ULURP, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, is New York City’s formal public-review process for many zoning and land use decisions. This guide explains how a proposal moves from application and environmental review through Community Board consideration, Borough President and City Planning Commission review, City Council action, and final approval. It also provides a practical status checklist and tracking template for residents, property owners, businesses, advocates, and professionals monitoring a project.
Overview
ULURP is a defined review sequence for land use applications that require public consideration under the City Charter. It is most often associated with rezonings, zoning text changes, special permits, public projects, and actions involving city-owned property. The process gives several bodies an opportunity to review the proposal, receive public testimony, recommend changes, and make a decision.
A proposal may begin with a private applicant, a city agency, or another public entity. The Department of City Planning typically serves as a central point for reviewing and processing many applications, but the exact agencies and decision-makers depend on the action. Environmental review is also an important part of the workflow. It may occur before certification and can continue as the proposal is refined; it is related to, but distinct from, the land use decision itself.
ULURP is not a single approval. It is a sequence of decision points. A proposal can change during review, receive conditions or commitments, be referred back for additional work, or be denied. Some zoning actions do not require the full ULURP process, while others use a modified or different procedure. The application record should therefore be treated as the controlling source for a particular project.
Common land use actions
| Action | What it may change | Typical review question |
|---|---|---|
| Zoning map amendment | The mapped zoning district or districts on a site | Would the proposed district allow different uses, density, height, or bulk? |
| Zoning text amendment | Citywide or area-specific rules written in the Zoning Resolution | How would the proposed text affect development standards or eligibility? |
| Special permit | A specified zoning permission that may allow a use, bulk, or site arrangement otherwise not permitted as-of-right | Does the applicant meet the findings and conditions required for the permit? |
| Site selection or acquisition | The public use, acquisition, or location of a facility or property | Is the proposed public purpose and site appropriate under the applicable review rules? |
| Disposition or lease of city property | The transfer, sale, or lease of publicly owned land | What use, restrictions, and public obligations will accompany the transaction? |
| Urban renewal or related action | A plan or land use framework for a defined area | How does the plan affect permitted uses, property, and neighborhood conditions? |
This table is a starting point, not a legal classification. A project can combine several actions, and a proposal’s filing materials should identify the applications being reviewed.
What to track
To follow an NYC zoning approval process, track the project by application number, borough, block and lot, project address, applicant, and the specific actions requested. Names and descriptions can change as an application is revised, so an address alone is not always sufficient.
The principal ULURP checkpoints
- Pre-application and interagency review: The applicant and reviewing agencies develop the proposal, identify required applications, and assemble supporting materials. Community outreach may occur at this stage, but informal meetings are not the same as formal ULURP review.
- Environmental review: The proposal is evaluated for potential environmental effects under the applicable city and state framework. The review may identify subjects such as land use, transportation, air quality, noise, historic resources, open space, or neighborhood conditions. The required documentation and findings depend on the project.
- Certification and commencement: When the application is complete enough to enter the formal process, the City Planning Commission certifies it or otherwise begins the applicable public-review procedure. Certification is a major status change because it starts the formal sequence and establishes the official application record.
- Community Board review: The affected Community Board holds a public meeting or hearing and issues a recommendation. The board’s recommendation is important public input, but it is not the final decision.
- Borough President review: The Borough President reviews the application and issues a recommendation. This recommendation becomes part of the record considered by later decision-makers.
- City Planning Commission review: The Commission conducts its review, holds the applicable public hearing, and takes action. It may approve, modify, disapprove, or refer an application, depending on the action and procedural posture.
- City Council review: For applications that proceed to Council, the Council reviews the record and commonly considers the proposal through the relevant committee before full Council action. The Council may approve, modify, or disapprove the application within its authority.
- Final action and follow-through: Depending on the action, final review may include the Mayor or another designated decision-maker. After approval, zoning text or map changes, restrictive declarations, permits, property transactions, or other implementation steps may still be required. Approval does not necessarily mean construction can begin immediately.
Project-status checklist
- Record the project address, borough, block and lot, applicant, and application number.
- Identify each requested action rather than describing the entire project only as a “rezoning.”
- Save the land use application, zoning maps, proposed text, site plans, environmental documents, and later revisions.
- Confirm whether the application has been certified, referred, calendared, postponed, modified, approved, disapproved, or withdrawn.
- Record every scheduled hearing, meeting, committee session, and decision date.
- Capture the recommendation and vote separately for the Community Board, Borough President, City Planning Commission, and City Council.
- Check whether approval includes conditions, commitments, restrictions, or required follow-up actions.
Reusable tracking template
Keep a simple project log with these fields:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Project identification | Address, borough, block and lot, applicant, application number |
| Requested actions | Map amendment, text amendment, special permit, disposition, site selection, or other action |
| Documents | Application, environmental review, maps, plans, notices, revised filings, and decision documents |
| Review stage | Pre-application, certified, Community Board, Borough President, Commission, Council, final action, or implementation |
| Dates | Filing, certification, hearings, recommendations, votes, referral, and final decision |
| Public record | Meeting links, testimony instructions, transcripts or minutes, written comments, and agency responses |
| Open questions | Pending documents, unresolved conditions, revised plans, or the next decision point |
Cadence and checkpoints
Review a tracked application at least monthly while it is active, and more frequently when a hearing, committee meeting, or vote is approaching. The formal review includes prescribed periods for several stages, but calendars can shift because of referrals, incomplete filings, public holidays, revisions, adjournments, or actions that require additional review.
At each monthly check, look for four changes:
- A new document: A revised site plan, environmental finding, zoning text, commitment, or agency response can change the practical meaning of the proposal.
- A new date: A hearing or vote may be postponed, rescheduled, or moved to a committee agenda.
- A new recommendation: Record the body’s action, the vote if available, and any conditions or stated concerns.
- A new decision point: Identify what must happen next and which body has authority to act.
For public participation, use official hearing calendars and application records whenever possible. The guide to participating in NYC public hearings explains how to prepare testimony, locate records, and follow up after a meeting. Notices and official actions may also appear through the NYC City Record guide.
How to interpret changes
A change in status is not always a final outcome. “Certified” means the formal review has begun; it does not mean the proposal has been approved. A favorable Community Board or Borough President recommendation is influential public input, but later decision-makers conduct their own review. Likewise, a City Planning Commission action may move a proposal forward without completing every approval required for implementation.
Read the decision language carefully. “Approved as modified” can mean that the final proposal differs from the original filing. Conditions may address design, infrastructure, environmental protections, affordable housing commitments, public access, or other matters, depending on the application. A withdrawn or inactive application should not automatically be treated as permanently abandoned; check whether a new application or revised filing has replaced it.
Separate three questions when evaluating an application:
- What is legally requested? Identify the exact zoning or land use action.
- What is physically proposed? Review the plans, uses, floor area, height, access, and site conditions described in the filing.
- What is procedurally next? Determine the next hearing, recommendation, vote, or filing deadline.
This separation helps prevent a public announcement, preliminary concept, or community presentation from being mistaken for a final land use approval.
When to revisit
Revisit this guide and your project tracker monthly or quarterly, depending on the application’s activity. A monthly check is appropriate during formal review; a quarterly check may be sufficient for a proposal that has not yet been filed or is awaiting a future action.
Update your notes immediately when the application is certified, a hearing is scheduled, a recommendation is issued, plans are revised, a new environmental document is posted, the matter is referred or postponed, or a decision is announced. Also revisit the process when city planning rules, filing requirements, hearing practices, or official application-record systems change.
For a practical next step, create one folder and one tracking sheet for the project. Add the latest official application record, enter the next known date, and write one sentence answering: What decision is expected next, and who makes it? Then check the record after that decision and update the status, documents, recommendation, and remaining approvals. That habit turns ULURP from a confusing series of meetings into a manageable public-affairs timeline.
