Each zoning district, outside designated central business districts, should have height and setback regulations that provide certainty for residents, property owners and developers that future development will not exceed clearly defined limits. The height and setback controls must provide effective caps on as-of-right building size that cannot be undermined by zoning lot mergers, deductions of mechanical space from floor area and other means develo pment proposals that seek to exceed these limits should be subject to public review The new zoning should not impede development of the housing, commercial buildings and community facilities needed to accommodate the people living and working in the Specifically, the new zoning should accommodate the least costly building types at d ifferent densit ies, consistent with the city's planning objectives, particularly in low-density and med ium-density d istricts where development is highly sensitive to costs and should allow for design flexibility and innovation while respecting the character of existing communities Public comments on the zoning reform proposal ind icated widespread support for these goals. Nevertheless, on several issues, particularly how best to regulate the height of new developments, a sufficient consensus has not yet been reached. Therefore the department bif urcated the proposal creat ing a new application(No00244 ( B 1 )ZRY) that moved forward those portions of the text amend ment on which there was consensus and that could be adopted independent of other elements of the proposal. On July 26, 2001, application N 0002444(B1) ZRY was approved by the City Council. The rest of the zoning text amendment remains before the Commission for further considerationEach zoning district, outside designated central business districts, should have height and setback regulations that provide certainty for residents, property owners and developers that future development will not exceed clearly defined limits. The height and setback controls must provide effective caps on as-of-right building size that cannot be undermined by zoning lot mergers, deductions of mechanical space from floor area and other means. Development proposals that seek to exceed these limits should be subject to public review. The new zoning should not impede development of the housing, commercial buildings and community facilities needed to accommodate the people living and working in the city. Specifically, the new zoning should accommodate the least costly building types at different densities, consistent with the city's planning objectives, particularly in low-density and medium-density districts where development is highly sensitive to costs and should allow for design flexibility and innovation while respecting the character of existing communities. Public comments on the zoning reform proposal indicated widespread support for these goals. Nevertheless, on several issues, particularly how best to regulate the height of new developments, a sufficient consensus has not yet been reached. Therefore, the Department bifurcated the proposal creating a new application (N000244(B1) ZRY) that moved forward those portions of the text amendment on which there was consensus and that could be adopted independent of other elements of the proposal. On July 26, 2001, application N 0002444(B1) ZRY was approved by the City Council. The rest of the zoning text amendment remains before the Commission for further consideration