I've been trying to figure if my house could be potentially R5 infill as im right now in R5 zoning, I've been talking to different architects they all say different things, so I don't know what to do. Some are saying my zoning is good, some are saying that my zone can not have commercials on my block, I just don't understand why things cant be simpler! Can anyone tell me if I can file for R5 infill compliance? This is my Address is 3222 33st. Astoria, NY 11106. Thanks a lot!
Non Sequitur
Jul 9, 18 5:30 pm
Hire an architect. Pay them real money and you’ll get a serious answer.
sarafaskos
Jul 9, 18 11:08 pm
Thanks for not being helpful! This is for people who have dealt with this type of thing or ppl who handle things like that on a daily basis! I think i mentioned above that i did that..
Non Sequitur
Jul 9, 18 11:26 pm
Did you pay those people for their professional advice or did you seek it for free like your doing here?
joseffischer
Jul 10, 18 9:55 am
truth, it isn't just *insert code check here* Different architects actually can get away with different things in different jurisdictions. That's part of what you pay for. If an architect says they can get your work through, then let them do that and pay after the permits are signed. As an owner, why should you care whether or not it meets your interpretation of R5 zoning. Perhaps some of these architects you've spoken with already have experience getting a variance for something while others haven't tried and are saying "no, it's not allowed." No one here will be able to answer this question even if you paid us... that is unless someone here works in Astoria NY
Flatfish
Jul 9, 18 11:32 pm
I handle this sort of thing on a daily basis and what I can tell you here is: this is a complicated issue that depends on far too many factors for anyone to help you here: the % of developed lots on the block, the sizes of the lots, the uses of the existing lots and your proposed use(s), the FAR of your lot and the others on the block, whether there's already one or more buildings on your lot, parking area and types, setbacks, scale, height, street frontage, yard depth... There's no way that somebody can give you an answer without at the very least examining documentation on your and surrounding properties - which is work for which you need to hire someone.
sarafaskos
Jul 10, 18 9:32 am
Getting information for free is nothing wrong with that, i dont understand why ppl get so upset about that, thats why they are forums made to consult with other knowledge and experience. ALSO, to know your situation in anything, it should be easy information out there for you to read and educate about whether your property or whatever you want to know and IT IS out there that info but as i mentioned above not so easy for me right now therefore i opened a topic here!
joseffischer
Jul 10, 18 9:59 am
No one got upset. You asked for free information and you were told by multiple sources that the amount of information you want isn't given away for free. Sorry you're hurt over that response. Still, I can tell you really need some help, so I'll answer your question for free to the best of my ability. "probably, but maybe not, and by the time it gets permitted it will definitely be different than what you're envisioning now." I hope that helps!
sarafaskos
Jul 10, 18 9:34 am
I ONLY asked about my zoning, but as im experiencing here, ppl like to be hateful and to complicate things.
eeayeeayo
Jul 10, 18 9:50 am
All of the items that 5839 mentioned pertain to whether or not your project can qualify as R5 infill. That's not complicating things - it's the information that's necessary to answer your question about your zoning. This is most likely why you got conflicting answers from the people you originally consulted: I understand you're "ONLY asking about my zoning", but R5 infill is a complicated zoning type with a lot of conditions, and is based on all information about all of the properties on a particular street. It can't be answered simply yes or no without all of that information.
I don't necessarily think asking for free information is wrong. Some questions can be answered with a simple yes or no answer, and somebody might have that info at hand. But once you discover, as in this case, that answering the question will require an experienced person to spend hours interpreting surveys and tax rolls of all the properties on this block against zoning regs, you should understand that nobody is going to provide that service for free, and that they couldn't possibly do it from the info you've provided.
Non Sequitur
Jul 10, 18 10:12 am
People like to be cheapskates and score free professional services all the time. Open up your wallet and pay for someone to do a zoning assessment on your property then you'll get your answers.
Flatfish
Jul 10, 18 10:30 am
It's not even clear from his question what he's trying to do with the property. R5 infill can usually only be done to develop single or multi-family residential - i.e. small apartment buildings. But he seems to be asking about commercial - but doesn't elaborate on what type of commercial. If there's already a 1 or 2 family house on the lot then R5 infill can't usually be used at all unless the rest of the block is already nearly-solid multi-family or commercial. It really is complicated. I'm not trying to overcomplicate things for him - I was just trying to explain all the things that someone would need to know before they could determine an answer.
Non Sequitur
Jul 10, 18 10:14 am
So the OP bought the house for a tad-bit below a cool one million back in April but can't afford a few hours of an architect's time. Pure wanker.
Wow, never thought to do that. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it. Also, glad I'm not in NY, that's what a million smackers gets you?
Non Sequitur
Jul 10, 18 2:08 pm
Yeah... those pictures are just the best.
sarafaskos
Jul 10, 18 11:31 am
Thanks for giving me this free information! Maybe you should go find a real job then you're not gonna be that angry with someone purchasing a house instead of being on your computer and cluttering it with stupid comments to waste other ppl time on reading it. #realfreeadvice https://www.monster.com
tduds
Jul 10, 18 12:02 pm
What do you do for work?
Flatfish
Jul 10, 18 12:07 pm
As someone experienced with zoning in your location, I've tried to give you useful information, and I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt: maybe the communication gap is that you imagined that "R5 infill" would just be a shape defined on a map, that you (or we, or anybody) could look at to determine whether or not your address falls within the shape. But R5 infill is not a type that's defined by a shape on a map. It's a special type, defined based on all the parameters that I listed in my first reply, above. Whether or not any particular address can be developed as R5 infill depends on not only what's already on that lot and its current and intended uses, but what's on all the other lots on the block, in terms of not only their uses but their area coverage, the extent to which they create a solid "street wall", and so forth. The block needs to be analyzed as a whole. It involves measurements and calculations. Unless you happen to find someone on this forum who has analyzed this issue before, for that specific block, there's no way anybody can give you a correct and complete answer on this forum.
Steeplechase
Jul 10, 18 12:19 pm
“Real job” says it all. You don’t respect the profession and think it a waste of your money to employ such services.
Non Sequitur
Jul 10, 18 12:51 pm
What a wanker.
SneakyPete
Jul 10, 18 12:00 pm
If you change the 'NY' in your address to 'OR' you'll get tons of free advice. Try it out.
proto
Jul 10, 18 1:25 pm
but is it exempt?
poop876
Jul 10, 18 2:44 pm
I see what you guys did there! When I saw Astoria I thought shit...it's him again!
Fivescore
Jul 10, 18 12:36 pm
I can give a yes or no answer for $50, without measuring or calculating anything. I'll just require signing of my terms and conditions which explain that my zoning predictions are for entertainment purposes only.
Flatfish
Jul 10, 18 1:07 pm
These are the regulations pertaining to R5 infill, to demonstrate why it would be necessary for someone to do investigation into old tax maps, C of Os, block frontage, etc.:
On a block entirely within an R5 district (without a suffix), R5 infill regulations may be used to develop infill housing in predominately built-up areas, if at least 50% of the area of the block is occupied by zoning lots developed with buildings, and the lot does not exceed 1.5 acres (65,340 sq ft). However, infill regulations may not be used to redevelop a lot occupied by a one- or two-family detached or semi-detached house unless the blockfront is predominantly developed with attached or multi-family housing, or commercial or manufacturing uses.
On sites that qualify for infill housing, the higher FAR of 1.65 and more relaxed parking requirements permit developments with greater bulk and more dwelling units than are otherwise permitted in R5 districts; infill regulations typically produce three-story buildings with three dwelling units and two parking spaces—one in a ground-floor garage and the other in the driveway. Infill regulations can also produce small apartment buildings.
To ensure that infill housing generally conforms to existing neighborhood scale, height and setback regulations for R5 infill housing are the same as for R5B districts. The maximum street wall length for a building on a single zoning lot is 185 feet. Front yards must be at least 18 feet deep to prevent cars parked in the front driveway from protruding onto the sidewalk. Off-street parking must be provided for at least two-thirds of the dwelling units.
A "predominantly built-up area" is a block entirely within R4 or R5 Districts, including a Commercial District mapped within such Residence Districts, having a maximum area of four acres with buildings on zoning lots comprising 50 percent or more of the area of the block. However, a predominantly built-up area shall not include a block which is located partly in an R4A, R4-1, R4B, R5B or R5D District.
All such buildings shall have certificates of occupancy or other evidence acceptable to the Commissioner of Buildings issued not less than three years prior to the date of application for abuilding permit. Special optional regulations applying only to zoning lots of not more than 1.5 acres in a predominantly
built-up area are set forth in the following Sections:
Section 23-143 (Optional regulations for predominantly built-up areas); Section 23-22 (Maximum Number of Dwelling Units); Section 23-44 (Permitted Obstructions in Required Yards or RearYard Equivalents); Section 23-631 (General provisions);Section 25-22 (Requirements Where Individual Parking Facilities Are Provided); Section 25-23 (Requirements Where Group Parking Facilities Are Provided)
The regulations applicable to a predominantly built-up area shall not apply to any zoning lot occupied as of October 21,1987, by a single- or two-family detached or semi-detached residence where 75 percent or more of the aggregate length of the block fronts in residential use, on both sides of the street facing each other, are occupied by such residences as of October 21, 1987. However, the regulations applicable to a predominantly built-up area may apply to such zoning lots where 75 percent or more of the aggregate length of the block fronts facing each other, on both sides of the street, is comprised of zoning lots occupied as of October 21, 1987, by commercial or manufacturing uses.
proto
Jul 10, 18 1:24 pm
alternately, OP, read the zoning code, talk to/meet with the local planning dept to clarify, and do the research for whatever it is you'd like to propose for the project. keep track of your hours and think about how free & simple the info turns out to be
seems clear this question isn't as simple as you'd like it to be
citizen
Jul 10, 18 2:17 pm
Even if you don't like the curt "pay someone" responses here, at least take the lesson that this is not a simple matter.
Code consulting has thrived as a cottage industry precisely because of all this complexity and uncertainty around a subject with potentially high financial stakes.
I've been trying to figure if my house could be potentially R5 infill as im right now in R5 zoning, I've been talking to different architects they all say different things, so I don't know what to do. Some are saying my zoning is good, some are saying that my zone can not have commercials on my block, I just don't understand why things cant be simpler! Can anyone tell me if I can file for R5 infill compliance? This is my Address is 3222 33st. Astoria, NY 11106. Thanks a lot!
Hire an architect. Pay them real money and you’ll get a serious answer.
Thanks for not being helpful! This is for people who have dealt with this type of thing or ppl who handle things like that on a daily basis! I think i mentioned above that i did that..
Did you pay those people for their professional advice or did you seek it for free like your doing here?
truth, it isn't just *insert code check here* Different architects actually can get away with different things in different jurisdictions. That's part of what you pay for. If an architect says they can get your work through, then let them do that and pay after the permits are signed. As an owner, why should you care whether or not it meets your interpretation of R5 zoning. Perhaps some of these architects you've spoken with already have experience getting a variance for something while others haven't tried and are saying "no, it's not allowed." No one here will be able to answer this question even if you paid us... that is unless someone here works in Astoria NY
I handle this sort of thing on a daily basis and what I can tell you here is: this is a complicated issue that depends on far too many factors for anyone to help you here: the % of developed lots on the block, the sizes of the lots, the uses of the existing lots and your proposed use(s), the FAR of your lot and the others on the block, whether there's already one or more buildings on your lot, parking area and types, setbacks, scale, height, street frontage, yard depth... There's no way that somebody can give you an answer without at the very least examining documentation on your and surrounding properties - which is work for which you need to hire someone.
Getting information for free is nothing wrong with that, i dont understand why ppl get so upset about that, thats why they are forums made to consult with other knowledge and experience. ALSO, to know your situation in anything, it should be easy information out there for you to read and educate about whether your property or whatever you want to know and IT IS out there that info but as i mentioned above not so easy for me right now therefore i opened a topic here!
No one got upset. You asked for free information and you were told by multiple sources that the amount of information you want isn't given away for free. Sorry you're hurt over that response. Still, I can tell you really need some help, so I'll answer your question for free to the best of my ability. "probably, but maybe not, and by the time it gets permitted it will definitely be different than what you're envisioning now." I hope that helps!
I ONLY asked about my zoning, but as im experiencing here, ppl like to be hateful and to complicate things.
All of the items that 5839 mentioned pertain to whether or not your project can qualify as R5 infill. That's not complicating things - it's the information that's necessary to answer your question about your zoning. This is most likely why you got conflicting answers from the people you originally consulted: I understand you're "ONLY asking about my zoning", but R5 infill is a complicated zoning type with a lot of conditions, and is based on all information about all of the properties on a particular street. It can't be answered simply yes or no without all of that information.
I don't necessarily think asking for free information is wrong. Some questions can be answered with a simple yes or no answer, and somebody might have that info at hand. But once you discover, as in this case, that answering the question will require an experienced person to spend hours interpreting surveys and tax rolls of all the properties on this block against zoning regs, you should understand that nobody is going to provide that service for free, and that they couldn't possibly do it from the info you've provided.
People like to be cheapskates and score free professional services all the time. Open up your wallet and pay for someone to do a zoning assessment on your property then you'll get your answers.
It's not even clear from his question what he's trying to do with the property. R5 infill can usually only be done to develop single or multi-family residential - i.e. small apartment buildings. But he seems to be asking about commercial - but doesn't elaborate on what type of commercial. If there's already a 1 or 2 family house on the lot then R5 infill can't usually be used at all unless the rest of the block is already nearly-solid multi-family or commercial. It really is complicated. I'm not trying to overcomplicate things for him - I was just trying to explain all the things that someone would need to know before they could determine an answer.
So the OP bought the house for a tad-bit below a cool one million back in April but can't afford a few hours of an architect's time. Pure wanker.
https://www.zillow.com/homedet...
Wow, never thought to do that. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it. Also, glad I'm not in NY, that's what a million smackers gets you?
Yeah... those pictures are just the best.
Thanks for giving me this free information! Maybe you should go find a real job then you're not gonna be that angry with someone purchasing a house instead of being on your computer and cluttering it with stupid comments to waste other ppl time on reading it. #realfreeadvice https://www.monster.com
What do you do for work?
As someone experienced with zoning in your location, I've tried to give you useful information, and I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt: maybe the communication gap is that you imagined that "R5 infill" would just be a shape defined on a map, that you (or we, or anybody) could look at to determine whether or not your address falls within the shape. But R5 infill is not a type that's defined by a shape on a map. It's a special type, defined based on all the parameters that I listed in my first reply, above. Whether or not any particular address can be developed as R5 infill depends on not only what's already on that lot and its current and intended uses, but what's on all the other lots on the block, in terms of not only their uses but their area coverage, the extent to which they create a solid "street wall", and so forth. The block needs to be analyzed as a whole. It involves measurements and calculations. Unless you happen to find someone on this forum who has analyzed this issue before, for that specific block, there's no way anybody can give you a correct and complete answer on this forum.
“Real job” says it all. You don’t respect the profession and think it a waste of your money to employ such services.
What a wanker.
If you change the 'NY' in your address to 'OR' you'll get tons of free advice. Try it out.
but is it exempt?
I see what you guys did there! When I saw Astoria I thought shit...it's him again!
I can give a yes or no answer for $50, without measuring or calculating
anything. I'll just require signing of my terms and conditions which
explain that my zoning predictions are for entertainment purposes only.
These are the regulations pertaining to R5 infill, to demonstrate why it would be necessary for someone to do investigation into old tax maps, C of Os, block frontage, etc.:
On a block entirely within an R5 district (without a suffix), R5 infill regulations may be used to develop infill housing in predominately built-up areas, if at least 50% of the area of the block is occupied by zoning lots developed with buildings, and the lot does not exceed 1.5 acres (65,340 sq ft). However, infill regulations may not be used to redevelop a lot occupied by a one- or two-family detached or semi-detached house unless the blockfront is predominantly developed with attached or multi-family housing, or commercial or manufacturing uses.
On sites that qualify for infill housing, the higher FAR of 1.65 and more relaxed parking requirements permit developments with greater bulk and more dwelling units than are otherwise permitted in R5 districts; infill regulations typically produce three-story buildings with three dwelling units and two parking spaces—one in a ground-floor garage and the other in the driveway. Infill regulations can also produce small apartment buildings.
To ensure that infill housing generally conforms to existing neighborhood scale, height and setback regulations for R5 infill housing are the same as for R5B districts. The maximum street wall length for a building on a single zoning lot is 185 feet. Front yards must be at least 18 feet deep to prevent cars parked in the front driveway from protruding onto the sidewalk. Off-street parking must be provided for at least two-thirds of the dwelling units.
A "predominantly built-up area" is a block entirely within R4 or R5 Districts, including a Commercial District mapped within such Residence Districts, having a maximum area of four acres with buildings on zoning lots comprising 50 percent or more of the area of the block. However, a predominantly built-up area shall not include a block which is located partly in an R4A, R4-1, R4B, R5B or R5D District.
All such buildings shall have certificates of occupancy or other evidence acceptable to the Commissioner of Buildings issued not less than three years prior to the date of application for a building permit. Special optional regulations applying only to zoning lots of not more than 1.5 acres in a predominantly built-up area are set forth in the following Sections:
Section 23-143 (Optional regulations for predominantly built-up areas); Section 23-22 (Maximum Number of Dwelling Units); Section 23-44 (Permitted Obstructions in Required Yards or Rear Yard Equivalents); Section 23-631 (General provisions); Section 25-22 (Requirements Where Individual Parking Facilities Are Provided); Section 25-23 (Requirements Where Group Parking Facilities Are Provided)
The regulations applicable to a predominantly built-up area shall not apply to any zoning lot occupied as of October 21,1987, by a single- or two-family detached or semi-detached residence where 75 percent or more of the aggregate length of the block fronts in residential use, on both sides of the street facing each other, are occupied by such residences as of October 21, 1987. However, the regulations applicable to a predominantly built-up area may apply to such zoning lots where 75 percent or more of the aggregate length of the block fronts facing each other, on both sides of the street, is comprised of zoning lots occupied as of October 21, 1987, by commercial or manufacturing uses.
alternately, OP, read the zoning code, talk to/meet with the local planning dept to clarify, and do the research for whatever it is you'd like to propose for the project. keep track of your hours and think about how free & simple the info turns out to be
seems clear this question isn't as simple as you'd like it to be
Even if you don't like the curt "pay someone" responses here, at least take the lesson that this is not a simple matter.
Code consulting has thrived as a cottage industry precisely because of all this complexity and uncertainty around a subject with potentially high financial stakes.