Because the design of theaters involves so many complexities and variables it would have been difficult to draft as of right legislation for the theater district. The special permit procedure has been criticized. However. It allows the City government considerable discretion which makes it difficult for the public to be certain that it knows what is going on. From the developer is point of view having to pass a separate piece of legislation for each theater is a cumbersome and uncertain process. Each special permit must be passed by both the planning Commission and the Board of Estimate which means two public hearings and several months in which the developer doesn’t know how large his building is going to be.