Delaware County

Town of Middletown, NY: zoning for new construction

7 districts Min residential lot 0.5–5 ac

Middletown holds Margaretville and Arkville on the flank of the Pepacton Reservoir, and the district that answers most parcels here is Rural V, the town's default for all land not otherwise described, at a 5-acre minimum and 15% lot coverage. Before you size anything off that number, check the Development Limitations overlay, because it doubles the underlying minimum and adds 50 feet of frontage wherever two or more limitations apply - flood hazard, wetland, slopes of 15% or more, elevation over 2,500 feet, or a watershed area of small parcels - and in this terrain two of those is the normal case rather than the exception, so R-5 land routinely needs 10 acres per lot. The overlay map is not published online and sits on file with the Town Clerk, so applicability cannot be settled from the code text at all. A guest home, which is this town's version of an accessory dwelling, is a permitted accessory use by right in R-3, R-5, H-1 and H-1/2 with no owner-occupancy or family test, capped at 80% of the primary dwelling with a 625 square foot floor and its own well and septic, while short-term use runs under § 549 as a registration that requires a fire inspection before you advertise and holds the whole property to a hard nine-person occupancy cap.

Looking specifically at an accessory dwelling unit? See ADU rules for Middletown →

Zoning districts

District	Min lot	Setbacks F / S / R	Max height	ADU
Rural III	3 ac	50 / 20 / 20 ft	40 ft	As of right
Rural V	5 ac	50 / 30 / 30 ft	40 ft	As of right
Business Commercial	0.46 ac	50 / 15 / 15 ft	40 ft	—
Hamlet I	1 ac	10 / 10 / 10 ft	40 ft	As of right
Hamlet One-Half	0.5 ac	10 / 10 / 10 ft	40 ft	As of right
Industrial	—	50 / 50 / 50 ft	50 ft	No
Development Limitations Overlay	—	—	40 ft	As of right

Rural III - R-3 covers land within 500 ft of a state or county highway shown on the district map, with direct frontage and access; land on a town road falls in R-5. If any part of the parcel carries a development limitation, § 410H doubles the lot minimum and adds 50 ft of frontage.

The front setback is 75 ft from the road center line and at least 25 ft from the right-of-way. The 50 ft shown assumes a 50 ft right-of-way.
On a narrower right-of-way the front setback grows; on a wider one it shrinks toward the 25 ft floor.
The lot depth-to-width ratio may not exceed 4:1.

Rural V - R-5 takes in all land not in another district, generally most of the town. If any part of the parcel carries a development limitation, § 410H doubles the lot minimum and adds 50 ft of frontage.

The front setback is 75 ft from the road center line, with no floor measured from the right-of-way. The 50 ft shown assumes a 50 ft right-of-way.
On a hundred-foot right-of-way the front setback comes to 25 ft from the lot line, and nothing stops it going lower on a wider one.
The lot depth-to-width ratio may not exceed 4:1.

Business Commercial - The minimum lot is 20,000 sq ft only with both public water and public sewer; without them it is 40,000 sq ft. BC runs along Route 28 from the Village of Margaretville line east to the Delaware and Ulster Railroad recreational complex in Arkville.

One-family and two-family dwellings are permitted outright, and multifamily needs site plan review.
If any part of the parcel carries a development limitation, § 410H doubles the lot minimum and adds 50 ft of frontage.
The front setback is 75 ft from the road center line and at least 25 ft from the right-of-way. The 50 ft shown assumes a 50 ft right-of-way.
On a narrower right-of-way the front setback grows; on a wider one it shrinks toward the 25 ft floor.
The lot depth-to-width ratio may not exceed 4:1.

Hamlet I - Front, side and rear setbacks in H-1 must each be at least the average of the two closest parcels in the district with buildings on the same side of the road, so the 10 ft shown is only the floor. Lot coverage may not exceed the average of those same two parcels.

H-1 covers the hamlets of New Kingston, Halcottsville, Dunraven, Kelly Corners and Clovesville, and the part of Arkville not in BC, I or H-1/2.
If any part of the parcel carries a development limitation, § 410H doubles the lot minimum and adds 50 ft of frontage.

Hamlet One-Half - H-1/2 covers only the residential parts of Arkville served by both public water and sewer, so a parcel without both is not in it. Each setback must be at least the average of the two closest parcels in the district with buildings on the same side of the road, with a 10 ft floor.

Lot coverage may not exceed the average lot coverage of those same two parcels.
If any part of the parcel carries a development limitation, § 410H doubles the lot minimum and adds 50 ft of frontage.

Industrial - One one-family and one two-family dwelling per lot are permitted outright. The code sets no minimum lot size, so 100 ft of frontage and 50 ft yards on every side are what size a lot here.

If any part of the parcel carries a development limitation, § 410H doubles the lot minimum and adds 50 ft of frontage.
The district covers the industrial park along the Arkville cut-off road and several adjacent properties.

Development Limitations Overlay - DL doubles the minimum lot size of the district beneath it and adds 50 ft to its required frontage, wherever the overlay reaches and with no threshold.

Under DL, R-5 land needs ten acres and 300 ft of frontage, and R-3 land needs six acres and 250 ft.
Under DL, H-1 land needs two acres and 100 ft of frontage, and H-1/2 land needs one acre and 100 ft.
Front, side and rear setbacks, lot coverage and the depth-to-width ratio are the same as in the underlying district.

Short-term rentals

Short-term rentals allowed with registration. Before advertising a tourist home, the owner must register with the Town Building and Zoning Department and schedule a fire inspection. Occupancy is capped at nine persons for the whole property, and stays may not exceed two weeks at a time.

Conditions the code attaches:

A stay longer than two weeks falls outside § 549, and the code leaves its status unresolved.
The operating rules run with the property and must be written into the tenant agreement.
No parking on the public road at any time, and no outside lighting after midnight except motion lights.
Other rules cover shrubbery near the road, garbage in a bear-proof container, a single driveway sign with a local emergency contact, posting, open burning, pets and off-road vehicles.
The code does not say whether a guest home may itself be registered as a tourist home.
Any registration fee, renewal or cap on the number of tourist homes is not confirmed. Ask the Code Enforcement Officer before counting on STR income.

Good to know

Zoning codeTown of Middletown Zoning Ordinance (2021), §§ 404 to 410
Last reviewed2026-08-21

Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $191–$250/sq ft , and a conforming lot adds about $5,221 on top - see the full cost to build a house in Middletown, or what an ADU costs here.

Sizing up a specific parcel in Middletown?

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Other Delaware County towns

All Delaware County zoning: Andes · Delhi · Franklin · Sidney · Walton · Delhi (Village) · Hancock (Village) · Sidney (Village) · Walton (Village)

Zoning figures for Town of Middletown are compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-08-21) and provided for decision-support only - not legal, engineering, or architectural advice. Setback and dimensional standards often carry conditions and exceptions; verify with the municipality before relying on any number. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.