Aldo

Orange County

Village of Chester, NY: zoning for new construction

9 districts Min residential lot 0.29–0.92 ac Orange & Rockland

Residential lots in the Village of Chester run from a 0.29-acre minimum in Residential Single-Family up to 0.92 acres in Residential-Agricultural, across 9 zoning districts in all. Short-term rentals allowed with local rules. Power here is Orange & Rockland territory. The district table below has the setbacks, height limits and coverage - confirm the specifics with the building department at (845) 469-2388 before you rely on a figure.

Looking specifically at an accessory dwelling unit? See ADU rules for Chester →

Zoning districts

District Min lot Setbacks F / S / R Max height ADU
Residential-Agricultural 0.92 ac 40 / 30 / 50 ft 35 ft Occupancy restricted
Residential Single-Family 0.29 ac 30 / 15 / 30 ft 35 ft Occupancy restricted
Residential Mobile Home 0.29 ac 30 / 15 / 30 ft 35 ft Occupancy restricted
Residential Multifamily 0.29 ac 30 / 15 / 30 ft 35 ft Occupancy restricted
Central Business 0.29 ac 30 / 15 / 30 ft 35 ft No
General Business 0.34 ac 50 / 15 / 20 ft 35 ft No
Manufacturing/Industrial 3 ac 100 / 40 / 60 ft 40 ft No
Warehouse/Light Industrial 1 ac 50 / 30 / 30 ft 40 ft No
Highway Interchange Overlay 3 ac — 40 ft No

Residential-Agricultural - The figures shown are for a single- or two-family dwelling. Commercial agricultural operations need at least eighty thousand square feet on at least two hundred feet of width, a front yard of at least a hundred feet and a side yard of at least fifty feet.

  • Commercial agricultural operations may reach up to forty-five feet in height and cover up to forty percent of the lot.
  • A mobile home or house trailer is a special permitted use needing at least five thousand square feet on at least fifty feet of width.
  • A mobile home is held to coverage of up to twenty percent, with a dwelling of at least five hundred square feet.
  • Dormitories for migratory agricultural workers need at least forty thousand square feet plus thirty thousand for every dwelling, with coverage up to twenty-five percent and height up to fifteen feet.
  • Stables and animal housing are limited to fifty fowl on a lot, and pigs and swine are prohibited.

Residential Single-Family - On a street where two or more buildings have established the front yard depth, the front yard is their average, but not less than twenty feet nor more than fifty.

  • On a lot under a hundred feet wide, held in single ownership since the chapter was adopted and whose owner owns no adjoining land, each side yard may drop to ten percent of the lot width.
  • Even on such a narrow lot, no side yard may be under six feet and the two together must be at least a third of the lot width.
  • Institutional uses need at least five acres on at least a hundred feet of width, with coverage up to fifty percent.
  • Institutional uses need front and rear yards of at least a hundred feet and at least two hundred feet for the pair of side yards.

Residential Mobile Home - The figures shown are for a conventional house. A mobile dwelling needs at least five thousand square feet single-width or at least eight thousand double-width, and is held to a height of up to fifteen feet.

Residential Multifamily - The figures shown are for a one-family house. An apartment dwelling needs at least eighty thousand square feet, with a density of up to eight units to the acre for one- and two-bedroom units.

  • The minimum habitable area of an apartment is graded by its bedroom count.

Central Business - Retail and service uses in B-1 take the RM district's standards, which are the figures shown. Other uses in B-1 have their own standards.

  • Retail and service uses need one parking space for every hundred and fifty square feet of selling space.

General Business - Where the lot is next to a residential district the side yard is forty feet instead of the fifteen shown. The front yard drops to thirty feet where no parking is placed in the front yard.

  • Recreational facilities, a special permitted use, take two acres on two hundred feet of width, with fifty feet to each side and a hundred feet for the pair.
  • For those facilities the front yard is fifty feet, or a hundred where parking is in the front yard area, and the rear yard thirty feet, or seventy-five next to a residential district.
  • The figures shown are one row among several: the schedule gives each permitted, accessory and special permitted use its own standards.

Manufacturing/Industrial - No adult entertainment use may stand within five hundred feet of another, of any residential district line in the Village or an adjoining town, or of any church, community centre, funeral home, school, day-care centre, hospital or public park.

  • Every property owner within five hundred feet of a proposed adult entertainment use must be notified by certified mail at least ten days beforehand.
  • Other uses in M-1 have their own standards; confirm the ones for a proposed use with the building department.

Highway Interchange Overlay - HIO is an overlay, so a parcel here remains subject to the district beneath it. A special permitted use must meet the most restrictive minimum lot size, yard setback, coverage, height and parking requirement of the districts involved.

Short-term rentals

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules. The Village of Chester zoning code, Chapter 98, prohibits short-term rentals of fewer than 29 nights unless the property is operated as a licensed hotel or bed-and-breakfast.

Conditions the code attaches:

Good to know

Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $211–$276/sq ft - see the full cost to build a house in Chester, or what an ADU costs here.

Sizing up a specific parcel in Chester?

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Other Orange County towns

Zoning figures for Village of Chester are compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-07-12) and provided for decision-support only - not legal, engineering, or architectural advice. Setback and dimensional standards often carry conditions and exceptions; verify with the building department at (845) 469-2388 before relying on any number. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.

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