ADU · Erie County

Can you build an ADU in Orchard Park, NY?

Village of Orchard Park has 9 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Orchard Park code says

No district here has an accessory apartment. R-3, R-4, B-1, B-2 and I-1 instead allow a second principal building on a lot with a special use permit, and R-3, R-4 and B-2 allow a two-family house. R-1 and R-2 allow one house on a lot and nothing more.

Conditions the code attaches:

A second building on the lot is a full house, not a subordinate unit
In R-5 a one-family dwelling and recreation areas are the permitted uses, and a 2026 local law may extend the second-building special use there, so confirm with the village
A garage built before the house may not be occupied as a dwelling, and in an R District a private garage may not have vehicle entrance headroom over eight feet
A use that is accessory in one district is not accessory in another unless that district lists it too
B-1 allows apartments only above a business

What the Orchard Park 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
R-1 Residential District	0.34 ac	35 / 8 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
R-2 Residential District	0.28 ac	35 / 8 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
R-3 Residential District	0.28 ac	35 / 8 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
R-4 Residential District	0.28 ac	35 / 8 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
Residential District	0.2 ac	30 / 8 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
Commercial District	0.14 ac	- / 10 / 20 ft	35 ft	No
Professional-Commercial District	0.28 ac	15 / 8 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
Industrial District	0.46 ac	30 / 10 / 30 ft	35 ft	No
Land Conservation District	—	—	—	No

R-1 Residential District, R-2 Residential District - The side yard shown is the smallest either side may be: the two sides must total 20 ft, taken as 8 ft and 12 ft or as 10 ft and 10 ft.

The front setback is 35 ft or the existing building front line, whichever is greater, so on a street already built deeper the existing line governs

R-3 Residential District - Multifamily and townhouses take a different standard entirely: at least 30,000 sq ft of lot, 4,000 sq ft per dwelling unit and 150 ft of width, with 15 ft side yards, a 40 ft rear yard, a 30% coverage cap and at least 800 sq ft of livable floor area per unit.

A two-family needs at least 15,000 sq ft of lot, 7,500 sq ft per unit and 100 ft of width
The side yard shown is the smallest either side may be: the two sides must total 20 ft, taken as 8 ft and 12 ft or as 10 ft and 10 ft
The front setback is 35 ft or the existing building front line, whichever is greater

R-4 Residential District - Multifamily and townhouses take a different standard entirely: at least 30,000 sq ft of lot, 4,000 sq ft per dwelling unit and 150 ft of width, with 15 ft side yards, a 40 ft rear yard, a 30% coverage cap and at least 800 sq ft of livable floor area per unit.

A two-family needs at least 15,000 sq ft of lot, 7,500 sq ft per unit and 100 ft of width
A non-residential special use needs at least 15,000 sq ft of lot and 100 ft of width, with the residential yards and a 35% coverage cap
The side yard shown is the smallest either side may be: the two sides must total 20 ft, taken as 8 ft and 12 ft or as 10 ft and 10 ft
The front setback is 35 ft or the existing building front line, whichever is greater

Residential District - The side yard shown is the smallest either side may be: the two sides must total 20 ft, taken as 8 ft and 12 ft or as 10 ft and 10 ft.

The 30 ft front setback here is a plain figure, not a floor that the existing building line can raise

Commercial District - There is no front setback figure here: it is set as deemed appropriate upon site plan review, consistent with the surrounding structures, accommodating sidewalks and pedestrians and following the village's streetscape design requirements.

Building footprint is capped separately from coverage at 3,500 sq ft per building without a special use permit
A special use permit is required for any modification or new construction that results in a height of less than 22 ft, or that increases or decreases an existing structure's height by more than 10%
A dwelling needs 600 sq ft per unit

Professional-Commercial District - This district takes the residential side yards: the two sides must total 20 ft, taken as 8 ft and 12 ft or as 10 ft and 10 ft.

Building footprint is capped separately from coverage at 2,000 sq ft per building without a special use permit
A special use permit is required for any modification or new construction that results in a height of less than 22 ft, or that increases or decreases an existing structure's height by more than 10%
A dwelling needs 600 sq ft per unit

Land Conservation District - The district marks land where substantial development in the form of buildings or structures is prohibited, because of topography, drainage, floodplain or other natural conditions, or because the land lacks the facilities to be developed at reasonable cost.

Nothing is allowed by right: parks, golf courses, athletic fields and similar uses, farming without animals, and public utilities are special uses

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Orchard Park

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Village of Orchard Park. 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. Municipal source

Good to know

Residential lot minimum0.2–0.34 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityNational Grid territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/11455617
Building dept(716) 662-9327

ADU FAQ — Orchard Park, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Orchard Park, NY?

Village of Orchard Park has 9 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (716) 662-9327.

Do I need a special permit for an ADU in Orchard Park?

No. No district in Village of Orchard Park permits an ADU, so there is no permit to apply for. Codes change, so verify with the building department at (716) 662-9327 before ruling it out.

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

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Village of Orchard Park. 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 Orchard Park

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 Orchard Park, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: 225 Attachment 1 (Schedule 1, Use Controls, as reissued by L.L. 11-2026) · § 225-10A · § 225-12 · § 225-6 · L.L. 7-2026
Districts confirmed: 9 of 9 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-10
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 Orchard Park: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Erie County · All Erie County towns

ADU information for Village of Orchard Park 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) 662-9327 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.