STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The New York City Council approved a zoning amendment Thursday that seeks to alleviate some regulations for one- and two-family homes on Staten Island’s South Shore.
Now, the zoning text amendment for the “Special South Richmond Development District” will head to the City Planning Commission for approval, but has already won the support of local elected leaders and Mayor Eric Adams.
City Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore), who leads his party in the Council and has been a vocal proponent of the change, applauded the Council’s passing.
“This is a big win for South Shore homeowners and small property owners, who have had to navigate convoluted and onerous regulations and often wait for years for approvals just to remove a tree or build a deck in their backyards,” he said. “These new rules strike the right balance by allowing common sense improvements to small properties while protecting our district’s environmentally sensitive natural resources.”
Established in 1975, the city put the special development district in place to guide development while limiting the impact on the area’s natural resources, but in recent years, officials and residents have said the rules amount to unnecessary burdens on the owners of small properties.
Homeowners in neighborhoods like Tottenville and Richmond Valley, for example, can have up to 15-month wait periods to get things like tree removal or pool installation approved by the city.
Adams introduced steps to remove red tape and streamline land use in New York City, and under the relief proposal, homeowners and properties under one acre would receive a simplified approval process, making basic adjustments easier to attain.
That would, in effect, allow property owners to complete work as-of-right — eliminating the need for city approval and subsequently enabling city agencies to focus on larger development sites.
“For years, South Richmond homeowners have been hamstrung by needlessly…
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