BSA Variance Findings (ZR 72-21)

NYC Zoning Resolution §72-21 (Findings Required for Variances); NYC Charter §666 & §668; 2 RCNY Ch. 1

NYC Zoning Resolution §72-21 ("Findings Required for Variances") sets the five findings the Board of Standards and Appeals must make before granting a variance from the Zoning Resolution: (1) unique physical conditions of the zoning lot creating practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship; (2) inability to realize a reasonable return absent the variance (not required for non-profit organizations); (3) the variance will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood or be detrimental to the public welfare; (4) the hardship was not self-created by the owner or a predecessor in title; and (5) the variance is the minimum necessary to afford relief. The BSA's power to vary the Zoning Resolution derives from NYC Charter §666, with application/community-board review procedures under Charter §668, and its Rules of Practice and Procedure appear in Title 2 of the Rules of the City of New York, Chapter 1.