Town of Hamlin, NY: zoning for new construction

Residential / Very Low Density - The 10% coverage cap counts driveways, parking and patios along with the house. The two-acre minimum comes from a 2019 amendment, but the Town's dimensional table still prints five acres, so confirm the lot size with the Building Department.

• Schools, colleges, municipal buildings, places of worship, private clubs, hospitals and rest homes and public utility structures are capped at 65 ft rather than 40 ft, each by site plan approval.
• § 520-10 identifies this district as not served by public water or sewer.
• On a corner lot, the side yard that is not a front yard is 75 ft.
• Height is two storeys or 40 ft, whichever is higher. Accessory buildings are held to 25 ft, and barns, silos and other farm-related structures are exempt.
• One dwelling unit is allowed per parcel, farm labour camps excepted, and the minimum unit size is 1,400 sq ft for a two-storey dwelling.
• A structure existing before 1 September 1991 may keep its existing front setback for a modification, alteration or addition.

Residential / Low Density - The 10% coverage cap counts driveways, parking and patios along with the house, and no building-only coverage limit is published.

• Schools, colleges, municipal buildings, places of worship, private clubs, hospitals and rest homes and public utility structures are capped at 65 ft rather than 40 ft, each by site plan approval.
• On a corner lot, the side yard is 35 ft.
• Height is two storeys or 40 ft, whichever is higher. Accessory buildings are held to 25 ft, and barns, silos and other farm-related structures are exempt.
• One dwelling unit is allowed per parcel.
• The minimum unit size is 1,400 sq ft for a two-storey dwelling.
• A structure existing before 1 September 1991 may keep its existing front setback for an alteration or addition.

Residential / Low Density One Acre - R-L1 is a floating district: land gets these figures only once the Town Board rezones it on petition, and the petition must prove the land can be served by existing public water and sanitary sewer.

• A petition needs 20 or more contiguous acres already in the Residential / Very Low Density or Residential / Low Density district, and the Town Board may waive that threshold.
• The Planning Board will not review a site plan or subdivision until the district has been created over the whole site.
• The 2,000 sq ft minimum unit size applies whatever the number of storeys.
• On a corner lot, the side yard is 30 ft.
• One dwelling unit is allowed per parcel.
• The section states no lot coverage limit.

Residential / Medium Density - The figures shown are for a single-family dwelling, and the 25% coverage cap counts driveways, parking and patios along with the house. § 520-10 requires medium-density areas to be served by both public water and public sewer.

• A two-unit townhouse structure is the only second dwelling here: 0.8 acre per structure, 0.4 acre per unit, on 160 ft of width or 80 ft per unit, and public sewer must be provided.
• Minimum unit size excluding garage is 1,000 sq ft one-storey and 1,200 sq ft two-storey, with 30 ft between structures, and it is a site plan use under § 520-38.
• Schools, places of worship, private clubs, hospitals and rest homes and public utility structures are capped at 65 ft rather than 40 ft, each by site plan approval.
• On a corner lot, the side yard is 30 ft.
• Height is two storeys or 40 ft, whichever is higher. Accessory buildings are held to 25 ft, and barns, silos and other farm-related structures are exempt.
• One dwelling unit is allowed per parcel, and the minimum unit size is 1,200 sq ft for one-and-a-half storeys and 1,400 sq ft for two storeys.

Residential / High Density - The figures shown are for a single-family dwelling. Two-, three- and four-family dwellings, townhouses, apartment buildings and garden apartments can also be built here on Planning Board site plan approval, each with its own dimensions.

• A two-, three- or four-family dwelling takes 0.6 acre on 125 ft of width, the height cap rises to 65 ft, and each unit needs at least 480 sq ft with 1,200 sq ft per structure.
• Townhouses are sized by density, not by lot: 6 units per gross acre on a minimum width of 20 ft, with no side yards required but 25 ft between principal buildings, and 960 sq ft per unit.
• An apartment building or garden apartment needs 1 acre and is capped at 10 units per gross acre, with the height rising to 65 ft and 480 sq ft per unit.
• The 25% coverage cap counts driveways, parking and patios along with the house, and rises to 50% for apartment and attached-dwelling uses.
• § 520-10 requires public water and sewer here; on a corner lot the side yard is 30 ft, and height is two storeys or 40 ft, with accessory buildings at 25 ft.
• Mobile home and trailer parks are governed by Chapter 454 rather than the zoning chapter, and preexisting Huntington park subdivision units are held to 7.5 ft side and rear yards.

Senior Citizen Residential - SC is a floating, age-restricted district with no minimum lot area: at least 80% of units must be occupied by at least one senior citizen, and the Town Board must first rezone the land on petition by the owner of five or more contiguous acres.

• Density rises to 10 dwelling units per acre for multifamily buildings, all parking must sit at the rear of the premises, and 10% of it must be marked for visitors.
• No dwelling unit may contain more than two bedrooms, including in an independent or assisted living facility.
• With a homeowners' association, the front setback drops to 25 ft from a publicly dedicated road, the side yard to 5 ft, and zero lot line houses are exempt from the building coverage cap.
• Every detached house and townhome needs an attached two-car garage, and a multifamily unit needs two parking spaces, none in a front yard or a side yard abutting a dedicated street.
• Minimum habitable area is 500 sq ft for a studio, 700 for a one-bedroom and 900 for a two-bedroom, with no apartment structure under 1,200 sq ft.
• The Town Board may waive the acreage threshold, and the Planning Board will not review a site plan until the district covers the whole site.