The Initiative began its endeavor to create a Guidebook toward the end of 2016, when the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) and local elected officials appeared to be in preliminary discussions to consider changes to the zoning in SoHo. While those initial conversations with the City have not resulted in any action or a rezoning proposal as of this publication, the Initiative understands that the City continues to evaluate the SoHo neighborhood for possible regulatory changes. The Initiative created the Guidebook to elevate the community’s understanding of SoHo’s history and zoning, particularly along Broadway, so that property owners, residents, and businesses can meaningfully participate in future conversations if and when they do occur.

The Initiative hired Karp Strategies, an urban planning consulting firm, to lead this work in close collaboration with a committee comprised of experts, including Initiative Board members who have lived and worked in the area for decades.

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The ‘M1’ means that a range of manufacturing is allowed as-of-right and that uses like wholesaling, repair shops, and storage facilities are able to locate in SoHo without review from the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP). The ‘5’ signals the maximum allowable Floor Area Ratio (FAR) – essentially, how big a building can be in relation to its lot size. The ‘B’ signifies a district where special circumstances are permitted.

In SoHo, those special circumstances are called Joint Live-Work Quarters for Artists (JLWQA). M1-5B designates a special use which permits artists certified by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) to occupy manufacturing buildings. JLWQA spaces are not considered residential. They are designated as a manufacturing use where artists are permitted to live in their work space. Buildings with JLWQA units must have been constructed prior to 1961.

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Despite not being allowed by the M1-5B zoning, retail uses on the ground floor can locate in SoHo through the following means:

• A special permit, which is a discretionary action granted by the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) that allows a use that is not otherwise authorized. Large Retail Establishments, Good Faith Marketing Effort, and Preservation special permits are all ways to locate retail in SoHo.
• A variance, which is a discretionary action granted by the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) to relieve a property owner of an undue hardship caused by zoning.
• Grandfathering, which refers to allowing an active use that pre-dates current zoning regulation to remain in place.

Residential uses can locate in SoHo through the Loft Law or the Preservation special permit (see Question 6).

Both retail and residential uses can also locate in SoHo by creative legal interpretations of the Zoning Resolution or by mitigating the risk of non-compliance via contractual stipulations.

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Large scale retail is permitted to locate in SoHo via three regulations or processes:

• A special permit, which is a discretionary action granted by the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) that allows a use that is not otherwise authorized. Specifically, the Large Retail Establishments special permit allows retail over 10,000 square feet to occupy a ground floor space.
• A variance, which is a discretionary action granted by the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) to relieve a property owner an undue hardship caused by zoning.
• Grandfathering, which is a term describing when a use in a pre-existing building was active and occurring prior to current zoning regulations and is therefore allowed to remain in place.

In order to avoid getting a special permit for large scale retail, developers or businesses can break up establishments which are greater than 10,000 square feet into multiple “stores” with spaces of less than 10,000 square feet located within the larger establishment. For example, an establishment can be divided into smaller stores such as a women’s clothing store and a men’s clothing store – each operated separately from the other. Some stores used this approach based on DOB guidance from the 2000s, but the agency has since indicated that this approach is no longer permitted.

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cast iron structures found in the neighborhood today date from the turn of the Century and were generally built for businesses who manufactured goods on the upper floors and sold those goods on the ground floor. By the 1950s, national economic trends pushed manufacturing out of cities and into the suburbs. SoHo – and New York City broadly – experienced a similar decline of manufacturing.

In the ensuing decade, artists (especially those working in large media) moved in to SoHo’s vacant industrial buildings seeking cheap rent and spaces that could accommodate their work. By the mid-1960s, these early SoHo pioneers put forth a request to change the area’s existing light manufacturing zoning to allow artists to live and work in their lofts. This proposal represented a major shift away from zoning that had previously only allowed manufacturing and other commercial uses. In 1971, the City amended the existing M1 zoning to become M1-5A and M1-5B, allowing artists to live and work in loft buildings for the express purpose of producing their art. The City maintained the overarching manufacturing zoning in the hope of preserving blue-collar jobs. The M1-5A and M1-5B zoning currently remains in place.

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• The Loft Law, enacted in 1982, essentially recognized that non-artists were living in SoHo and, instead of evicting them, sought to ensure safe occupancy through compliance with fire, safety, and buildings codes as defined by the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB). The Loft Law additionally sought to give tenants rent protections and other rights. It still allows legal residency in SoHo for those who applied for its coverage during applicable time periods. It is important to note that units legalized under the Loft Law are not required to be occupied by artists certified by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).
• The SoHo Cast-Iron Historic District designation triggers certain provisions in the Zoning Resolution that allow otherwise prohibited uses to locate in an area by asking the City Planning Commission (CPC) for a special permit to modify use or bulk. In SoHo’s case, residential units may be approved as long as the building owner agrees to certain restrictions, including committing to permanently preserve and maintain the building’s exterior appearance according to strict provisions set out by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).

Residents may also locate in SoHo through creative legal interpretations of the Zoning Resolution or by mitigating the risk of non-compliance via contractual stipulations.

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The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) is responsible for enforcing zoning regulations. Over time, enforcement and penalties have been levied inconsistently and irregularly against non-conforming uses, such as a resident who cannot produce an artist certificate.

For residential units, a DOB inspection only occurs if a violation is reported. In the event of such inspection, DOB has not evicted residents who are unable to produce an artist certificate but instead issues a fine, which varies in size based on the circumstances.

Enforcement of non-conforming retail businesses, such as those who exceed square footage limitations, is similar to the residential case. In general, DOB issues fines and violations but stores are able to continue operating.

Read more SoHo Zoning Guidebook

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New development is permitted to occur on vacant lots but must be done with the approval of the LPC and generally completed in context and scale of the surrounding buildings.

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• It creates inconsistent outcomes in how property is used and developed,
• It can create conflict between the needs of residents and businesses, and
• It can trigger processes that take up time and financial resources.

More specifically, the mismatch can make buying, selling, renting, and owning real estate complicated and unpredictable for both residential and retail purposes. Generally, zoning is employed to create predictable and reliable outcomes where the built environment matches the zoning designation. The use of special permits, grandfathering, and other creative approaches allows non-conforming uses to be the rule rather than the exception. This complexity allows sophisticated property owners to obtain exceptions to the zoning regulation that may be too expensive for typical property owners, though the process of pursuing exceptions requires a lengthy and costly public review and approvals process.

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