AREA DISTRICTS 39 



horizontal dimension of a required court shall be not less than four feet. 

 The court must increase in width with the height of its enclosing walls, 

 being not less than one inch in least dimension for one foot of height, in 

 an A or B district, one and one-half inches in a C district, two inches in 

 a D district and two and one-half inches in an E district. This gives an 

 outer court with a least dimension at any height just one-half as great as 

 that for a required yard at the same height. The area of an inner court at 

 any height must be not less than the square of the depth of a required yard 

 at such height. The length of such required inner court for its minimum 

 area may not be more than twice its width. (See Figure 152.) The width 

 of an outer court besides being governed by the height of such court is 

 also governed by the length of the court. An outer court gets its light and 

 air both from above and from the end of such court opening on the yard 

 or street. It is appropriate therefore that the width of the outer court should 

 bear some relation to its length. An outer court accordingly must increase 

 in width with the length of such court being not less than one inch in least 

 dimension for each foot of length from the closed end in an A district, 

 one and one-half inches in a B or C district, two inches in a D district and 

 two and one-half inches in an E district. 



The A district is essentially a warehouse district and is confined to a 

 narrow belt along the navigable waterfront and along the rail terminals. 

 Light is not required for most storage buildings. The A district is estab- 

 lished so that storage buildings that do not require light and air will not 

 need to provide unnecessary open spaces. The Districting plan makes it 

 possible to give such buildings a place to locate where they will be exempt 

 from all yard requirements. Any building in an A district, however, that 

 is required to have a court to light its workrooms must provide courts of 

 at least one inch in least dimension for each foot of height, as now provided 

 in the Building Code. This does not mean that a building covering the 

 entire plot may not be located outside of an A district, for in a B, C or D 

 district a department store, for example, not back to back with another 

 building and with no rooms that have to face on a legal court, could occupy 

 100 per cent of the lot for its entire height. 



In a B district rear yards must be at least two inches in least dimen- 

 sion for each one foot of height, and outer courts and side yards at least 

 one inch in least dimension for each one foot of height. This will require 

 for all buildings slightly deeper yards above 90 feet in height than are 

 now required under the Tenement House Law. This will only affect elevator 

 apartments above eight or nine stories in height fronting on the long side 

 of blocks, and the increased width of yard will not have to be carried down 

 to the ground, but can be provided in a set back above the 90-foot limit. 

 In the B districts the important change, as compared with existing con- 

 ditions, is the requirement of a rear yard for business and industrial build- 

 ings as well as tenements wherever they are back to back with the rear of 

 another property. The rear yard for a building 120 feet high or about 



