M1 Zoning in NYC: Light Manufacturing Districts Explained

M1 is the manufacturing zoning where a store, a medical office or a hotel by special permit can sit next to a warehouse, as long as every industrial use meets the district's performance standards.

What M1 means today

M1 is the lightest of the three manufacturing district families. Since June 6, 2024, the Zoning Resolution classifies uses in manufacturing districts into the same ten Use Groups used in commercial districts (ZR 11-24, 42-00), and the M1 column is the broadest of the three: it is the only manufacturing district that allows most retail, hotels (by special permit), and a range of community facilities, alongside offices, laboratories, storage and production.

Every permitted industrial-type use (Use Groups I, IV, VI, VIII, IX and X) must also meet the performance standards for the district it is in, covering noise, vibration, smoke, odor, toxic matter, radiation, fire and explosive hazards, humidity, heat and glare. Where the Use Group tables and the performance standards conflict, the performance standards control (ZR 42-40).

M1 FAR, height and parking by district

FAR: ZR 43-12. Community facility FAR: ZR 43-122; on a lot with both, manufacturing or commercial floor area may not exceed the ZR 43-12 amount. Height: ZR 43-43 (initial setback 20 ft on a narrow street, 15 ft on a wide street). Parking: ZR 44-21. Districts with an A suffix (M1-1A to M1-9A) have their own FAR and height rules, see M districts with an A suffix. In one Queens Community District 1 M1-2 area described in ZR 43-12, FAR rises to 4.0 for certain commercial and manufacturing uses.

Uses allowed in M1

• Offices and laboratories: permitted in M1, as in M2 and M3 (ZR 42-17).
• Retail (Use Group VI): many retail types, such as department stores, clothing, furniture and electronics stores, are permitted only in M1, limited to 10,000 sq ft of floor area per establishment; fuel dealers are limited to 5,000 sq ft (ZR 42-161, 42-162).
• Hotels: listed in M1 only. New hotels, conversions to hotels and hotel enlargements of 20 percent or more need a City Planning Commission special permit under ZR 74-153, with listed exclusions such as City or State temporary housing (ZR 42-151, 42-152).
• Community facilities (Use Group III): houses of worship are permitted; ambulatory health care facilities, hospitals and museums are permitted with conditions; schools, libraries and community centers need a special permit. Community facilities with sleeping accommodations, such as dormitories and long-term care facilities, are not permitted (ZR 42-131).
• Open uses: cemeteries, golf courses and public or private parks are permitted in M1 but not M2 or M3 (ZR 42-111).
• Storage and production: warehouses, trucking terminals, building materials yards and production uses are permitted with conditions, subject to performance standards (ZR 42-191, 42-201, 42-202). Public parking lots up to 150 spaces are allowed; public garages are allowed up to 150 spaces in M1-1, M1-2 and M1-3 but not as of right in M1-4, M1-5 and M1-6 (ZR 42-192).
• Entertainment: theaters, art galleries, studios and meeting halls are permitted (ZR 42-181).

Housing in M1: the special cases

• M1-1D to M1-5D: residences are permitted on zoning lots that include existing residences and are outside the designated areas of ZR Appendix J and more than 100 ft from Third Avenue in Brooklyn; other new residences need a City Planning Commission authorization under listed conditions (ZR 42-311). Residential bulk follows a C2 district mapped within R5 (ZR 43-61).
• M1-6D: residential use is permitted as of right on lots that did not hold a "qualifying building" (40,000 sq ft or more existing on April 25, 2011), and by certification otherwise (ZR 42-312). Bulk follows C6-4A, except that buildings within 100 ft of a wide street may reach 290 ft (ZR 43-62).
• M1-5M and M1-6M: conversions of non-residential buildings built before December 31, 1990 to dwelling units follow Article I, Chapter 5 (ZR 42-313).
• M1-5B: joint living-work quarters for artists are allowed in buildings erected before December 15, 1961 that meet lot coverage limits, and elsewhere by CPC action (ZR 42-315).
• Everywhere else in M1, residences are not a permitted use (ZR 42-12).

Height, setback and towers

• M1 districts without an A suffix use a sky exposure plane: within the initial setback distance (20 ft on a narrow street, 15 ft on a wide street), the front wall can rise to 30 ft or two stories in M1-1, 60 ft or four stories in M1-2 and M1-4, and 85 ft or six stories in M1-3, M1-5 and M1-6, whichever is less (ZR 43-43).
• Above that the building stays under a 1 to 1 plane in M1-1, or 2.7 to 1 on narrow streets and 5.6 to 1 on wide streets in the others (ZR 43-43).
• Community facility buildings get a front wall of 35 ft or three stories in M1-1 and 60 ft or six stories in M1-4 (ZR 43-43).
• If an open area is provided along the full front lot line (15 ft deep on a narrow street, 10 ft on a wide street), an alternate, steeper sky exposure plane applies (ZR 43-44).
• In M1-3, M1-4, M1-5 and M1-6, a tower covering no more than 40 percent of the lot (more on lots under 20,000 sq ft) may penetrate the sky exposure plane (ZR 43-45).

Parking basics

In M1-1, M1-2 and M1-3, ZR 44-21 requires, for example, 1 space per 300 sq ft of office floor area (category A3) and, for production uses (D1), 1 space per 1,000 sq ft or 1 per 3 employees, whichever requires more. M1-4, M1-5 and M1-6 require none for manufacturing, commercial and most community facility uses. Waivers for small requirements apply (ZR 44-21, 44-232).

A worked example: 10,000 sq ft lot in M1-2

• Warehouse, production space or offices: 10,000 x 2.00 = 20,000 sq ft (ZR 43-12).
• Medical office (ambulatory health care, a community facility permitted with conditions): 10,000 x 4.80 = 48,000 sq ft (ZR 42-131, 43-122).
• A building with both: up to 48,000 sq ft, of which no more than 20,000 sq ft may be manufacturing or commercial (ZR 43-12, 43-122).
• Parking for 20,000 sq ft of production space: 20,000 / 1,000 = 20 spaces, or 1 per 3 employees if that is more (ZR 44-21), before waivers.
• Front wall: 60 ft or four stories, whichever is less, then a 2.7 to 1 plane on a narrow street (ZR 43-43).
• An apartment building is not permitted, because M1-2 has no D suffix (ZR 42-12).

M1 zoning FAQ

Related pages

• M2 and M3 zoning
• M districts with an A suffix
• C8 zoning
• Special Mixed Use District (MX)
• R5 zoning