CPC

The City Planning Commission is the body that votes on New York City's land-use applications: zoning map and text amendments, the special permits within its jurisdiction, and the other actions ULURP routes to it. Its commissioners are appointed by the mayor, the borough presidents, and the public advocate, with the Department of City Planning's director serving as chair; DCP staffs its work.

For most ULURP actions the Commission's approval is followed by a City Council vote, making the Commission the technical gate and the Council the political one. Commission reports — the written explanations accompanying its decisions — are durable, citable records of what was approved and why, and they repay reading whenever a lot's zoning traces to a discretionary action.