R8X Zoning NYC · Fontan Architecture (2024)

R8X Zoning in NYC is high density residential zoning district. This is contextual zoning which means following the Quality Housing Program Requirements. R8X Zoning is found in Manhattan, The Bronx, and Brooklyn.

This post will only be addressing R8X Zoning, here is a list of all the R8 Zoning Districts.

R8 Zoning Districts

Basic R8 District:

• R8

R8 Contextual Districts

• R8A
• R8B
• R8X

R8X Zoning NYC

What IS R8X Zoning?

R8X Zoning is considered “high density” residential zoning. It typically hasmultifamily buildings that are often 10 or 12 stories. In an R8X zone you must follow theQuality Housing Programzoning regulations.

Quality Housing Program R8X

The Quality Housing Program promotes shorter wider buildings that are typically larger in square footage then a tall skinny building. The Quality Housing Program is not to be confused with the Inclusionary Housing Program for affordable housing. The quality housing program is just another set of optional zoning regulations and has nothing to do with low income or affordable housing. The quality housing program typically will result in a larger building of a higher quality. There are more zoning floor area deductions in quality housing that would give you a boost to your total building size.

R8X Zoning Community Facility

R8X Zoning is a residential zone but Community Facility uses are allowed in all R8 zones. In the instance of a community facility the zoning calculations would be different. One can also build a mixed use building with both community facility and residential use.

R8X Zoning CommercialOverlay

Sometimes residential districts have commercial overlays. This means the zone is primarily residential but commercial use is allowed instead or you can have both as a mixed use building. Here is a link to an article we wrote onCommercial Overlays.

R8X Inclusionary Housing Program

Always check if your property is subject to requirements of theInclusionary Housing Program. These are districts that have either optional and sometimes mandatory requirements for low income housing. Typically in these areas you provide 20% of your floor area for affordable units. There can be zoning penalties if you choose not to provide it. And zoning bonuses if you do.

R8X Zoning Regulations For Quality Housing

Lot Size:

Minimum Lot width =18 Feet

Minimum Lot Area = 1,700 Sq Ft

Lot Coverage:

Corner Lot = 100%

Interior or Through Lot = 70%

Floor Area Ratio (FAR):

FAR = 6.02

FAR for Inclusionary Housing = 7.2

Density Factor

680

Building Base Height: This indicates a setback is required at these heights

Base Height = 60 Minimum / 85 Maximum (95 Max with Qualifying Ground Floor)

A setback is required in the base height range. Or this can be the maximum height of the building without a setback.

Overall Building Height: This is the maximum building height

Basic Building Height: = 150 feet (155 with Qualifying Ground Floor 15 Stories Maximum)

Inclusionary Housing Building Height: = 170 feet / 17 Stories Maximum (175 feet with Qualifying Ground Floor)

R8X Zones are subject to Sliver Lawzoning restrictions for properties less than 45 feet wide. the sliver law is an additional restriction on the height of the building and supersedes the typical building height requirements.

Yards:

Corner Lot: No Yards Required

Interior Lot = 30 foot minimum rear yard required

R8X Zoning Example

Here is an example analysis. Be aware that zoning is complicated and I am only addressing the basics here. I assure you there are many additional issues and variations to consider beyond this example.

R8X Zoning Example Lot

Lets assume we have a 50 foot wide and 100 foot deep property in an R8X Zoning District in Manhattan on an interior lot.

Building Foot Print:

First Lets start with Lot Coverage and Yards.We know we will need a minimum rear yard of 30 feet. That tells us we have 50 x 70 to build on, and we can cover 70% of the property. this works out well with a 3,500 sq ft area we can build on.

Zoning Floor Area/ Floor Area Ratio (FAR)

So the floor area ratio is 6.02. The FAR is a ratio that determines how many square feet you can build on the property. You simply take the property size and multiply it by the FAR.

In this example we have:

FAR of 6.02

Lot Size of 50 feet x 100 feet.

Zoning Floor Area = Lot Area X FAR

Lot Area = 50 x 100

Lot Area = 5,000 sq ft

FAR = 6.02

Zoning Floor Area = 5,000 sq ft x 6.02

Zoning Floor Area = 30,100 sq ft

How many apartments can we build on our R8X lot?

Zoning regulates the maximum number of residential units you can put in a building.

R8X Zoning Example Conclusion

In this example we are proposing to build a 30,100 sq ft building. The apartment building will be 10 stories tall and have a setback. The Building will have a foot print of 50 x 70. It will have a maximum of 44 apartments but can have less as well.

NYC R8X Zoning

The New York City Zoning Resolution is complicated and quite in depth. In this article we reviewed some basic Zoning Codes with regards to R8X Zoning. This analysis does not assume to cover every possible issue, but provide a general overview of the relevant zoning codes. Every project is unique and should be assessed by a professional licensed Architect.

Thank You for reading our Blog Post on R8X Zoning

I hope this was helpful. If you want to discuss a specific project with an architect please feel free to Contact Fontan Architecture. We will be happy to help.

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