The Department of City Planning (DCP) has proposed text amendments to modify and expand the existing Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program under ZR 63-00 for neighborhood grocery stores and supermarkets throughout the City. The zoning text amendment application was referred out for public review by the City Planning Commission (CPC) on May 19.
The FRESH program was established in 2009 to encourage the construction of supermarkets in areas underserved by food stores. The genesis of the program was the 2008 study “Going to Market,” which found that in many neighborhoods there was a shortage of grocery stores and supermarkets. The study also found that in many neighborhoods, pharmacies, convenience stores and discount stores were the largest segment of food retailers, but that these stores typically did not sell fresh produce.
The existing program includes several incentives to encourage grocery stores selling fresh food in identified neighborhoods (Upper Manhattan, South Bronx, Central Brooklyn, and Jamaica, Queens). FRESH food stores are defined as food stores (Use Group 6) with a minimum of 6,000 square feet and with a certain percentage allocation for perishable and nonperishable food sales areas. The zoning incentives include: (i) additional residential floor area equal to the lesser of the amount of floor space of a FRESH food store or 20,000 square feet; (ii) reduced parking requirements; and (iii) allowing supermarkets with up to 30,000 square feet of floor area in M1 districts. A City Planning Commission Chair’s certification is required for a development to take advantage of the FRESH program. Certification requirements include a signed lease or commitment letter from a FRESH food operator and a deed restriction (known as a “restrictive declaration”) addressing the requirement that there be a FRESH food store use on the property. Further, by authorization, CPC may permit a building to exceed the maximum height limits applicable in its zoning district by up to 15 feet to accommodate a FRESH food store.
DCP’s Proposed Text Amendments
The text amendments modifying the FRESH program are an outgrowth of a joint hearing assessing the FRESH program by the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and the Committee on Economic Development and an updated DCP analysis of grocery stores and supermarkets across the City. The amendments propose an expansion and update of the program boundaries, a mechanism to prevent the overconcentration of FRESH food stores, modification to the glazing requirement for conversions involving FRESH food stores, changes to parking regulations, and clarifications of the existing text.
Clients and contacts are encouraged to reach out to the Kramer Levin Land Use Department for further information regarding this proposal.