Dutchess County

Town of Union Vale, NY: zoning for new construction

9 districts Min residential lot 1–10 ac Central Hudson

Residential lots in the Town of Union Vale run from a 1-acre minimum in Residential 1 District up to 10 acres in Rural Development 10 District, across 9 zoning districts in all. Short-term rentals allowed with local rules. Power here is Central Hudson territory. The district table below has the setbacks, height limits and coverage - confirm the specifics with the building department at (845) 724-5600 before you rely on a figure.

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

Zoning districts

District	Min lot	Setbacks F / S / R	Max height	ADU
Rural Development 10 District	10 ac	100 / 75 / 100 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Residential Agricultural 5 District	5 ac	100 / 50 / 100 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Residential Agricultural 3 District	3 ac	75 / 35 / 50 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Residential 1.5 District	1.5 ac	50 / 35 / 40 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Residential 1 District	1 ac	35 / 35 / 35 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Hamlet District	1.5 ac	40 / 25 / 40 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Neighborhood Commercial District	1 ac	40 / 25 / 40 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Town Center District	—	20 / 25 / 80 ft	35 ft	No
Airport District	2.5 ac	100 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	No

Rural Development 10 District - At least 85% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap. Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 75 ft front, 50 ft side and 50 ft rear.

Parking may not go in any front yard setback and must go to the rear or side of the principal building, with landscaping and screening under § 210-25B.
Lot frontage is 375 ft, the same as the lot width at the building line.
Coverage counts the footprint of all principal and accessory structures, excluding uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
These standards apply to permitted uses; Article VI may set extraordinary standards for special permit uses.

Residential Agricultural 5 District - At least 80% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap. Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 60 ft front, 25 ft side and 40 ft rear.

Parking may not go in any front yard setback and must go to the rear or side of the principal building, with landscaping and screening under § 210-25B.
Lot frontage is 275 ft, the same as the lot width at the building line.
Coverage counts the footprint of all principal and accessory structures, excluding uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
These standards apply to permitted uses; Article VI may set extraordinary standards for special permit uses.

Residential Agricultural 3 District - At least 75% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap. Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 45 ft front, 20 ft side and 25 ft rear.

Parking may not go in any front yard setback and must go to the rear or side of the principal building, with landscaping and screening under § 210-25B.
Lot frontage is 225 ft, the same as the lot width at the building line.
Coverage counts the footprint of all principal and accessory structures, excluding uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
These standards apply to permitted uses; Article VI may set extraordinary standards for special permit uses.

Residential 1.5 District - At least 70% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap. Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 30 ft front, 20 ft side and 20 ft rear.

Parking may not go in any front yard setback and must go to the rear or side of the principal building, with landscaping and screening under § 210-25B.
Lot frontage is 175 ft, the same as the lot width at the building line.
Coverage counts the footprint of all principal and accessory structures, excluding uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
These standards apply to permitted uses; Article VI may set extraordinary standards for special permit uses.

Residential 1 District - At least 65% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap. Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 25 ft front, 20 ft side and 15 ft rear.

Parking may not go in any front yard setback and must go to the rear or side of the principal building, with landscaping and screening under § 210-25B.
Lot frontage is 150 ft, the same as the lot width at the building line.
Coverage counts the footprint of all principal and accessory structures, excluding uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
These standards apply to permitted uses; Article VI may set extraordinary standards for special permit uses.

Hamlet District - Lot frontage is 100 ft but width at the building line is 150 ft, so a lot that fronts the road adequately can still be too narrow where the house goes. At least 50% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap.

Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 25 ft front, 15 ft side and 15 ft rear.
Parking may not go in any front yard setback and must go to the rear or side of the principal building, with landscaping and screening under § 210-25B.
Coverage counts the footprint of all principal and accessory structures, excluding uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
These standards apply to permitted uses; Article VI may set extraordinary standards for special permit uses.

Neighborhood Commercial District - Lot frontage is 100 ft but width at the building line is 150 ft, so a lot that fronts the road adequately can still be too narrow where the building goes. At least 40% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap.

Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 30 ft front, 15 ft side and 30 ft rear.
Parking may not go in any front yard setback and must go to the rear or side of the principal building, with landscaping and screening under § 210-25B.
Coverage counts the footprint of all principal and accessory structures, excluding uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
These standards apply to permitted uses; Article VI may set extraordinary standards for special permit uses.

Town Center District - Residential density is one dwelling unit per half acre before any approved density bonus, in place of a minimum lot area. The front setback is a range of 20 ft to 35 ft, so a building may not be set further back than 35 ft.

A commercial lot needs at least two acres, and a commercial building footprint is capped at 2,500 sq ft, or 4,000 sq ft for food and grocery store uses.
Residential development fronting Route 55 must give at least 15% of total building square footage to commercial uses, and the last 25% of units get no certificate of occupancy until that is complete.
The 25 ft side yard and 20 ft parking side setback may be cut to zero for zero-lot-line development authorised by special use permit where emergency vehicle access is adequate.
Commercial, multifamily, townhouse and mixed-use development must also meet the TC Design Standards at § 210 Attachment 3.
Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 20 ft front, 20 ft side and 30 ft rear, and parking must go to the rear or side of the principal building.
At least 50% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap.

Airport District - Lot frontage is 100 ft but width at the building line is 200 ft, so a lot that fronts the road adequately can still be too narrow where the building goes. At least 35% of the lot must be left as open space, a separate test from the coverage cap.

Parking areas and access driveways have their own setbacks of 35 ft front, 15 ft side and 20 ft rear.
Parking may not go in any front yard setback and must go to the rear or side of the principal building, with landscaping and screening under § 210-25B.
Coverage counts the footprint of all principal and accessory structures, excluding uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
These standards apply to permitted uses; Article VI may set extraordinary standards for special permit uses.

Short-term rentals

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules. Short-term rental is a regulated use here: § 210-85A treats letting a dwelling unit for less than 30 days as an accessory use or supplementary business. Which districts it is allowed in, and whether a permit is needed, is not confirmed, so check with the town first.

Conditions the code attaches:

An accessory use has to be customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use on the same lot.
New York State's short-term rental registry requires every host to register the unit, whatever the town requires.
Confirm with the Town of Union Vale at (845) 724-5600 before listing.

Good to know

UtilityCentral Hudson territory.
Zoning codeTown of Union Vale Zoning, Chapter 210, Attachment 1: District Schedule of Area and Bulk Regulations, amended January 18, 2023
Building dept(845) 724-5600
Last reviewed2026-08-16

Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $215–$282/sq ft , and a conforming lot adds about $22,425 on top - see the full cost to build a house in Union Vale, or what an ADU costs here.

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