(a) Applications: general provisions.
(1) Presentation of application. A request for any action shall be submitted to the Department of City Planning. The application must be submitted as provided for in the instructions on the Department of City Planning's website. This includes the submission of forms requesting information required for the "doing business database" established by Local Law 34 for the year 2007, and must include all of the information and documents required by such instructions and forms. For purposes of the acquisition of property by the City, pursuant to 62 RCNY §§ 2-01(e) and 2-01(k), the applicant shall be the requesting agency and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. For purposes of the approval of housing or urban renewal plans and projects or amendments thereof pursuant to City, State or Federal laws in accordance with 62 RCNY § 2-01(h), the applicant shall be the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development or the New York City Housing Authority, as appropriate, or their designees. The Department may not consider the application as filed unless it includes all required components and shall not consider the application as filed unless the required fee has been paid or is paid concurrently with the submission of the application.
(2) Initial Review. The Department of City Planning shall, within five (5) days, review each application to ensure that all required forms, documents and other exhibits supplied have been submitted and prepared as required by the instructions. If any of the documentation is missing or has been improperly prepared, the applicant will be notified that the submitted application has been rejected, along with a listing of its deficiencies If the documentation is in order, the Department shall assign a docket number and shall transmit a Notice of Receipt of the application to all the appropriate Department divisions and other agencies which review such application, and to the community board(s), Borough President(s), borough board (when appropriate), the City Council and the applicant in accordance with 62 RCNY § 2-02(b). Such Notice of Receipt, when sent to the community board(s), Borough President(s), borough boards and City Council shall include a copy of the application form and all documents included therewith.
(3) Substantive Review. The application form, documents and other exhibits shall be subject to review by the appropriate divisions of the Department in order to ensure that the requirements for completeness in 62 RCNY § 2-02(a)(5) have been met prior to certification of the application into ULURP. The Department may request any additional documents, maps, plans, drawings or information necessary to complete or organize the submission, or to clarify its substance and the land use issues attendant to it. The Department of City Planning shall refer such additional application documents or amendments within five (5) days to each affected borough president, community board or borough board, and to the City Council. Not later than sixty (60) days after the Notice of Receipt has been sent, the Department of City Planning shall notify the applicant of any deficiencies or errors in the application, documents and other exhibits, and shall make any requests for revised or supplementary documents and exhibits. The applicant is expected to respond within a reasonable time. Upon receipt of the corrected, revised or supplementary material, the Department of City Planning shall review it within no more than sixty (60) days and make any additional request for further corrections or supplements if needed. If the applicant fails to respond within sixty (60) days after the receipt of a request for revisions, corrections or supplement, the Department of City Planning shall give notice to the applicant that the application will be deemed withdrawn.
(4) Appeal for Certification. At any time after one hundred and eighty (180) days have elapsed from the date of the Notice of Receipt of any application, the applicant may appeal in writing to the Commission to certify the application as complete. The affected Borough President may also appeal in writing if the Borough President finds that the application is consistent with the land use policy or strategic policy statement of the borough formulated pursuant to Section 82, subsection 14 of the Charter. Upon receipt of such an appeal, the Commission shall refer it to the Department of City Planning and the Office of Environmental Coordination or lead agency for an evaluation of the completeness of the application, which shall include an identification of all material requested by the Department of City Planning and the environmental review staff or lead agency but not yet provided by the applicant. If the Commission determines that all pertinent information has been supplied in accordance with the criteria of 62 RCNY § 2-02(a)(5) below, it shall certify the application as complete. If the Commission determines that pertinent information has not been supplied, such information shall be listed by the Department of City Planning and the environmental review staff and sent by the Commission to the applicant within thirty (30) days of receipt of the appeal. When the applicant has responded, either by supplying all the information so requested, or by explaining why such information should not be required in order to certify the application, the Commission shall consider the evaluation and the applicant's response and either certify the application as complete in accordance with 62 RCNY § 2-02(a)(5) or deny the appeal. A denial by the Commission shall state the information that must still be supplied or clearly state the reason for denial. Such determination shall be made not later than sixty (60) days from the date the appeal is received. If the appeal is one which has been made by the affected Borough President, and the land use proposed in the application is consistent with the land use policy or strategic policy statement of the affected Borough President, then a vote of five members shall be sufficient to certify the application as complete in accordance with 62 RCNY § 2-02(a)(5) below. In all other instances, a majority vote of the Commission is necessary to certify an application. A denial of the appeal shall mean that the application remains incomplete, and the Department of City Planning and the environmental review staff shall continue with timely review of the application until all the information required for completeness has been provided at which time certification shall take place. If such review continues for an additional one hundred and eighty (180) days or more beyond the denial, the applicant may again appeal to the Commission under the procedure outlined above to certify the application.
(5) Certification of Completeness. The Department or the Commission shall certify the application as complete when compliance has been achieved with all of the following:
(i) The standard application form, including for any application certified on or after April 14, 2008, forms requesting information required for the "doing business database" established pursuant to Local Law 34 for the year 2007, has been completed in its entirety with all requested information presented in clear language.
(ii) All accompanying documents, maps, plans, drawings, and other information are properly organized and presented in clear language and understandable graphic form.
(iii) The information supplied on the application form and accompanying documents is fully sufficient to address all issues of jurisdiction and substance which are required to be addressed for the category of action as defined in the Charter, statutes, Zoning Resolution, Administrative Code or other law or regulation.
(iv) All reviews by necessary and related agencies of the State and City have been completed and any required reports, certifications, sign-offs or other such agency actions required by law or regulation prior to ULURP have been secured, or a written waiver of the agency presented. If any such agency does not respond within sixty (60) days, it will be deemed to have waived its review and action as applicable law permits.
(v) A determination has been made whether the action is subject to City or State Environmental Quality Review, and if so subject, the lead agency has issued either:
(A) a Negative or Conditional Negative Declaration; or
(B) a Notice of Acceptance of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
(vi) Notification of any proposed (E) designation has been submitted to the Department of City Planning as required pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-02(e) hereof.
(b) Referrals: general provisions. Except as provided in 62 RCNY § 2-02(c) hereof, within nine (9) calendar days after the certification by the Department of City Planning, or by the Commission if certification occurs pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-02(a)(4) above, that a submission is a complete application, the Department of City Planning shall make the following referrals:
(1) any application relating to a proposal which occupies or would occupy land located in only one community district shall be referred to the community board for such district;
(2) any application relating to a proposal which occupies or would occupy land located in two or more community districts shall be referred to the community board for each such district and to the borough board for the appropriate borough;
(3) any application relating to a proposal which occupies or would occupy land located in a joint interest area not included within a community district shall be referred to the community board for each community district bounding such area and to the borough board for the appropriate borough;
(4) all applications shall be referred to the Borough President of the borough in question;
(5) all applications shall be referred to the City Council.
(c) Charter Section 201 applications. A request for an amendment to the Zoning Map or the text of the Zoning Resolution by a taxpayer, community board, borough board, Borough President, the Mayor or the Land Use Committee of the Council pursuant to Section 201 of the Charter, shall be filed with the Department. Applications for special permits pursuant to Section 201 of the Charter may be filed by any person or agency. Such requests shall be subject to the application and certification procedure of 62 RCNY § 2-02(a) hereof and shall be referred pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-02(b) hereof.
(d) Withdrawals. An applicant may at any time file with the Commission a statement that its application is withdrawn. If withdrawal occurs after filings have occurred pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-06(h)(4), the applicant shall also file a statement of withdrawal with the City Council. Upon the filing of such a statement, the application in question shall be void and no further processing of such application under this uniform land use review procedure shall be undertaken by a community board, Borough President, borough board or the Commission. The Commission shall promptly give notice of such withdrawal to the board or boards, to the Borough President to which the application was referred pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-02(b) and to the Council, if filings pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-06(h)(4) have not occurred. The request to which the application relates may thereafter be advanced only in connection with a new application certified as complete pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-02(a) herein and processed according to this uniform land use review procedure.
(e) Notification of proposed (E) designation.
(1) If an application for an amendment to the Zoning Map or text of the zoning resolution pursuant to Section 197-c or Section 200 and Section 201 of the Charter, respectively, includes an (E) designation with respect to potential hazardous materials, air quality or noise on any tax lot or zoning lot pursuant to § 11-15 of the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York, at the time the application is referred pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-02(b) hereof, the owner or owners of any such tax lot or zoning lot, with the exception of the applicant, shall be notified of the proposed (E) designation. Such notification shall be by the lead agency, as defined in 6 New York Code of Rules and Regulations, Part 617, as amended, and 62 RCNY § 5-02, as amended. If the lead agency is other than the Commission, no such application shall be certified as complete pursuant to 62 RCNY § 2-02(a)(5) hereof until such other lead agency shall have submitted any notification of a proposed (E) designation, in the form and addressed to the parties required by this Section to the Department of City Planning, who shall send such notification as provided by this Section.
(2) Such notification shall be by first-class mail and shall be made to the person(s) or entity(ies) identified in the official records of the City of New York as the fee owners of such tax lot or zoning lot and shall be sent to the address or addresses indicated in such records.
(3) The notification shall include or refer to the Department of City Planning's website for:
(i) a description of the existing zoning and the proposed rezoning for the properties that will include the (E) designation;
(ii) notice to the property owner of the right to attend and testify at any public hearing relating to the proposed Zoning Map amendment;
(iii) the phone numbers for a contact person at the lead agency, or if the lead agency is the Commission, a contact person or persons at the Department of City Planning;
(iv) § 11-15 of the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York or its successor.
(Amended City Record 3/21/2018, eff. 4/20/2018)