NYC Permeable Parking Lot Requirement for Community Facilities

This New York City Zoning Resolution requires certain community facilities to allow permeable parking lots. It requires perimeter landscaped areas that manage stormwater through bioretention techniques. These landscaped buffers must be designed with an inverted slope to allow temporary stormwater ponding (6–12 inches), use engineered soils with gravel and filter fabric layers, and include underdrains or soil infiltration to drain within 24 hours. Elevated catch basins ensure adequate drainage above ponding levels, and curbs with inlets direct stormwater from paved surfaces into these green zones. If site conditions make standard drainage infeasible, deeper soil-based landscaping is required. The ordinance promotes the use of vegetation such as groundcover, shrubs, and trees to aid in stormwater absorption, filtration, and cooling, thus reducing runoff volume and enhancing urban environmental quality.