ADU · Columbia County

Can you build an ADU in Stockport, NY?

Town of Stockport has 4 districts. 3 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 1 does not. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Stockport code says

In H, R and RR, an accessory apartment is allowed as an accessory use to a single-family dwelling with a Planning Board special use permit and site plan review. The owner has to live on the lot, in one of the two dwellings, so both units cannot be let.

Conditions the code attaches:

No more than 35% of the existing structure's habitable space before conversion, or 1,000 square feet in a new structure; one per principal residence, with at most two bedrooms.
Which dwelling the owner occupies is stated two ways: § 120-39Q(1) requires one of the dwellings to be owner-occupied; § 120-4 has the principal residence occupied by the owner of the lot.
At the time of conversion the lot must already meet the district's minimum lot area, lot width and setbacks for the principal residence.
The unit may be inside the principal building or in an accessory structure on the same lot, and must be self-contained with separate cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities.
A guest house, a detached second dwelling unit for visitors, is permitted with site plan review in H, R and RR, but only for visitors staying without compensation, so it cannot be let.
In H, R and RR a two-family dwelling is a permitted principal use within the district's density, and no owner-occupancy condition is attached to it.

What the Stockport code indicates by district

The table below shows how each district treats ADUs, alongside the lot and setback standards that govern a second unit. District boundaries and conditions vary, so treat this as a starting point and confirm the district that applies to your parcel.

District	Min lot	Setbacks F / S / R	Max height	ADU
Hamlet	1 ac	20 / 10 / 30 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Residential	1 ac	25 / 20 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Rural Residential	3 ac	40 / 25 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Commercial/Light Industrial	0.5 ac	100 / 50 / 100 ft	35 ft	No

Hamlet - The figures shown are for lots with central water only. With common sewer as well, the schedule prints a second Hamlet row where the figures drop by two thirds.

With central water and common sewer the minimum lot area per dwelling unit falls from one acre to 0.3333 acre, and the density from one unit per acre to 21,780 sq ft, half an acre.
Minimum open space is 40%.
A nonresidential use is limited to one principal building per acre, or per half acre with sewer.
The density figure, which governs how many dwellings a parcel yields, is larger than the minimum lot area per dwelling unit, which is the floor under each lot.

Residential - The figures shown are for lots with central water. The schedule prints two rows for R, and they differ only in density, not in minimum lot area.

Without central water the density falls from 1 dwelling per acre to one per 1.5 acres, while the minimum lot area per dwelling unit stays at one acre in both rows.
Minimum open space is 60%.
A nonresidential use is limited to one principal building per 1.5 acres.
The density figure, which governs how many dwellings a parcel yields, is larger than the minimum lot area per dwelling unit, which is the floor under each lot.

Rural Residential - The schedule sets a density of one dwelling per three acres, which governs how many dwellings a parcel yields, and a separate minimum lot area per dwelling unit of one acre.

Minimum open space is 70%.
A nonresidential use is limited to one principal building per three acres.

Commercial/Light Industrial - The half-acre minimum is the lot area per principal building for nonresidential uses; the schedule publishes no residential standard in CLI. No commercial retail structure may exceed a 10,000 sq ft building footprint.

Minimum open space is 40%.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Stockport

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of Stockport. Stockport has no local short-term rental law, and that is not the same as permission. Confirm with the Building Department before counting on short-term rental income. These are separate questions from whether you can build an ADU — a unit you're allowed to add isn't automatically one you're allowed to rent nightly, so check both.

Good to know

Residential lot minimum1–3 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityCentral Hudson territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/12912293
Building dept(518) 828-9389

ADU FAQ — Stockport, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Stockport, NY?

Town of Stockport has 4 districts. 3 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 1 does not. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (518) 828-9389.

Do I need a special permit for an ADU in Stockport?

No district in Town of Stockport requires a special-use permit for an ADU - 3 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 1 does not. Site-plan review or a building permit may still apply.

Can I use an ADU as a short-term rental in Stockport?

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of Stockport. ADU occupancy and short-term-rental rules are separate: an ADU you can build isn't automatically one you can rent nightly. Confirm both before you count on STR income.

Run the free ADU check for your parcel →

What an ADU costs to build in Stockport

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $195k–260k at a standard finish, and the per-square-foot rate comes in above a full house because the kitchen, bath, panel and heating plant cost the same either way. See the full cost to build an ADU in Stockport, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: 120 Attachment 1 (Schedule of Use Regulations) · § 120-39Q · § 120-37
Districts confirmed: 4 of 4 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-15
Not covered here: Overlay districts, the zoning map, and any conditions attached to an individual parcel. Size limits and owner-occupancy terms sit in the code section above, not in this summary.

More on Stockport: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Columbia County · All Columbia County towns

ADU information for Town of Stockport is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-07-15) and provided for decision-support only — not legal or architectural advice. ADU eligibility, size, owner-occupancy and permit conditions vary by district and often carry exceptions; verify with the building department at (518) 828-9389 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.