Cutting Red-Tape, Not Trees: Continuing to Build Consensus

Zoning rules have preserved biodiversity on Staten Island for decades. Can old rules be updated to balance modern-day community needs and politics? Learn from New York City planners on how best to approach bureaucracy in changing climates.

Staten Island's special districts were created in the 1970s to balance growth while preserving natural features. As development progressed, new challenges emerged, leading to some initial regulatory improvements that protect natural features such as topography, trees, and wetlands.

In 2017, the NYC Department of City Planning undertook an initiative to combine all the special districts and align them with updated regulations to improve the permitting process and help homeowners. However, significant political backlash ended the effort. The Department regrouped in 2021 and developed new techniques to engage with each stakeholder at every step of the process.

This presentation offers planners creative tools to interact with local community stakeholders and advice on how to navigate challenging circumstances and, if necessary, reinvent policies. Learn from NYC planners that sometimes it takes more than one try to achieve success. Adversity doesn't always mean the end of planning — rather, it might lead to a fresh and better start.