Real estate industry looks to zoning atlas for housing solutions

Zoning restrictions remain a key obstacle to building more housing on Long Island, but a recently released online tool could help developers identify potential sites for growth, panelists said during an event addressing the region’s housing shortage.

The Long Island Zoning Atlas, a data-rich map, was released in December, combining zoning data across the Island’s more than 100 towns, villages and cities.

On Friday, some of the initiative’s creators shared it with an audience of more than 130 developers, bankers, brokers and attorneys serving the real estate industry at an event hosted by the Real Estate Institute at the Stony Brook University College of Business.

The atlas, a collaboration between Community Development Long Island, the Rauch Foundation, Long Island Community Foundation and CUNY Graduate Center, gives a “bird's-eye” view of parcels across Long Island, providing insight into not only zoning, but other attributes, such as political, school and sewer district boundaries.

“It’s important for our region because we know that zoning laws dictate everything that gets built or not built and that has a tremendous impact on our economy,” said Gwen O’Shea, president and CEO of Community Development Long Island.

The atlas will be a helpful tool for developers as they present projects to local political leaders and the public, said Kevin Law, an executive vice president and partner at the development firm Tritec and chair of Empire State Development, the state’s economic development arm.

“Whether you’re a developer, a community leader or you work for the municipality, having all that information at your fingertips is good,” Law said.

One of the key findings of the map is that local rules allow for single-family homes on 89% of zoned land across Long Island.

But housing for three families or more, including apartment buildings, is allowed on just 3.6% of zoned land, which excludes environmentally protected areas.

Law said the atlas could be a way for developers to find overlooked properties that could be suitable for housing.

“We’re talking about repurposing abandoned, underutilized sites in downtowns, near train stations and bus stations — properties that aren’t working," he said. “We’re not talking about building apartments in the middle of residential neighborhoods.”

One example of such development is the 13-acre site in East Farmingdale, controlled by the state Department of Transportation, where Newsday reported last week the state is seeking proposals for housing. It is part of an initiative in the state budget to spur 15,000 new housing units statewide through tax credits and other incentives.

Public hearings over zoning changes can be contentious. The atlas gives people with different viewpoints a common resource to see zoning patterns around the Island, said Steven Romalewski, director of the CUNY Mapping Service.

“This hopefully will enable the conversation to go beyond anecdotes and yelling at each other back and forth. You have this as a conversation starter and a way to facilitate discussions,” he said.

Mike Florio, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute, said the obstacles to building apartments have contributed to people’s inability to afford housing. He cited a recent report which showed Nassau and Suffolk counties lagged nearly all large U.S. counties in the percentage increase in housing units between 2012 to 2022.

“We talked about how people can't afford to live here,” he said. “That's because we have incredibly high demand and very limited supply. And we have not made the investment in our residential supply for decades.”

David Pennetta, executive managing director at the commercial real estate brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield, questioned why there isn’t more production of affordable single-family homes in addition to apartment developments.

“It seems like that should be part of the mix,” said Pennetta, a member of the Huntington Town Planning Board.

Florio said land acquisition costs are a major obstacle to building new for-sale properties.

“Without getting the land for free or a subsidy, it’s harder to get an affordable homeownership opportunity,” he said.

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.