Little Italy has a special zoning district with additional regulations in addition to the underlying zoning district rules. All zoning regulations apply in the underlying zoning district unless specifically altered by the Special District regulations.

 

Little Italy Zoning

The Little Italy Special Zoning District is broken into 4 categories listed below.

• Preservation Area (Area A)
• Mulberry Street Regional Spine (Area A1)
• Houston St Corridor (Area B)
• Bowery, Canal, Kenmare St Corridor (Area C)

 

Preservation Area (Area A)

In the Little Italy Zoning Preservation Area (Area A) there are a few zoning code requirements that will apply in addition to and or supersede the underlying district regulations. Some of the items affected are:

• Permitted Uses
• Floor Area Ration Maximums
• Lot Coverage
• Rear Yard and Through Lot Regulations
• Floor Area Per Room
• Height and Setback 
• Building Facades
• Transparency of Ground Floor Walls
• Open Space and Landscaping

Below are a few specific examples of modifications to the Zoning Code.

Use Restrictions for Preservation Area A

New Developments or Enlargements of buildings have some use restrictions. The following use groups are not permitted in The Little Italy Preservation Area A unless by Authorization from the City Planning Commission:

• 6D
• 8C
• 10
• 12D

 

Mulberry Street Regional Spine (Area A1)

In the Little Italy Zoning Mulberry Street Regional Spine (Area A1) there are a few zoning code requirements that will apply in addition to and or supersede the underlying district regulations. Some of the items affected are:

• Floor area Ratio
• Lot Coverage
• Storefront Requirements
• Sign Regulations
• Use limitation for Ground Floor

Little Italy Zoning Use Group LI

The ground floor use of buildings in the Little Italy Special Purpose Zoning District must be in the following list of uses:

Use Group LI

A – Convenience Retail Establishments

• A. Convenience Retail Establishments
• Bakeries
• Barber shops
• Beauty parlors
• Drug stores
• Dry cleaning or clothes pressing up to 2,500 square feet on the ground floor
• Eating or drinking establishments. Bars or Restaurants (with some restrictions on occupancy)
• Food stores, supermarkets, grocery stores, meat markets, delicatessen limited to 5,000 square feet on the ground floor
• Hardware stores
• Liquor stores
• Post offices
• Stationery stores
• Tailor or dressmaking shops, up to to 5,000 square feet of floor area on the ground floor

B- Retail or Service Establishments

• Antique stores
• Appliance stores, limited to 5,000 square feet on the ground floor
• Art galleries
• Artist supply stores
• Bicycle sales and rental
• Book stores
• Candy or ice cream stores
• Carpet or rug stores up to 5,000 square feet on the ground floor
• Cigar, tobacco,
• Clothing or clothing accessory up to 5,000 square feet
• Clothing rental
• Clubs, limited to 2,500 square feet on the ground floor
• Dry goods or fabric stores, up to 5,000 square feet on the ground floor
• Florist shops
• Furniture stores, up to 5,000 square feet on the ground floor
• Furrier shops
• Gift shops
• Interior decorating establishments, limited to 750 square feet of floor area on the ground floor
• Jewelry or art metal craft shops
• Leather goods, crafts or luggage stores
• Locksmiths shops
• Meeting halls, limited to 25-foot frontage
• Millinery shops
• Music stores
• Newsstands
• Optician or optometrist
• Paint stores
• Pet shops
• Photographic equipment or supply stores
• Photographic studios
• Picture framing shops
• Record stores
• Shoe stores
• Stamp or coin stores
• Telegraph offices
• Theaters, limited to 25-foot frontage
• Toy stores
• Travel agency
• Watch or clock stores or repair shops

 

Houston St Corridor (Area B)

In the Little Italy Zoning Houston St Corridor (Area B) there are a few zoning code requirements that will apply in addition to and or supersede the underlying district regulations. Some of the items affected are:

• Floor Area Ratio
• Use Regulations
• Lot Coverage
• Height and Setback
• Building Material Requirements
• Surface area of glass facades
• Recreation Space and Landscaping

Below are a few specific examples of modifications to the Zoning Code.

 

Use Restrictions for Houston st (Area B)

New Developments or Enlargements of buildings have some use restrictions. The following use groups are not permitted in The Little Italy Houston St Corridor:

• 6D
• 8C
• 12D

 

Bowery, Canal, Kenmare St Corridor (Area C)

In the Bowery, Canal, Kenmare st Corridor (Area C) of the Special Little Italy zoning District there are a few zoning code requirements that will supersede the underlying district regulations. Some of the items affected are:

• Height and Setback
• Lot Coverage
• Landscaping Required for residential developments
• Special Use Regulations for proximity to Mulberry St

Below are a few specific examples of modifications to the Zoning Code.

Height and Setback

In Area C of the Special LI Zoning District the maximum building height will be 85 feet or 8 stories whichever is less. Building over that limit must be approved by City Planning and would require their authorization. The front wall will be the full length of the property and cannot have setbacks.

Lot Coverage

Residential Buildings maximum lot coverage is 60%

Commercial Buildings maximum lot coverage is 100% at the ground floor and 70% above the ground floor.

 

Special Little Italy Zoning District

As an architect I study Zoning Codes closely, but these are complicated and quite involved issues. In this article we reviewed some of the basic concepts with regards to the Little Italy Zoning Special District requirements. This post does not assume to cover every possible issue or condition, but provide a general overview of the topic.

 

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Thank you for reading our blog post on Little Italy Zoning.

I hope this was helpful. Please leave questions and comments below. If you would like to speak with an architect you can Contact Fontan Architecture directly.