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Can New Zoning Stop Chain Stores From Strangling The East Village?
By
Lauren Evans
Published Jun 17, 2015
Modified Jun 17, 2015
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East Village Community Coalition
By
Lauren Evans
Published Jun 17, 2015
Modified Jun 17, 2015
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A group of East Village preservationists has come up with a way to stem the steady tide of chains flooding the area: New zoning regulations.
It's not news that the neighborhood has increasingly become a magnet for chains stores. The Center for an Urban Future found that the East Village is one of the city's top three most chain-heavy neighborhoods, and the second highest in Manhattan. (The most chain-heavy is the 10001 zip code, which includes Midtown/Koreatown and is home to the Manhattan Mall.)
While initiatives encouraging residents to shop local are a step in the right direction, the East Village Community Coalition says that in order to actually prevent 2nd Avenue from turning into TD Bank Boulevard, more must be done. A new report released by the group Tuesday [PDF] calls for the creation of a Formula Business Ordinance similar to one in effect in San Francisco, which puts a cap on the number of chains allowed in a given neighborhood. Under "conditional use" agreements, a public hearing must be held to determine if a formula business can open, with a planning commission that takes the following into account:
• Is there already a concentration of formula retail
businesses in the neighborhood?
• Are similar goods or services already provided
within the neighborhood?
• Is the formula business compatible with the
character of the neighborhood?
The most effective way to change the extant zoning would be to create a Special Purpose District, and the report offers three recommendations on how to achieve it.
The first is a full-on ban on Formula Retail within the established area. The second would greatly restrict chains, but would allow for grandfathered non-conforming use. Chains would also be required to limit themselves to 2,500-square-feet and remain contextual with the rest of the environment. Combining storefronts would also be prohibited, and if a proposed project "does not meet the size requirements and the applicant is unwilling to modify the plans, the project will not be within the district." Businesses seeking exemptions could also apply for special permits from the City Planning Commission.
The third proposal would entail "district wide regulations:"
Formula retail would only be regulated by the implementation of the previously described Formula Retail ban on East Village streets, the enforcement of the 2,500 square-foot limit, and the prohibition of combining storefronts from separate buildings. There would be no special permitting process, leaving the East Village commercial overlays open to formula retail.
A proposal to rezone part of the Upper West Side to discourage chain stores and banks met with heavy opposition from business owners on Columbus Avenue.
A roundtable meeting hosted by the EVCC will be held on June 24 from Downtown Art, located at 61 East Fourth Street from 6 to 8 p.m. Residents are encouraged to attend.
Tagged
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east village
zoning
Lauren Evans
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