ADU · Rockland County
Can you build an ADU in Piermont, NY?
Village of Piermont has 13 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:
What the Piermont code says
No accessory apartment. An owner who has lived in the house for 20 years can apply to convert it to a two-family by Planning Board special permit, which changes the use of the house. It ends when the owner moves out or the house changes hands.
Conditions the code attaches:
- The two-family conversion is available in R-80, R-40, R-20, R-15, R-10, R-7.5, R-1.25 and RM, by Planning Board special permit after a public hearing
- The owner must have lived in the house as a primary residence for 20 years, or 10 years after 25 years in the village
- A covenant returns the house to one family when the owner moves out, and the permit is void on any transfer of ownership
- The house must be at least 15 years old, with no exterior change or new structure to create the unit
- The apartment may have no more than two bedrooms, is inspected every year by the Fire Inspector, and needs three paved parking spaces
- No second unit at all in WF-1, WF-2, BB, BA or RD
What the Piermont 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-Family Residential R-80 | 1.84 ac | 60 / 50 / 60 ft | 32 ft | No |
| Single-Family Residential R-40 | 0.92 ac | 50 / 35 / 50 ft | 32 ft | No |
| Single-Family Residential R-20 | 0.46 ac | 35 / 35 / 40 ft | 32 ft | No |
| Single-Family Residential R-15 | 0.34 ac | 35 / 30 / 33 ft | 32 ft | No |
| Single-Family Residential R-10 | 0.23 ac | 30 / 20 / 40 ft | 32 ft | No |
| Single-Family Residential R-7.5 | 0.17 ac | 25 / 10 / 30 ft | 32 ft | No |
| Single-Family Residential R-1.25 | 0.03 ac | 0 / 5 / 5 ft | 32 ft | No |
| Multifamily Residential | 0.92 ac | 40 / 35 / 50 ft | 35 ft | No |
| Waterfront WF-1 | 0.23 ac | 30 / 20 / 40 ft | 25 ft | No |
| Waterfront WF-2 | 0.23 ac | 30 / 20 / 40 ft | 25 ft | No |
| Business B | 0.17 ac | 20 / 10 / 30 ft | 35 ft | No |
| Business A | 1 ac | 100 / 25 / 50 ft | 30 ft | No |
| Riverfront | — | 35 / 35 / 35 ft | 35 ft | No |
Single-Family Residential R-80 - The floor area ratio and the lot coverage cap are different standards: the 8% ratio limits total floor area across all storeys, and the 12% cap limits the footprint.
- A use that needs a special permit is held to a larger set of figures: 100,000 square feet of lot on 250 feet of width, with 75 feet in front and to the rear.
- That row takes 60 feet to each side with 125 for the two together, cuts coverage to 10%, and leaves the height unchanged.
- Each side yard must be at least fifty feet and the two together at least a hundred feet, on a lot at least two hundred feet wide.
Single-Family Residential R-40 - The two side yards must total 80 ft, so 35 ft on each side is not enough; a workable pair is 40 ft and 40 ft, or 35 ft and 45 ft.
- A use that needs a special permit takes 60,000 square feet on 200 feet of width, 40 feet to each side with 100 feet for the two together, and coverage cut from 16% to 13%.
- The floor area ratio and the lot coverage cap are separate standards: 15% of the lot in total floor area across all storeys, and 16% in footprint.
Single-Family Residential R-20 - The two side yards must total 80 ft, so 35 ft on each side falls 10 ft short.
- A use that needs a special permit is held to three times the lot, 60,000 square feet against 20,000, on 200 feet of width, with 50 feet front and rear, 40 to each side and 100 for both.
- That row cuts the floor area ratio from 20% to 15% and coverage from 22% to 13%, the largest step between a by-right and a special-permit standard in the village.
- The floor area ratio and the lot coverage cap are separate standards: 20% of the lot in total floor area, and 22% in footprint.
Single-Family Residential R-15 - The floor area ratio and the lot coverage cap are separate standards: 22% of the lot in total floor area, and 24.5% in footprint.
- A use that needs a special permit takes four times the lot, 60,000 square feet against 15,000, on 200 feet of width, with 50 feet front and rear, 40 feet to each side and 100 for both.
- That row cuts the floor area ratio from 22% to 15% and roughly halves coverage to 13%.
- Each side yard must be at least 30 ft and the two together at least 65 ft, and the 33 ft rear yard is the only figure of its kind in the village.
Single-Family Residential R-10 - The floor area ratio and the lot coverage cap are separate standards: 27% of the lot in total floor area, and 30% in footprint.
- A use that needs a special permit doubles the lot to 20,000 square feet on 150 feet of width, with 35 feet in front and 35 to each side against 80 for both, and coverage cut from 30% to 22%.
- The combined side yard is 40 ft, exactly double the 20 ft single-side figure, so 20 ft on each side complies.
- Not more than two nontransient boarders are allowed as an accessory use.
Single-Family Residential R-7.5 - The floor area ratio and the lot coverage cap are separate standards: 30% of the lot in total floor area, and 33% in footprint.
- A use that needs a special permit takes nearly three times the lot, 20,000 square feet against 7,500, on 150 feet of width, 35 feet in front, 35 to each side against 80 for both, 40 to the rear.
- Coverage falls from 33% to 22% in that row, and the floor area ratio is unchanged.
- Each side yard must be at least ten feet and the two together at least twenty-five feet.
Single-Family Residential R-1.25 - Nothing is permitted by right here: a one-family dwelling, school, park, playground, church, Sunday school building, parish house or rectory each needs a special permit from the Board of Trustees. These figures describe a discretionary approval, not an entitlement.
- The minimum lot area is 1,250 sq ft.
- Accessory parking is barred from front yards.
Multifamily Residential - No lot coverage figure is published for a house, a multiple dwelling or any other permitted use, so footprint is limited only through the floor area ratio and the yards.
- A multiple dwelling is the only thing here with a smaller lot and a bigger building: 1 acre rather than the 40,000 square feet a house needs, but 3,000 square feet of land for every dwelling unit.
- It gets a floor area ratio doubled to 30% and three storeys, with 30 ft to each side and 70 ft for the pair, and its lot width is stated as 100 feet per acre, so it scales with the site.
- No house wall or group of attached dwellings may run more than a hundred and sixty feet in one plane, and the lower storey must have direct access to the outdoors needing no more than three steps.
- The two side yards must total 80 ft, so 35 ft on each side falls 10 ft short.
- Uses other than a house or a multiple dwelling take exactly the same figures as a one-family house.
Waterfront WF-1 - The two side yards must total 50 ft, so 20 ft on each side falls 10 ft short.
- A house with a customary home occupation such as a professional office, and every special permit use, needs 15,000 square feet rather than 10,000 and is held to 23% coverage rather than 26%.
- The floor area ratio and the lot coverage cap are separate standards: 27% of the lot in total floor area, and 26% in footprint.
Waterfront WF-2 - The two side yards must total fifty feet, so twenty feet on each side falls ten feet short.
- A house with a professional office, and every other permitted use, needs 15,000 square feet rather than 10,000; nothing else changes.
- This district publishes no lot coverage figure at all, where its twin WF-1 publishes 26% and 23%.
Business B - The twenty-foot front yard shown applies to a house with direct water frontage; a house lacking it owes twenty-five feet. The floor area ratio is 30% for a house, 27% for a studio or professional office and 20% for every other permitted use.
- Every permitted use other than a house, studio or office takes 20,000 square feet on 150 feet of width, with 35 ft in front, 35 ft to each side against 80 ft for both, and 40 ft to the rear.
- A studio or professional office needs at least 10,000 square feet and at least a hundred feet of width, with thirty feet in front, twenty to each side and fifty for both, and forty to the rear.
- No lot coverage figure is published for any case in this district.
Business A - Neither a floor area ratio nor a lot coverage cap is published here, so the yards, the two-storey 30 ft height and the one-acre lot are the whole of the bulk regulation.
- One set of figures governs every permitted use.
Riverfront - The whole district may hold 317 dwellings, 263 in Riverfront East and 54 in Riverfront West, a fixed number rather than a density that scales with a parcel. There is no minimum lot area and no minimum lot width.
- All structures must stand 35 ft from the nearest property line on every side; the Board of Trustees may modify this where a development's design warrants it and adjacent properties are not injured.
- For adaptive reuse of a building put up before 1930, the Board of Trustees may raise the height to 64 ft if its volume is cut by at least 20% and amenities are provided.
- The 60% cap counts buildings, parking and every other impervious surface together.
- Retail, service and commercial floor area is capped at 55,000 sq ft across the district, and service uses alone at 12,000 sq ft.
ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Piermont
Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Village of Piermont. Short-term rentals in Piermont are permitted by special permit under § 117-11, and need Village registration and a permit under Chapter 117, Article III. 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 minimum0.03–1.84 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
- UtilityOrange & Rockland territory.
- Zoning codeecode360.com/9172885
- Building dept(845) 359-1258
ADU FAQ — Piermont, NY
Are ADUs allowed in Piermont, NY?
Village of Piermont has 13 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (845) 359-1258.
Do I need a special permit for an ADU in Piermont?
No. No district in Village of Piermont permits an ADU, so there is no permit to apply for. Codes change, so verify with the building department at (845) 359-1258 before ruling it out.
Can I use an ADU as a short-term rental in Piermont?
Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Village of Piermont. 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.
What an ADU costs to build in Piermont
Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $225k–295k 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 Piermont, priced by size.
How we know this
- Sections analyzed
- Ch. 149 Art. I, § 149-3 and § 149-4; Ch. 210 § 210-3, § 210-6, § 210-7.3 and § 210-10; Attachment 1 Table of General Use Regulations
- Districts confirmed
- 13 of 13 — every mapped district.
- Last reviewed
- 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 Piermont: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Rockland County · All Rockland County towns
ADU information for Village of Piermont is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-07-22) 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) 359-1258 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.