Newssletter 2002 - page 3

Preservancy News

Zoning For Preservation

Take a walk around our neighborhoods, and you will be treated to a canopy of trees overhead, dramatic river views, the quiet trickle of a brook, towering rock outcrops, and each spring and fall, the melodies of migrating songbirds. We prize the natural beauty of our neighborhoods.
But in our dynamic city, even things that we prize can be lost as we meet the needs of our lives and those of our neighbors. New York City neighborhoods have available to them a zoning tool that offers special protection to areas of natural beauty. In 1975, through the activism of local residents, Fieldston and a large part of Riverdale west of the Henry Hudson Parkway became one of four areas in the city to be designated a Special Natural Area District.
The Special Natural Area
District, or SNAD, is an area in which special zoning regulations apply. These regulations are in addition to, not in place of, the underlying residential and commercial zoning. Their purpose is to guide development to protect the natural features on a property, and they apply whenever a property owner plans construction on or modification of the property.

In the SNAD, property owners consult with the Department of City Planning before applying for a building permit from the Department of Buildings. Depending on the scope of the work and whether it falls under one of several exemptions, approval may involve a site visit by City Planning and certification that natural features will not be disturbed, or it may involve submission of a site plan, an inventory of the natural features on the site, and other materials to assist City Planning in its review.
The rustic environment that we consider part of the character of our neighborhoods is not here by accident. It remains because of the careful stewardship of residents and the guidance of the SNAD regulations.

For more information: The text of the Special Natural Area District zoning regulations can be retrieved on-line at

www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dcp/html /zonetext.html

Scroll down to Article X, Chapter 5. The Bronx Office of City Planning guides property owner through the approval process, and can be reached at 718-220-8500.

Boundary of the SNAD
Reprinted from Planning Study for the
Riverdale Community's Special Natural Area District Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart, Inc.,
(December 1993.)

	(continued)
On May 30, 2002, the Riverdale Nature Preservancy submitted the following statement to the Community Board and the Parks Department:The Riverdale Nature Preservancy (the Preservancy) opposes the proposed bicycle path through Riverdale Park for the following reasons: 1. Having attended the public meeting, heard community input, and reviewed the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation's (the Parks Department's) plans for the proposed path, the Preservancy believes that the Parks Department's plan is flawed. 2. Our membership insists that the "Forever Wild" status of Riverdale Park be preserved, and is concerned that the Parks Department's plan would jeopardize this status. The removal of vegitation, improvement and widening of the path to accommodate bikes, and erection of a fence cannot be allowed in the park. 3. Riverdale Park should continue to be used for passive, not active, recreational purposes. 4. Our previous concern for the safety of the alternate bicycle route via Spaulding Lane was allayed by the testimony of the bicycle representatives, who conceded that it was a viable option. We conclude that the Parks Department should pursue alternatives for a bike route that do not include a path through Riverdale Park.