Explain Zoning

Interpret a zoning clause from a North American jurisdiction's Zoning Resolution / Zoning Code in plain English, applied to a specific project site. Output is an inline explanation — not a worksheet — with verbatim §-citation and practical implications. For a full zoning analysis cover-sheet block, use the zoning-summary skill instead.

Input you need

Before interpreting, gather:

• Jurisdiction — name a specific NA AHJ. Examples: NYC DOB / NYC City Planning, LADBS / LA City Planning, San Francisco Planning, Portland BDS, Toronto City Planning, Vancouver Planning. Never "the city" or "the AHJ" generically.
• Zoning code citation — the exact section the user wants interpreted, paired with the clause text if the user has it. Examples: NYC ZR §23-145, LAMC §12.21.A.4, SF Planning Code §134, Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013 §10.20.40.10.
• Clause text — paste the literal text of the section. If the user does not have it, route to the appropriate retrieval tool first:
  • For NYC, use the nyc-zoning-lookup skill.
  • For other jurisdictions, use arch-rag against an indexed ZR PDF.
  • Do not invent the clause text from training data.
• Site context — the project facts the user wants the clause applied to. Required:
  • Zoning district (e.g., R8B, M1-2/R6A, C-2-1, CR-2.5/2.0).
  • Use group / proposed use (e.g., Use Group 6 retail, multi-family residential, light manufacturing).
  • Lot dimensions and area when the clause is dimensional (FAR, setback, height, lot coverage).
  • Special district overlay if any (e.g., Special Hudson Yards District, Coastal Zone, Historic District).
• Specific question — what the user actually wants to know. Examples: "Does this trigger a sky exposure plane?", "Can I count this as community facility FAR?", "Does the rear yard requirement apply on a corner lot?"

If any required input is missing, list the gap and stop. Do not interpret a clause without its text.

Output structure

Produce a single Markdown response in this layout:

# Explain Zoning — [Jurisdiction §X-XX]

**Jurisdiction:** [NYC DOB / NYC City Planning / LADBS / etc.]
**Citation:** [§X-XX or §X.Y.Z verbatim from the source]
**Project site:** [Zoning district, use group, key dimensions]
**Question:** [the user's specific question]

---

## Clause (verbatim)

> [Paste the literal clause text from the user's input or retrieval tool, formatted as a blockquote. Do not paraphrase here.]

— [Source: NYC ZR §X-XX / LAMC §X.Y / etc.]

## Plain-English meaning

[2–4 sentences. What the clause requires, prohibits, or permits, in everyday language. Cite the §-number every time you make a claim about what the code says.]

## How it applies to this project

[2–4 sentences specific to the user's site. Use the user-supplied lot dimensions, district, and use group. Show the math when the clause is dimensional (FAR × lot area = max ZFA, setback × frontage, etc.).]

## AHJ flags

- [Bullet — jurisdiction-specific quirks: NYC DOB BIS interpretation, NYC CPC special permits, SF Planning discretionary review, LADBS zoning administrator interpretations, Toronto Committee of Adjustment minor variance, etc.]
- [Bullet — special district overlay if applicable: Special Hudson Yards District, Coastal Zone, Historic District.]
- [Bullet — recent amendments or proposed amendments the user should verify before relying on this read.]

## Caveats

- This interpretation is based **only** on the clause text the user provided or that was retrieved verbatim. It does not incorporate cross-references the clause may invoke.
- [Bullet — any cross-referenced sections the user should also pull (e.g., "§X-XX defines 'open area' which controls the lot coverage calc here").]
- Zoning interpretation is jurisdictional. For binding determinations, route through the jurisdiction's pre-determination process — `NYC CPC` pre-cert, `LADBS ZA` determination, `SF Planning` Letter of Determination, `Toronto Committee of Adjustment` preliminary zoning review, `Vancouver Planning` zoning interpretation request.

NA AEC conventions (enforce)

• English only. No Hangul anywhere.
• Imperial-first units (ft, in, sf, acres); metric in parens only when useful.
• Jurisdictions — name a specific NA AHJ (NYC DOB, NYC City Planning, LADBS, San Francisco Planning, Portland BDS, Toronto City Planning, Vancouver Planning). Never "the city" or "the AHJ".
• Codes — cite the actual NA zoning code: NYC ZR §X-XX, LAMC §X.Y, SF Planning Code §X, Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013, Vancouver Zoning By-law. Never KBC, KS, BS, EN, JIS, or generic "the zoning code".
• Floor labels — Level 3, L3, or 3rd floor. Never 3F.
• Use groups — name the jurisdiction's actual classification (NYC Use Group 1–18, LA Q-conditions, SF NCD overlay, Toronto Mixed Use Areas). Do not invent generic categories.
• Cost / FAR figures — when the clause is dimensional, show the math step-by-step. Do not assert a final number without showing how it was derived from the clause text + the user's site inputs.

Constraints

• Do not invent the clause text. If the user has not pasted the section text and did not route through nyc-zoning-lookup or arch-rag first, stop and request the verbatim text.
• Do not invent §-numbers. Cite only what appears in the user's input or the retrieved text.
• Do not provide a "binding" interpretation. Zoning is jurisdictional and final reads come from the named planning authority (NYC CPC, LADBS ZA, SF Planning, Toronto Committee of Adjustment, Vancouver Planning) — flag this in the Caveats section every time.
• This command coexists with the zoning-summary skill. If the user wants a full cover-sheet zoning block (lot, district, FAR, setbacks, height, parking, accessory uses, special permits), redirect to zoning-summary rather than padding this command's output.
• Markdown only. This is an inline interpretation, not a transmittal document — no Word / PDF output and no aec-doc-gen dependency.

Workflow

1. Echo back what was parsed: jurisdiction, §-citation, district, use group, question. One line.
2. If the clause text is missing, list the gap and stop. Suggest nyc-zoning-lookup (NYC) or arch-rag (other jurisdictions) as the retrieval tool.
3. If site context is missing for a dimensional clause (FAR / setback / height), ask only for the dimensions actually needed by the clause — not the full zoning analysis.
4. Produce the full Markdown response in one shot.
5. After the response, list any cross-referenced §-numbers the user should pull next (e.g., "§X-XX defines 'lot coverage' — pull that next if you want a final number").