1916 Zoning Resolution

New York City zoning code thumb|right|300px|Midtown Manhattan in 1932 showing the results of the 1916 Zoning Resolution: many skyscrapers with setbacks. The 1916 Zoning Resolution in New York City was the first citywide zoning code in the United States. The zoning resolution reflected both borough and local interests, and was adopted primarily to stop massive buildings from preventing light and air from reaching the streets below. It also established limits in building massing at certain heights, usually interpreted as a series of setbacks and, while not imposing height limits, restricted towers to 25% of the lot size. Barr, Jason M. Jason M. Barr Revisiting 1916 (Part I): The History of New York City's First Zoning Resolution https://buildingtheskyline.org/revisiting-1916-i/ Skynomics Blog 27 March 2019 9 March 2020 The chief authors of this resolution were George McAneny and Edward M. Bassett.Dunlap David W. David W. Dunlap Zoning Arrived 100 Years Ago. It Changed New York City Forever. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/nyregion/new-yorks-first-zoning-resolution-which-brought-order-to-a-chaotic-building-boom-turns-100.html?_r=0 July 26, 2016 The New York TimesCelebrating 100 Years of Zoning https://rpa.org/latest/lab/celebrating-100-years-of-zoning Regional Plan Association 2 December 2020 Impact thumb|upright|Study by Hugh Ferriss from The Metropolis of Tomorrow (1929) indicating the maximum mass permitted by the 1916 rules The 1916 Zoning Resolution had a major impact on urban development in both the United States and internationally.https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/zoning/background.page Background www1.nyc.gov 2017-05-24 2021-04-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20210416093152/https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/zoning/background.page dead Architectural delineator Hugh Ferriss popularized these new regulations in 1922 through a series of massing studies, clearly depicting the possible forms and how to maximize building volumes. "By the end of the 1920s the setback skyscraper, originally built in response to a New York zoning code, became a style that caught on from Chicago to Shanghai," observe Eric Peter Nash and Norman McGrath,Nash and McGrath, Manhattan Skyscrapers 2005:55. discussing the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building, which rose in isolation in Brooklyn, where no such zoning dictated form. The tiered Art Deco skyscrapers of the 1920s and 1930s are a direct result of this resolution. Legacy By the mid-century most new International Style buildings had met the setback requirements by adopting the use of plazas or low-rise buildings surrounding a monolithic tower centered on the site. This approach was often criticized. Dunlap David W. At New Trade Center, Seeking Lively (but Secure) Streets The New York Times December 7, 2006 https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/nyregion/07blocks.html 2008-06-06 The New York City Department of City Planning passed the 1961 Zoning Resolution in October 1960,Bennett Charles G. 1960-10-19 Planners Adopt New City Zoning; Resolution Goes to Board of Estimate for Final Vote en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1960/10/19/archives/planners-adopt-new-city-zoning-resolution-goes-to-board-of-estimate.html 2020-05-01 0362-4331 and the new zoning rules became effective in December 1961, superseding the 1916 Zoning Resolution.1961-12-15 New Zoning Code Goes into Effect en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1961/12/15/archives/new-zoning-code-goes-into-effect.html 2020-05-01 0362-4331 The new zoning solution used the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) regulation instead of setback rules. A building's maximum floor area is regulated according to the ratio that was imposed to the site where the building is located. Another feature of new zoning solution was adjacent public open space. If developers put adjacent public open space to their buildings, they could get additional area for their building as a bonus. This incentive bonus rule was created because of the strong influence from two representative skyscrapers. The Seagram Building by Mies van der Rohe with Philip Johnson, and Lever House by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, introduced the new ideas about office building with open space. These buildings changed the skyline of New York City with both the advent of simple glass box design and their treatment of adjacent open spaces. The new zoning encouraged privately owned public space to ease the density of the city.Bressi Todd W. 1993 Planning and Zoning New York City Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 9–12 Zoning was further updated in 2024, when the New York City Council voted to update the city's zoning code to allow for a slight increase in residential density in certain zones or near transit, and a partial rollback of required parking in new development. This legislation was called "The City of Yes" and was signed by Eric Adams on December 5, 2024.James Colgate Judith Gallent Jordan Most Kurt Steinhouse 2024-12-10 https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-york-city-council-adopts-7818667/ New York City Council Adopts Significant Zoning Changes Under City of Yes for Housing Opportunity JD Supra 2024-12-10 See also Standard State Zoning Enabling Act References Further reading Ferriss, Hugh. The Metropolis of Tomorrow, with essay by Carol Willis. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1986. Reprint of 1929 edition. 0-910413-11-8. External links The 1916 Zoning Regulations - and Onward (in-arch.net) Zoning Resolution Category:Real property law in the United States Category:Urban planning in New York City Category:Zoning in the United States