QUESTION
What are the impacts of allowing light manufacturing in commercial quarters on manufacturing businesses and zoning?
1:38:09
·
143 sec
The Department of City Planning views allowing light manufacturing in commercial areas as a way to reduce pressure on core manufacturing zones.
- Allowing businesses like 3D printing or pottery studios in commercial areas provides more opportunities for lighter manufacturing
- This proposal would allow manufacturing businesses to do more direct retail sales in commercial areas, which current zoning does not allow
- Council Member Gutiérrez is concerned this incentivizes commercial over manufacturing and doesn't help manufacturing businesses looking to expand due to needing more space
- Gutiérrez feels the city is doing more for commercial than manufacturing in manufacturing zones with this proposal
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:38:09
I just wanna move to proposal number 3.
1:38:12
About and, again, thank you for going through all all 18, Dan.
1:38:17
Allowing businesses at 1 week expand to do what I think is like light manufacturing.
1:38:23
In commercial quarters, have you all thought how many businesses do you think this will benefit.
1:38:29
Have you all thought about how that will affect what we're trying to do in maybe the more transition or even growth district of encouraging more manufacturing bring businesses.
1:38:38
If we're allowing that, even if it's small in commercial businesses, have you all thought that that will have a negative impact on expanding manufacturing in these other zones?
Dan Garodnick
1:38:46
I'm gonna go back to Matt in a second, but one thing I will note is we actually view it as in part and way to address the first concern that you were raising, which is by creating more opportunity for the lighter manufacturing, like a 3 d printer or pottery studio to exist in a commercial context.
1:39:06
It does reduce some of the pressure on what I think we would recognize together as core manufacturing, the ones that need to be separated off from residential or other commercial uses.
1:39:19
So we actually view that as a benefit here, but I'll I'll go to Matt for extra content.
Matt Waskiewicz
1:39:23
Yeah.
1:39:23
And just to paint a hypothetical, but this is one we've heard from businesses that may they may operate in the IBZ in North Brooklyn today, they would like to do more direct to retail sales somewhere in Manhattan the zoning today would not allow them to do that and operate a little bit of production space on the side.
1:39:40
So as the business continues to grow, this allows them to do so.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:39:44
No.
1:39:44
I'm I'm clear on what it does.
1:39:45
I'm just sorry.
1:39:47
One more minute.
1:39:47
I'm just concerned of the the tool that is in place or the the zoning that's in place is saying, currently, if you are a business that starts manufacturing and you're looking to expand because you need more space that you need to move to manufacturing.
1:40:03
And I can see how that is a challenge for that business.
1:40:06
But what you're saying is, like, you can stay in commercial and we're still not helping manufacturing.
1:40:11
And so that is why I am curious if you've all grappled with that conflict, which I think one is like we you proposing allowing businesses to grow by doing me like manufacturing commercial districts, but you're also incentivizing commercial in manufacturing businesses.
1:40:26
You're doing more for commercial in manufacturing that you're doing for manufacturing is what I'm saying.