Carroll Gardens residents interested to safeguarding their traditional low-rise community from overdevelopment view passage of a zoning text amendment affecting six blocks in the neighborhood as the first step in realizing the downzoning they’ve always wanted.
The zoning text amendment now proceeding through the public review process would eliminate the “wide street” designation currently affecting 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, 4th Place, Second Street, Carroll Street and President Street between Smith and Hoyt streets.
Technically, a developer would now be able to move in and build a much larger building on any one of those blocks because their signature front courtyards are considered to be part of the street.
The zoning text amendment enjoys widespread political support. Community Board 6’s Land Use Committee already voted in favor and Borough President Marty Markowitz is expected to announce his support for the change next week.
But on Monday night, 2nd Place resident Judith Thompson urged the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association [CGNA] – one of the most vocal groups in support of the zoning text amendment – to consider supporting a compromise plan.
“Not everyone agrees with the narrow street downzoning that is occurring in Carroll Gardens,” Thompson said. “There is no need to push us into a pigeon hole that we don’t fit into.”
Thompson suggests modifying the new proposal so that the floor area ratio on each of the six affected blocks would go from the existing 3.0 to 2.4 instead of the 2.2 called for in the zoning text amendment.
She’d also like to see language in the zoning text amendment pertaining to building setbacks tweaked.
By making these changes, Thompson says that a 55-foot height limit and a minimum 40-foot backyard requirement would be preserved while allowing homeowners like her to expand if they desired.
“If it is possible to make these changes I think our neighborhood will be protected from inappropriate development without placing an undue burden on small homeowners and tenant residents, and without hurting our local businesses,” Thompson told the Courier.
The CGNA’s Glenn Kelly, however, said that at this point modifying the zoning text amendment wasn’t up to the CGNA.
“City Planning wrote the text amendment,” he said. “We are not responsible for what they offered.”
Community Board 6 was expected to take a full vote on the proposed zoning text amendment this week.
A public hearing held last week at Borough Hall brought out groups like CORD – Carroll Gardens Organization for Respectful Development – in support of the zoning text amendment, and developers like Oliver House builder William Stein who oppose it.
The Department of City Planning and the New York City Council must still approve the zoning text amendment before it goes into effect.