ADU · Orange County

Can you build an ADU in Port Jervis, NY?

City of Port Jervis has 8 districts. 5 districts prohibit ADUs, 3 allow them with occupancy restrictions. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Port Jervis code says

An accessory apartment of 600 to 800 sq ft of usable floor area may be permitted in R-1, R-2 and NMU, on a lot meeting the district's two-family requirements, and must be owner- or caretaker-occupied. It is not permitted in MC, CBD, WMU, LI or TSC.

Conditions the code attaches:

Site plan approval under §§ 535-80 and 535-81 is required; the Planning Board reviews parking, traffic access, landscaping and screening, appearance, and environmental and neighbourhood impact.
The unit needs adequate off-street parking and adequate water supply and sewage disposal (§ 535-90A(1)(b) and (c)).
Separately, a house built before the chapter's enactment may also be converted to a two-family in R-2 and NMU.
A conversion must meet lot area per dwelling, livable floor area and off-street parking standards, and may not enlarge, extend or alter the exterior except as the Planning Board permits.
The current chapter was adopted in 2020, replacing a 1989 chapter, so confirm with the city which enactment the conversion date refers to.

How big an ADU can be in Port Jervis

Size limits are set per district, and a unit inside the house is a different standard from a detached one. These are the figures the code publishes.

Accessory dwelling unit

600 to 800 sq ft of usable floor area

R-1 · § 535-90A(1)(d)

2 other districts allow an accessory unit but the code publishes no size for them here, so this page does not state one.

What the Port Jervis 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
Low-Density Residence	0.17 ac	20 / 10 / 30 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Medium-Density Residence	0.14 ac	20 / 8 / 30 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Mountain Conservation	0.92 ac	40 / 30 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
Neighborhood Mixed-Use	0.17 ac	20 / 10 / 30 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Central Business	—	0 / 0 / 0 ft	74 ft	No
Waterfront Mixed-Use	—	20 / 10 / 20 ft	65 ft	No
Light Industrial	0.69 ac	0 / 0 / 20 ft	65 ft	No
Tri-State Commerce	0.69 ac	0 / 0 / 20 ft	65 ft	No

Low-Density Residence - A two-family house is a conditional use here and needs a lot of at least twelve thousand square feet.

With a ten-foot side yard on one side, the other side must be at least fifteen feet to make up the twenty-five-foot pair.
A place of worship, nonprofit membership club, school or nursery school needs a lot of at least twenty-five thousand square feet and a hundred feet of width, and may reach forty-five feet of height.
Those uses also need yards of at least thirty-five feet to the front line and forty to the rear.
A convenience retail store or a railroad or public utility right-of-way needs a lot of at least six thousand square feet and sixty feet of width.

Medium-Density Residence - A place of worship, school, adult care facility or nursery school needs a lot of at least twenty-five thousand square feet and may reach forty-five feet of height.

A convenience retail store or a railroad or public utility right-of-way takes the same lot as a house.

Mountain Conservation - A place of worship needs a lot of at least twenty-five thousand square feet on at least a hundred feet of width, and may reach forty-five feet of height.

Camping and lodging, railroads and public utility structures are conditional uses.

Neighborhood Mixed-Use - The figures shown are for a one-family house or a business or professional office; a retail establishment, business service, restaurant, bank or personal service shop has no minimums prescribed and may cover the whole lot at up to seventy-four feet.

A trade shop, job printing shop or health and fitness centre also has no minimums prescribed, at up to sixty-five feet and sixty percent coverage.
A motor vehicle sales, service, filling or repair use needs a lot of at least thirty thousand square feet and a hundred feet of width, with no yards except at least twenty feet to the rear.
A motor vehicle laundry needs a lot of at least twenty thousand square feet, twenty-five feet of width and eighty of depth.
A preschool, day care or school needs a lot of at least twenty-five thousand square feet, with coverage up to thirty percent.
A hospital, sanitarium, nursing home or school needs a lot of at least twenty-five thousand square feet and may reach forty-five feet of height.

Central Business - No minimum lot area, width, depth or yard is prescribed, so a building may be built to all four lot lines on a lot of any size.

Waterfront Mixed-Use - No minimum lot area, width or depth is set here, and one-family and two-family detached dwellings, restaurants, take-out food and trade shops all share the yards, height and coverage shown.

Apartments, tourist accommodations and bed-and-breakfasts are accessory uses.
The requirement to obtain Common Council approvals is suspended for a property owner who suffers a loss in this district through an act of God.

Light Industrial - The figures shown apply to trade shops, research, design and development laboratories, job and commercial printing, wholesale storage and warehousing, light manufacturing, retail establishments and nurseries.

A place of worship or shopping centre needs a lot of at least twenty-five thousand square feet and a hundred feet of width, and may reach forty-five feet of height at up to thirty percent coverage.
Those uses need at least thirty-five feet to the front line, fifteen to one side and thirty for the pair, and forty to the rear.

Tri-State Commerce - The figures shown apply to hotels, motels, shopping centres, research and development, building supply, indoor recreation, motor vehicle sales, service and repair, manufacturing and wholesale storage; a hotel needs no rear yard either.

A retail establishment, restaurant, microbrewery, bank or health and fitness centre has no minimums prescribed and may cover the whole lot at up to seventy-four feet.
A place of worship, general hospital, nonprofit membership club or indoor theatre needs at least twenty-five thousand square feet and may reach forty-five feet at up to thirty percent coverage.
A business or professional office needs a lot of at least seven thousand five hundred square feet and seventy-five feet of width.
A convenience retail store needs a lot of at least six thousand square feet and sixty feet of width, with a height limit of thirty feet.
A railroad or public utility right-of-way needs a lot of at least twelve thousand square feet and sixty feet of width.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Port Jervis

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for City of Port Jervis. Port Jervis regulates short-term stays through its zoning use categories: a tourist home of no more than 4 rooms (§ 535-4), and bed and breakfast or tourist accommodations (§ 535-37). 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

Residential lot minimum0.14–0.17 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityOrange & Rockland territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/attachment/316925/PO0478-535a%20Table%20of%20Use%20and%20Bulk%20Req.pdf
Building dept(845) 858-4000

ADU FAQ — Port Jervis, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Port Jervis, NY?

City of Port Jervis has 8 districts. 5 districts prohibit ADUs, 3 allow them with occupancy restrictions. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (845) 858-4000.

Do I need a special permit for an ADU in Port Jervis?

No district in City of Port Jervis requires a special-use permit for an ADU - 5 districts prohibit ADUs, 3 allow them with occupancy restrictions. Site-plan review or a building permit may still apply.

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

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for City of Port Jervis. 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 Port Jervis

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $205k–270k 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 Port Jervis, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Ch. 535 § 535-90A Accessory apartment and § 535-90B Conversion of an existing dwelling; § 535-4B; 535 Attachment 1 Table of Use and Bulk Requirements
Districts confirmed: 8 of 8 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-08
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 Port Jervis: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Orange County · All Orange County towns

ADU information for City of Port Jervis is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-07-08) 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 (845) 858-4000 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.