Typical
homes and streetscape in the proposed R3A District. |
The Department
of City Planning (DCP) is proposing zoning map amendments
for 22 blocks in the Bellerose neighborhood in eastern
Queens, Community District 13. The rezoning, among
the first of the Department’s lower-density rezoning
initiatives in Queens, would support and reinforce
the low density character of the neighborhood and ensure
that future residential development will be consistent
in scale and context with the area’s one- and
two-family homes.
Background
The zoning changes are the result of a study
undertaken by DCP at the request of the community,
the Borough
President’s Zoning Task Force and the local council
member. The proposals respond to community concerns
about the changes in their neighborhood brought about
by as-of-right construction of multi-family houses.
Under the existing R3-2 zoning which permits all types
of housing including row houses and apartment buildings,
detached one-family homes have been demolished and
replaced with semi-detached, two-family or multifamily
structures.
This action will be the third zoning map amendment
to establish low-density contextual zoning in Bellerose.
In 1989 the first contextual zoning district in Queens,
R3A, was designated on 25 blocks south of the current
rezoning area which had been zoned R3-2 and R4. In
1991, the section east of the Cross Island Parkway
was rezoned from R3-2 to R4-1 and R3A, also to prevent
out-of-context development.
Proposed Zoning Changes
The current rezoning area is
located east of the Creedmoor State Hospital campus,
south
of Union
Turnpike,
west
of the Cross Island Parkway and north of 87th Avenue.
It is zoned R3-2, although it is typically developed
with one- and two- family detached homes. Most of
the homes are built on large lots on the 14 blocks
north
of Hillside Avenue where DCP proposes to extend an
adjacent R2 zone. The homes south of Hillside Avenue
are typically one-family and detached, but built
on narrow lots. In this area, an R3A zone would be
extended
north to encompass these remaining eight blocks.
The R2 zoning district proposed for the northern part
of the rezoning area would limit new residential development
to one-family detached homes. The R3A zoning district
would also permit only detached homes, but they can
be one- or two-family structures. These new zoning
districts will reinforce the one- and two-family character
of the neighborhood and ensure that future development
will better reflect the area’s development patterns.
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