Dutchess County

Town of Rhinebeck, NY: zoning for new construction

24 districts Min residential lot 0.14–10 ac Central Hudson

Rhinebeck carries 21 zoning districts, the most of any town we've mapped in Dutchess, and the range is dramatic - from village lots around a tenth of an acre to the HP-20 Historic Preservation district, where the minimum is 20 acres and you can cover just 5% of the lot. Unusually for the Hudson Valley, there's no local short-term rental law on the books as of early 2026, though you still register for the county occupancy tax. Most districts require a special-use permit for an ADU rather than allowing it by right, so verify your district with the town at (845) 876-3929.

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

Zoning districts

District	Min lot	Setbacks F / S / R	Max height	ADU
HP-20 Historic Preservation	20 ac	200 / 150 / 100 ft	35 ft	Special permit
RA-10 Rural Agricultural	10 ac	150 / 100 / 75 ft	35 ft	Special permit
RC-5 Rural Countryside	5 ac	100 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	Special permit
RL-5 Rural Lands	5 ac	100 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	Special permit
RM-1 Medium Density Residential	1 ac	50 / 20 / 25 ft	35 ft	Special permit
NR Neighborhood Residential	0.14 ac	10 / 10 / 25 ft	35 ft	Special permit
VG Village Gateway	0.14 ac	10 / 10 / 25 ft	35 ft	No
Rc-H Rhinecliff Hamlet	—	—	—	Occupancy restricted
Rc-HT Rhinecliff Hamlet Transition	—	—	—	Special permit
Rc-B Rhinecliff Business	0.1 ac	50 / 20 / 25 ft	35 ft	Special permit
NI-O Neighborhood Infill Overlay	1 ac	50 / 20 / 25 ft	35 ft	Special permit
BP Business Park	3 ac	10 / 0 / 10 ft	35 ft	No
Cr-B Crossroads Business	1 ac	100 / 35 / 100 ft	35 ft	No
CB-N Community Business North	1 ac	60 / 20 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
CB-S Community Business South	1 ac	60 / 20 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
Gw-N Gateway North	1 ac	60 / 20 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
Gw-E Gateway East	1 ac	60 / 20 / 50 ft	20 ft	No
Gw-S Gateway South	1 ac	60 / 20 / 50 ft	20 ft	No
GB General Business	0.5 ac	60 / 20 / 50 ft	20 ft	No
ORP Office Research Park	6 ac	50 / 10 / 25 ft	35 ft	No
LC Land Conservation	5 ac	200 / 50 / 200 ft	35 ft	No
CIV Civic	—	—	—	No
CIV2 Civic 2	—	—	—	No
WH Workforce Housing	0.14 ac	10 / 10 / 25 ft	35 ft	No

HP-20 Historic Preservation - The 20-acre figure is a maximum density of 1 dwelling unit per 20 acres, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 500 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 80%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 100 ft front, 50 ft side and 50 ft rear.

RA-10 Rural Agricultural - The 10-acre figure is a maximum density of 1 dwelling unit per 10 acres, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 400 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 80%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 50 ft front, 20 ft side and 20 ft rear.

RC-5 Rural Countryside, RL-5 Rural Lands - The 5-acre figure is a maximum density of 1 dwelling unit per 5 acres, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 240 ft, a separate requirement from the 400 ft minimum lot width.
Minimum open space is 75%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 25 ft front, 5 ft side and 5 ft rear.

RM-1 Medium Density Residential, NI-O Neighborhood Infill Overlay - The 1-acre figure is a maximum density of 1 dwelling unit per acre, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

The 150 ft minimum lot width applies to an interior lot; minimum lot frontage is 100 ft, a separate requirement.
Minimum open space is 65%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 25 ft front, 5 ft side and 5 ft rear.

NR Neighborhood Residential, VG Village Gateway - The front setback runs from a 10 ft minimum to a 25 ft maximum, a build-to line, so a building may not be set further back than 25 ft. The 0.14-acre figure is a maximum density of 1 dwelling unit per 6,000 sq ft, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 60 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.

Rc-H Rhinecliff Hamlet - Bulk regulations for RCH are set out separately in Article VI, § 125-69, not in the district schedule.

Rc-HT Rhinecliff Hamlet Transition - Bulk regulations for RCHT are set out separately in Article VI, § 125-70, not in the district schedule.

Rc-B Rhinecliff Business - The 0.1-acre figure is a maximum density of one establishment per 1/10 acre, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

The 150 ft minimum lot width applies to an interior lot; minimum lot frontage is 240 ft, a separate requirement.
Minimum open space is 65%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 25 ft front, 5 ft side and 5 ft rear.

BP Business Park - The side yard is 0 or 5 ft on each side, and a zero side yard is expressly allowed. The 3-acre figure is a maximum density of one establishment per 3 acres, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 50 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 20%.
Parking has its own front setback of 10 ft.

Cr-B Crossroads Business - The 1-acre figure is a maximum density of one establishment per acre, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it. The 35 ft side yard applies on each side.

Minimum lot frontage is 350 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 35%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 100 ft front, 5 ft side and 5 ft rear.

CB-N Community Business North, CB-S Community Business South - Side yards must total 60 ft with at least 20 ft on either side, so 20 ft on each side is not enough. The 1-acre figure is a maximum density of one establishment per acre, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 200 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 45%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 30 ft front, 20 ft side and 20 ft rear.

Gw-N Gateway North - Side yards must total 60 ft, with at least 20 ft on either side. The 1-acre figure is a maximum density of one establishment per acre, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 200 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 45%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 30 ft front, 20 ft side and 20 ft rear.

Gw-E Gateway East, Gw-S Gateway South - Side yards must total 60 ft, with at least 20 ft on either side, and height is capped at one storey as well as 20 ft. The 1-acre figure is a maximum density of one establishment per acre, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 200 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 45%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 30 ft front, 20 ft side and 20 ft rear.

GB General Business - Side yards must total 60 ft, with at least 20 ft on either side, and height is capped at one storey as well as 20 ft. The 0.5-acre figure is a maximum density of one establishment per 1/2 acre, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

Minimum lot frontage is 200 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 45%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 30 ft front, 20 ft side and 20 ft rear.

ORP Office Research Park - Side yards must total 30 ft, with at least 10 ft on either side. The 6-acre figure is a maximum density of one establishment per 6 acres, not a minimum lot area, and § 125-23 can modify it.

On a corner lot the minimum lot width and the minimum lot frontage are both 150 ft.
Minimum lot frontage on an interior lot is 100 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.
Minimum open space is 35%.
Parking has its own setbacks: 30 ft front, 20 ft side and 20 ft rear.

LC Land Conservation - The 50 ft side yard applies on each side, and minimum lot frontage is 400 ft, a separate requirement from the lot width.

The schedule also carries a column it heads minimum lot coverage, at 60%, and minimum open space at 40%; the two are exact complements.
Parking has its own setbacks: 200 ft front, 20 ft side and 20 ft rear.
§ 125-23 can modify the schedule's first column.

CIV Civic - Standards in CIV are set case by case rather than in a table: the Planning Board reviews municipally sponsored civic uses under the general standards of Article VI, § 125-67.

CIV2 Civic 2 - In CIV2 the Planning Board reviews both private and municipally sponsored uses under the general standards of Article VI, § 125-67, except where the Schedule of Use Regulations at § 125-20 provides otherwise.

WH Workforce Housing - All development in WH takes the VG district's area and bulk regulations, except where § 125-64.4 provides otherwise, so the figures shown are VG's.

The front setback is a range: at least 10 ft and at most 25 ft.
Minimum lot frontage is 60 ft, a separate requirement from lot width.

Short-term rentals

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules. Short-term rentals in the Town of Rhinebeck fall under §§ 125-144 through 125-154 of Zoning Chapter 125, enacted by Local Law No. 2 of 2025. Those sections replaced the short-term rental article adopted in 2024, which was repealed.

Conditions the code attaches:

Under § 125-135, a short-term rental is not a commercial hospitality use, which keeps it out of the hotel and inn provisions.
New York State's 2025 short-term rental registry requires every host to register the unit, regardless of local law.
Confirm the current requirements with the Town of Rhinebeck at (845) 876-3929 before listing.

Good to know

UtilityCentral Hudson territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/RH0960
Building dept(845) 876-3929
Last reviewed2026-09-01

Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $215–$282/sq ft , and a conforming lot adds about $5,418 on top - see the full cost to build a house in Rhinebeck, or what an ADU costs here.

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