Photo: Community Board 9 has sent a letter to City Planning announcing that it has voted to oppose DCP’s Zoning for Quality and Affordability Scoping Document. Photo Courtesy of DCP.
Community Board 9 this week sent a letter to the Department of City Planning indicating that it “has overwhelmingly voted to oppose the recently circulated ‘Zoning for Quality and Affordability’ Scoping Document.”
The board, which represents the communities of Woodhaven, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, attached a statement to the missive detailing the reasoning behind the decision.
“Our current zoning is not at all ‘outdated,’ but is actually the result of painstaking efforts within the last 10 years by DCP and CB 9. They collaborated to update the 1961 zoning to achieve a contextual rezoning that recognizes and preserves the existing residential character of our community, while still allowing for future development of housing along dozens of designated corridors throughout the district. While further ‘tweaks’ can be explored, our zoning has already been ‘modernized,’ and nothing close to the sweeping changes in the proposal is justifiable or necessary.
The proposal lacks specific plans to address the infrastructure required to support increased density: schools, utilities, water, sewage, mass transit, police, fire, parking, etc. CB9 already struggles with the consequences of increased density: overcrowded schools, inadequate police protection, clogged roadways, lack of parking, and other infrastructure inadequacies. The proposal recommends relaxing density restrictions even further, but does not indicate if it is even feasible for the city to undertake the cost of the necessary infrastructure required to support increased density. The proposal’s failure to consider the infrastructure needs created by increased density will only worsen the existing problems and further endanger our residential community character.”
The statement also decried the “extremely unreasonable” April 30 deadline for public response, recommending that “the city conduct a series of presentations to all 59 community boards and each of the 51 City Council districts.”
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
