ADU · Greene County

Can you build an ADU in Hunter, NY?

Village of Hunter has 6 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Hunter code says

An accessory dwelling unit is not a permitted or special permit use in any district. Under § 4.2.E only the listed uses are permissible, and all others are expressly prohibited unless the Zoning Board of Appeals grants a use variance.

Conditions the code attaches:

A two-family dwelling is a permitted use in all six districts, so a duplex is the legal path to a second unit, but that unit is not accessory and is not size-capped.
Minimum lot size for a two-family dwelling is 10,000 square feet in VBD and 20,000 square feet in GBD, RED1, RED2, VRD and WRD.
Every use in WRD is subject to site plan review.
Under § 4.4, a second principal building on a lot is allowed only if each building would meet all area, setback and coverage rules as if a separate lot were created for it.
A customary accessory use or structure is permitted in all six districts, but that covers activities such as home-based work by the residents, not a second dwelling unit.
Confirm any second-unit plan with the building department at (518) 263-4020 before relying on it.

What the Hunter 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
Village Business District	0.11 ac	10 / 5 / 15 ft	45 ft	No
Gateway Business District	0.11 ac	25 / 10 / 15 ft	45 ft	No
Recreation-Entertainment District 1	0.23 ac	25 / 15 / 15 ft	45 ft	No
Recreation-Entertainment District 2	0.23 ac	25 / 15 / 15 ft	45 ft	No
Watershed Recreation District	0.23 ac	25 / 15 / 15 ft	45 ft	No
Village Residential District	0.46 ac	20 / 20 / 25 ft	45 ft	No

Village Business District - A single-family dwelling needs 5,000 square feet (0.1148 acre) and no site plan review. A two-family needs 10,000 square feet (0.2296 acre), and condominiums or townhouses 40,000 square feet (0.9183 acre) on 150 ft of width, with site plan review.

Condominiums and townhouses take a 25 ft front yard, a 15 ft side yard and 60% maximum lot coverage rather than the figures shown.
An owner may build up to the side property line with no side setback, but only with the contiguous owner's consent and only where both build to that line at the same time.
On a corner lot every street frontage is a front line with a required front yard along it, and the code enforcement officer decides with the owner which remaining yards are the side and rear.
A lot of record that was in legal existence when the law was enacted may still be used even if it does not meet the area and coverage requirements.
More than one principal building is allowed on a lot only where each would meet all the area, setback and coverage rules as if it had a lot of its own.

Gateway Business District - A single-family dwelling needs 5,000 square feet (0.1148 acre) and no site plan review. A two-family needs 10,000 square feet (0.2296 acre), and condominiums or townhouses 40,000 square feet (0.9183 acre) on 150 ft of width, with site plan review.

A multiple family dwelling is sized per unit, at 10,000 square feet of land each, on 100 ft of mean lot width, and needs site plan review.
Condominiums and townhouses take a 15 ft side yard rather than the 10 ft shown.
On a corner lot every street frontage is a front line with a required front yard along it, and the code enforcement officer decides with the owner which remaining yards are the side and rear.
A lot of record that was in legal existence when the law was enacted may still be used even if it does not meet the area and coverage requirements.
More than one principal building is allowed on a lot only where each would meet all the area, setback and coverage rules as if it had a lot of its own.

Recreation-Entertainment District 1 - A single-family dwelling needs 10,000 square feet (0.2296 acre) and a two-family 20,000 square feet (0.4591 acre). Condominiums and townhouses need 1 acre on 150 ft of width and may reach 100 ft of height, with site plan review.

A multiple family dwelling is capped at 8 dwelling units per acre, may cover 60% of the lot rather than 40%, and needs site plan review.
Condominiums and townhouses may also cover 60% of the lot.
A conference centre, a hotel and a ski centre facility may reach 100 ft of height.
On a corner lot every street frontage is a front line with a required front yard along it, and the code enforcement officer decides with the owner which remaining yards are the side and rear.
A lot of record that was in legal existence when the law was enacted may still be used even if it does not meet the area and coverage requirements.
More than one principal building is allowed on a lot only where each would meet all the area, setback and coverage rules as if it had a lot of its own.

Recreation-Entertainment District 2 - A single-family dwelling needs 10,000 square feet (0.2296 acre) and a two-family 20,000 square feet (0.4591 acre). Condominiums and townhouses need 1 acre on 150 ft of width and may reach 65 ft of height, with site plan review.

A multiple family dwelling is capped at 8 dwelling units per acre, may cover 60% of the lot rather than 40%, and needs site plan review.
Condominiums and townhouses may also cover 60% of the lot.
A conference centre, a hotel and a ski centre facility may reach 100 ft of height.
On a corner lot every street frontage is a front line with a required front yard along it, and the code enforcement officer decides with the owner which remaining yards are the side and rear.
A lot of record that was in legal existence when the law was enacted may still be used even if it does not meet the area and coverage requirements.
More than one principal building is allowed on a lot only where each would meet all the area, setback and coverage rules as if it had a lot of its own.

Watershed Recreation District - Every use here needs site plan review, a single-family dwelling included, which is true of no other district in this village. A house needs 10,000 square feet (0.2296 acre) and a two-family 20,000 square feet (0.4591 acre).

A multiple family dwelling is capped at 8 dwelling units per acre and may cover 60% of the lot rather than 40%.
Condominiums and townhouses need 1 acre on 150 ft of mean lot width and may also cover 60%.
The district exists to protect the village water supply springs and reservoir lands while allowing recreation and residential use.
On a corner lot every street frontage is a front line with a required front yard along it, and the code enforcement officer decides with the owner which remaining yards are the side and rear.
A lot of record that was in legal existence when the law was enacted may still be used even if it does not meet the area and coverage requirements.
More than one principal building is allowed on a lot only where each would meet all the area, setback and coverage rules as if it had a lot of its own.

Village Residential District - A single-family and a two-family dwelling take the same figures here and neither needs site plan review. Condominiums and townhouses need 5 acres on 150 ft of width with 40 ft side and rear yards, and a mobile home community needs 5 acres by special permit.

A multiple family dwelling is sized per unit, at 10,000 square feet of land each, with a 25 ft front yard and 60% coverage, and needs site plan review.
A mobile home community needs 50 ft front, side and rear yards and is held to 25 ft of height.
A private garage needs 10,000 square feet and is held to 25 ft of height.
A Class II home occupation is a special permit use and needs 2 acres.
On a corner lot every street frontage is a front line with a required front yard along it, and the code enforcement officer decides with the owner which remaining yards are the side and rear.
More than one principal building is allowed on a lot only where each would meet all the area, setback and coverage rules as if it had a lot of its own.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Hunter

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Village of Hunter. The Village of Hunter has no local short-term rental law of its own. That is not the same as permission, since the Village zoning law does not name a whole-house short-term rental and can still bar it, so confirm with the Village before counting on rental income. 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 minimum0.46 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityCentral Hudson territory.
Zoning codevillageofhunterny.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/22.pdf
Building dept(518) 263-4020

ADU FAQ — Hunter, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Hunter, NY?

Village of Hunter has 6 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (518) 263-4020.

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

No. No district in Village of Hunter permits an ADU, so there is no permit to apply for. Codes change, so verify with the building department at (518) 263-4020 before ruling it out.

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

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

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $195k–255k 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 Hunter, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Village Zoning Law (L.L. #3 of 2013) § 4.2.E closed list; § 4.4 multiple principal buildings; Schedule 1 Use/Area/Coverage Regulations pp. 18-21; Art. 2 definitions
Districts confirmed: 6 of 6 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-05
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 Hunter: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Greene County · All Greene County towns

ADU information for Village of Hunter is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-10-05) 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 (518) 263-4020 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.