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ADU · Erie County

Can you build an ADU in Kenmore, NY?

Village of Kenmore has 9 districts. 8 of 9 districts prohibit ADUs. 1 district has incomplete data - verify with the building department at (716) 873-5700. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Kenmore code says

Kenmore has no accessory apartment in any district. Residential district 1 allows a one-family house and a garage, district 2 adds a two-family house, district 3 apartment houses, and industrial land can carry any of them. The school, business and office districts add nothing.

Conditions the code attaches:

What the Kenmore 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
Residential Use District No. 1 (One-Family) — 25 / 1.5 / - ft 30 ft No
Residential Use District No. 2 (One/Two-Family) — 25 / 1.5 / - ft 30 ft No
Residential Use District No. 3 (Apartments) — 25 / 1.5 / - ft 30 ft No
Educational Use District — 6 / 10 / 10 ft — No
Restricted Business Use District — 6 / - / 10 ft 30 ft No
General Business Use District — 6 / - / 10 ft 30 ft No
Industrial Use District — 6 / - / - ft — No
Professional Office Use District — 25 / 1.5 / - ft 30 ft No
Planned Unit Development District — — — —

Educational Use District - No height limit applies to a building here: the chapter's 30 ft limit reaches the residential districts only. Kenmore states no minimum lot area, no minimum lot width and no lot-coverage percentage, in this district or any other.

  • Parking must sit at the rear of the lot only, screened and buffered, with direct access to a public street.

Restricted Business Use District - A parcel must have frontage on Delaware Avenue to be in this district, and no more than 200 ft of depth measured from that right-of-way may be used for a restricted business use. No building may exceed 5,000 sq ft of base floor area, two storeys or 30 ft.

  • The code sets no side yard figure: the question goes to the state building code distance-separation requirements, so the answer turns on construction type rather than on zoning.
  • The rear yard is ten feet or that same code separation, whichever is greater.
  • Vinyl, aluminium, asphalt, plywood and painted masonry exteriors are prohibited outright.
  • Kenmore states no minimum lot area, no minimum lot width and no lot-coverage percentage, in this district or any other.

General Business Use District - A parcel must front Elmwood Avenue or Kenmore Avenue to be in this district, and no more than 200 ft of depth measured from that right-of-way may be used for the business use. A building may reach 10,000 sq ft of base floor area, within two storeys and 30 ft.

  • The code sets no side yard figure: the question goes to the state building code distance-separation requirements, so the answer turns on construction type rather than on zoning.
  • The rear yard is ten feet or that same code separation, whichever is greater.
  • Any use not on the district's own list is prohibited outright.
  • Kenmore states no minimum lot area, no minimum lot width and no lot-coverage percentage, in this district or any other.

Industrial Use District - The building line on each street is six feet from the adjacent street line, except that on a corner lot the building may extend all the way to the side street line. There is no side yard, rear yard, lot area, lot width, coverage cap or height limit.

  • Any use permitted in a residential, business or commercial district is permitted here, along with any industry the fire prevention code does not bar and that does not amount to a nuisance.

Professional Office Use District - The front setback must equal the average of all buildings for 300 ft on each side, and is never less than 25 ft. The side yard turns on how wide the lot is: 18 inches on a lot of 33 ft or less, two feet over 33 up to 38 ft, and three feet above that.

  • No rear yard is stated for a principal building.
  • The premises must be owned and occupied for practice by a licensed professional, or by a professional corporation at least half of whose shareholders practise there.
  • At least a third of the first floor must be in actual professional use, and no more than ten people may be employed at any one premises.
  • Store fronts are barred and windows may not cover more than 30% of a facing wall.

Planned Unit Development District - This district does not appear on the village zoning map until a designation is requested and a project is approved, and within it the regulations need not be uniform. Every dimensional standard is set in the local law that maps the district against an approved plan.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Kenmore

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Village of Kenmore. The Village of Kenmore has no local short-term rental law. That is not the same as permission, so confirm with the village before counting on the use. 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

ADU FAQ — Kenmore, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Kenmore, NY?

Village of Kenmore has 9 districts. 8 of 9 districts prohibit ADUs. 1 district has incomplete data - verify with the building department at (716) 873-5700. Check your address with the free ADU checker.

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

8 of 9 districts prohibit ADUs, so no permit applies in those. 1 district has incomplete data - verify with the building department at (716) 873-5700.

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

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Village of Kenmore. 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.

What an ADU costs to build in Kenmore

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $200k–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 Kenmore, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed
§ 25-66 · § 25-67 · § 25-71 · § 25-2 · § 25-85 (EUD) · § 25-91 (RBUD) · § 25-97 (GBUD) · § 25-111 (IUD) · § 25-126 (POUD)
Districts confirmed
8 of 9 — 1 not yet analyzed, so this page does not answer for it.
Last reviewed
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.

ADU information for Village of Kenmore is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-09-10) 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 (716) 873-5700 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.

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