply with a condition or restriction in a special permit granted pursuant to Section 74-96 (Modification of Use, Bulk, Parking and Loading Regulations in Industrial Business Incentive Areas), inclusive, or with applicable approved plans, or with provisions of paragraphs (d), (e) and (f), inclusive, shall constitute a violation of this Resolution and may constitute the basis for denial or revocation of a building permit or certificate of occupancy, or for a revocation of such special permit, and for the implementation of all other applicable remedies.

A Notice of Restrictions, the form and content of which shall be satisfactory to the Commission, for a property subject to use restrictions or public plaza requirements, as applicable, pursuant to this Section, shall be recorded against the subject tax lot in the Office of the City Register or, where applicable, in the County Clerk's office in the county where the tax lot is located.

The filing and recordation of such Notice of Restrictions shall be a precondition to the issuance of any building permit utilizing the provisions set forth in this Section. The recording information shall be referenced on the first certificate of occupancy to be issued after such notice is recorded, as well as all subsequent certificates of occupancy, for as long as the restrictions remain in effect. No temporary certificate of occupancy for any portion of the building to be occupied by incentive uses shall be issued until a temporary certificate of occupancy for the core and shell is issued for all portions of the building required to be occupied by required industrial uses.

(e)        Periodic notification by owner

No later than the 20th day after the lease executed by a new tenant permits occupancy of any required industrial space, the owner of a building subject to use restrictions of this Section shall provide the following information at the designated Internet URL, or other widely accessible means of electronically transmitting and displaying information to the public pursuant to paragraph (b)(6)(ii) of this Section. If no new tenant executes a lease for any required industrial space within the calendar year, such information shall be provided no later than the 20th day of the following calendar year. Such electronic information source shall be accessible to the general public at all times and include the information specified below:

(1)        the date of the most recent update of this information;

(2)        total floor area of the required industrial uses in the development;

(3)        a digital copy of all approved special permit drawings pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) through (a)(4) of this Section;

(4)        the name of each business establishment occupying floor area reserved for required industrial uses. Such business establishment name shall include that name by which the establishment does business and is known to the public. For each business establishment, the amount of floor area, the Use Group, subgroup and specific use as listed in this Resolution shall also be included;

(5)        contact information, including the name of the owner of the building and the building management entity, if different, the name of the person designated to manage the building, and the street address, current telephone number and e-mail address of the management office. Such names shall include the names by which the owner and manager, if different, do business and are known to the public; and

(6)        all prior periodic notification information required pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph (e). However, such notification information that is older than four years from the date of the most recent update need not be included.

(f)        Annual reporting by qualified third party

No later than June 30 of each year, beginning in the first calendar year following the calendar year in which a temporary or final certificate of occupancy was issued for a building subject to use restrictions of this Section, the owner of a building subject to use restrictions of this Section shall cause to be prepared a report on the existing conditions of the building, as of a date of inspection which shall be no earlier than May 15 of the year in which the report is filed.

The inspection shall be preceded by an annual notification letter from the owner of a building subject to use restrictions of this Section to all the required industrial use tenants of the building announcing the date of such inspection, that the organization conducting the inspection shall have access to the spaces occupied by required industrial uses, and encouraging the tenants to provide information including, but not limited to, the number of employees for each such space, to the organization.

The owner of a building subject to use restrictions of this Section shall cause such report to be prepared by either an organization under contract with the City to provide inspection services, or on the Department of Small Business Services list of certified firms that provides such inspection services, or by an organization that the Commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services determines to be qualified to produce such report, provided that any such organization selected by the owner to prepare such report shall have a professional engineer or a registered architect, licensed under the laws of the State of New York, certify the report. Such report shall be in a form provided by the Director of the Department of City Planning, and shall include all of the information required pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (e) of this Section, and additional information as set forth in this paragraph (f):

(1)        a description of each establishment including the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and number of employees;

(2)        the total amount of required industrial use floor area that is vacant, as applicable;

(3)        the average annual rent for the portions of the building, in the aggregate, required to be occupied by required industrial uses. However, prior to 36 months from the date of execution of a lease by the first required industrial use tenant in the building, no such figure shall be required to be included in any report due pursuant to this paragraph (f). For all calendar years following the year in which the first average annual rent figure is required to be submitted as part of an annual report, the average annual rent figure reported shall be for the annual average rent for the calendar year two years prior to the year in which the report is due; and

(4)        the number of new leases executed during the calendar year, categorized by lease duration, in five year increments from zero to five years, five to 10 years, 10 to 15 years, 15 to 20 years and 20 years or greater.

The report shall be submitted to the Director of the Department of City Planning by any method, including e-mail or other electronic means, acceptable to the Director. The applicable Community Board, Borough President and local City Council member shall be included in such transmission.