The City Council approved a plan Wednesday that will keep the ?small town feel? in Pelham Bay.

According to the Daily News, the City Council approved a downzoning plan that forbids rowhouses and apartment blocks from being built in the area. The plan is meant to keep the low-density character of the neighborhood, favoring detached homes.

The new rules also require at least one parking space for each new unit of housing built. Council members feel this could ease the area of its parking problems. The new housing rules immediately went into effect Wednesday.

Related link: New York City Department of City Planning