(a)        For a large-scale general development, the City Planning Commission may permit:

(1)        distribution of total allowable floor area, rooming units, dwelling units, lot coverage and total required open space under the applicable district regulations within a large-scale general development without regard for zoning lot lines or district boundaries, subject to the following limitations:

(i)        no distribution of bulk across the boundary of two districts shall be permitted for a use utilizing such bulk unless such use is permitted in both districts;

(ii)        when a large-scale general development is located partially in a Residence District or in a C1, C2, C3 or C4-1 District and partially in other Commercial or Manufacturing Districts, no transfer of commercial floor area to a Residence District or to a C1, C2, C3 or C4-1 District from other districts shall be permitted, except that for a large-scale general development located partially or wholly within the former Seward Park Extension Urban Renewal Area, a transfer of commercial floor area from a C6 District to a C2 District may be permitted;

(2)        location of buildings without regard for the applicable yard, court, distance between buildings, or height and setback regulations;

(3)        variation in the location of primary business entrances and show windows along frontages adjacent to zoning lots outside the large-scale general development without regard to regulations applicable near Residence District boundaries;

 

(4)        the maximum floor area ratio permitted pursuant to Section 23-151 (Basic regulations for R6 through R9 Districts) for the applicable district without regard for height factor or open space ratio requirements, provided that the large-scale general development is located partially in a C6-1, C6-2 or C6-3 District within the boundaries of Community Districts 2 or 7 in Manhattan or located within a C4-4 District within the boundaries of Queens Community District 7 and that a minimum of 50 percent of the required open space is provided within the large-scale general development. Required open space for the purposes of this paragraph (a)(4) shall be calculated by utilizing the smallest open space ratio at the maximum floor area ratio, pursuant to Section 23-151 for the applicable district;

 

(5)        in an Inclusionary Housing designated area in a C4-6 or C5 District:

 

(i)        a portion of the lot area that contains a wholly commercial building to be excluded from the calculation of floor area for any other buildings on the remainder of the zoning lot; or

 

(ii)        community facility floor area located above the ground floor to be excluded from the calculation of the amount of affordable housing required pursuant to Section 23-95;

 

(6)        modification of the requirements of Section 23-86 (Minimum Distance Between Legally Required Windows and Walls or Lot Lines) for developments or enlargements, where:

 

(i)        the required minimum distance as set forth in Section 23-86 is provided between the legally required window in the development or enlargement and a wall or lot line on an abutting property; and

 

(ii)        the required minimum distance is provided by a light and air easement acceptable to the Department of City Planning and recorded in the County Clerk’s office in the county in which such tracts of land are located;

 

(7)        modification of the definition of outer court in Section 12-10 (DEFINITIONS) and the provisions of Section 23-84 (Outer Court Regulations) to include any open area that is bounded on all sides but one by building walls and is not otherwise a yard or an inner court, provided that:

 

(i)        such modifications are permitted only for large-scale general developments, previously approved by the Commission, in a C4-7 District within the boundaries of Manhattan Community District 7; and

 

(ii)        the minimum distance between a legally required window facing onto such outer court and a building wall shall be 30 feet, measured in a horizontal plane at the sill level of, and perpendicular to, such window for the full width of the rough window opening;

 

(8)        in an Inclusionary Housing designated area in a C4-7 District within the boundaries of Manhattan Community District 7, for the purpose of applying the Inclusionary Housing Program within such Inclusionary Housing designated area, as set forth in a restrictive declaration:

 

(i)        modification of the base and maximum floor area ratios specified in Section 23-154 (Inclusionary Housing), not to exceed the maximum floor area ratios permitted by the underlying district, based on a proportionality between affordable floor area, as defined in Section 23-911, and residential floor area in buildings containing multiple uses; and

 

(ii)        modification of the requirements regarding distribution of affordable housing units, as defined in Section 23-911, specified in paragraph (b) of Section 23-96 (Requirements for Generating Sites or MIH Sites);

 

(9)        within the boundaries of Community District 3 in the Borough of the Bronx, portions of any building, at any level, that contain permitted or required accessory off-street parking spaces, to be excluded from the calculation of lot coverage;

 

(10)        for a large-scale general development located partially or wholly within the former Seward Park Extension Urban Renewal Area, waiver of the planting requirements of Section 23-892 (In R6 through R10 Districts), provided the area between the street line and the street walls of the building and their prolongations is to be improved as a publicly accessible widened sidewalk;

 

(11)        wholly within a C1-9 District entirely within the boundaries of Community District 8 in Manhattan, for a predominantly community facility development, a floor area bonus not to exceed 20 percent of the maximum floor area ratio permitted by the underlying district regulations where, in connection with such development, an improvement to a public park located within the same Community District and within a one mile radius of the proposed development is provided in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

 

(i)        A request for such bonus floor area shall be accompanied by:

 

(a)        a site plan for a public park improvement, transmitted by the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, sufficient in detail and scope with respect to the work necessary to complete such public park improvement, to enable the City Planning Commission to determine the appropriate amount of bonus floor area to be granted to the development; and

 

(b)        a letter from the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation stating:

 

(i)        the selection of the public park for the public park improvement has been informed by community input in the form of consultation or an existing plan;

 

(ii)        such public park improvement provides an appropriate amenity for the surrounding area; and

 

(iii)        that, absent funding to be provided by the applicant, such public park improvement is unlikely to be made in the foreseeable future.

 

(ii)        Prior to a determination as to whether to grant the special permit, the City Planning Commission shall have received from the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation:

 

(a)        any revisions to the site plan for the public park improvement or a statement that the site plan provided in the application is unchanged; and

 

(b)        a letter that shall include:

 

(i)        cost estimates for the public park improvement; and

 

(ii)        a statement that the funding to be provided by the applicant, in combination with any other available funding, is adequate for completion of the necessary infrastructure, landscape and other work necessary to complete the public park improvement;

 

(12)        within the boundaries of Community District 1 in the Borough of Queens, in the area generally north of 30th Road and west of 8th Street, within the Hallets Point Peninsula, the floor area distribution from a zoning lot containing existing public housing buildings, provided that upon approval of a large-scale general development there exists unused floor area on a separate parcel of land with existing light industrial buildings in an amount equivalent to, or in excess of, the floor area approved for distribution and further provided:

 

(i)        such parcel shall be made part of such zoning lot upon approval of such large-scale general development, pursuant to the definition of zoning lot in Section 12-10, paragraph (d); and

 

(ii)        the existing light industrial buildings on the separate parcel of land are demolished; or

 

(13)        within the boundaries of Community District 1 in the Borough of Brooklyn, on a waterfront zoning lot located within a C6-2 District that is mapped within a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area, portions of the land, piers or platforms projecting seaward of the bulkhead line and existing on December 15, 2021, may be replaced or reconstructed with new piers or new platforms, as follows:

 

(i)        any such existing land projecting seaward of the bulkhead line may be replaced or reconstructed with new platforms and such new platforms may be included as part of the upland lot. In no event shall the lot area generated by such new platforms exceed the lot area of the land projecting seaward of the bulkhead line, as it existed on December 15, 2021;

 

(ii)        any other such new piers or new platforms may be considered lot area for the purposes of determining allowable floor area or number of dwelling units, or to satisfy any other bulk regulations, in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of Section 62-31 (Bulk Computations on Waterfront Zoning Lots). In no event shall the floor area generated by such new piers or new platforms exceed the floor area generated by piers or platforms projecting seaward of the bulkhead line, as they existed on December 15, 2021; and

 

(iii)        any new piers or new platforms that are subject to the provisions of this paragraph (a)(13) need not meet the requirements of Sections 62-242 (Uses on new piers and platforms), 62-54 (Requirements for Public Access on Piers) or 62-63 (Design Requirements for Public Access on Piers and Floating Structures), inclusive.

 

(b)        In order to grant a special permit pursuant to this Section for any large-scale general development, the Commission shall find that:

(1)        the distribution of floor area, open space, dwelling units, rooming units and the location of buildings, primary business entrances and show windows will result in a better site plan and a better relationship among buildings and open areas to adjacent streets, surrounding development, adjacent open areas and shorelines than would be possible without such distribution and will thus benefit both the occupants of the large-scale general development, the neighborhood and the City as a whole;

(2)        the distribution of floor area and location of buildings will not unduly increase the bulk of buildings in any one block or unduly obstruct access of light and air to the detriment of the occupants or users of buildings in the block or nearby blocks or of people using the public streets;

(3)        where a zoning lot of a large-scale general development does not occupy a frontage on a mapped street, appropriate access to a mapped street is provided;

(4)        considering the size of the proposed large-scale general development, the streets providing access to such large-scale general development will be adequate to handle traffic resulting therefrom;

(5)        when the Commission has determined that the large-scale general development requires significant addition to existing public facilities serving the area, the applicant has submitted to the Commission a plan and timetable to provide such required additional facilities. Proposed facilities that are incorporated into the City's capital budget may be included as part of such plan and timetable;

 

(6)        where the Commission permits the maximum floor area ratio in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a)(4) of this Section, the open space provided is of sufficient size to serve the residents of new or enlarged buildings. Such open space shall be accessible to and usable by all residents of such new or enlarged buildings, have appropriate access, circulation, seating, lighting and paving, and be substantially landscaped. Furthermore, the site plan of such large-scale general development shall include superior landscaping for open space of the new or enlarged buildings;

 

(7)        where the Commission permits the exclusion of lot area or floor area in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a)(5) of this Section or modification of the base and maximum floor area ratios or requirements regarding distribution of affordable housing units in accordance with paragraph (a)(8) of this Section, such modification will facilitate a desirable mix of uses in the large-scale general development and a plan consistent with the objectives of the Inclusionary Housing Program and those of Section 74-74 (Large-scale General Development) with respect to better site planning;

 

(8)        where the Commission permits portions of buildings containing accessory parking spaces to be excluded from the calculation of lot coverage in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a)(9) of this Section, the exclusion of lot coverage will result in a better site plan and a better relationship among buildings and open areas than would be possible without such exclusion and therefore will benefit the residents of the large-scale general development;

 

(9)        where the Commission permits a floor area bonus for a public park improvement in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a)(11) of this Section:

 

(i)        the amount of such bonus floor area is appropriate in relation to the size and quality of the proposed public park improvement; and  

 

(ii)        such bonus floor area will not unduly increase the bulk of buildings on the zoning lot or unduly obstruct access of light and air to the detriment of the occupants or users of buildings on the block or nearby blocks or of people using the public streets.

Grant of a floor area bonus for a public park improvement in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a)(11) of this Section shall be conditioned upon adequate assurances for provision of the funding identified by the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation in a letter pursuant to paragraph (a)(11)(ii) of this Section as necessary for completion of the necessary infrastructure, landscape and other work for the public park improvement. The Commissioner of Buildings shall not issue a building permit for the large-scale general development unless the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation shall have certified that the funding has been made or secured in a manner acceptable to such Commissioner;

 

(10)        a declaration with regard to ownership requirements in paragraph (b) of the large-scale general development definition in Section 12-10 (DEFINITIONS) has been filed with the Commission;

 

(11)        where the Commission permits floor area distribution from a zoning lot containing existing light industrial buildings to be demolished in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a)(12) of this Section, such floor area distribution shall contribute to better site planning of the waterfront public access area and shall facilitate the development of affordable housing units within a large-scale general development; and

 

(12)        where new piers or new platforms are constructed, replaced or reconstructed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a)(13) of this Section, such new piers and new platforms are an integral part of such large-scale general development, result in a superior site plan and form an appropriate relationship with adjacent waterfront public access areas and shorelines, and provide significant public access to or within the seaward lot portion of the waterfront zoning lot.

 

Within Manhattan Community District 2, within the former Washington Square Southeast Urban Renewal Area, where the Commission has approved a large-scale general development and a lot line of such large-scale general development coincides with the boundary of a mapped public park, such lot line shall be considered to be a street line of a wide street for the purposes of applying all use and bulk regulations of this Resolution.

In addition, within Manhattan Community District 2, where the Commission has approved a large-scale general development located partially within a C2-7 District, if any open space approved pursuant to paragraph (a)(4) of Section 74-743 is subsequently mapped as a park and transferred to City ownership, the open space requirement approved for such large-scale general development pursuant to paragraph (a)(4) of Section 74-743 shall be reduced by the area of such public park.

Within Community District 1 in the Borough of Queens, the Commission may prescribe additional conditions to ensure that the purpose of the Inclusionary Housing program as set forth in Section 23-92 (General Provisions) is achieved in a large-scale general development. The Commission may establish procedures resulting in limiting the amount of affordable floor area utilizing public funding that may count toward satisfying the affordable floor area required in paragraph (c)(2) of Section 23-154. Any such procedures established by the Commission shall be set forth in the restrictive declaration required in connection with the grant of a special permit for such large-scale general development.

For a phased construction program of a multi-building complex, the Commission may, at the time of granting a special permit, require additional information, including but not limited to a proposed time schedule for carrying out the proposed large-scale general development, a phasing plan showing the distribution of bulk and open space and, in the case of a site plan providing for common open space, common open areas or common parking areas, a maintenance plan for such space or areas and surety for continued availability of such space or areas to the people they are intended to serve.

The Commission may prescribe additional conditions and safeguards to improve the quality of the large-scale general development and to minimize adverse effects on the character of the surrounding area.