ADU · Saratoga County

Can you build an ADU in Stillwater, NY?

Village of Stillwater has 3 districts. All districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Stillwater code says

An accessory dwelling unit is permitted by right in V3, V4 and V5, with no special use permit and no site plan review, but the owner of the one-family dwelling must occupy one of the two units.

Conditions the code attaches:

At least one occupant of each dwelling unit must be a family member as the code defines it; read literally that reaches both units, so get the Village's position in writing before assuming a rental.
The unit must be within the walls of a one-family dwelling or within an addition to it, so a detached carriage house or garage conversion is not an accessory dwelling unit here.
Only one accessory dwelling unit is allowed per one-family dwelling, and it takes one parking space.
The unit must be connected to municipal utilities, which rules out a septic-served unit and confines it to the served part of the Village.
In V4 and V5 a two-family dwelling is permitted by right as well, while in V3 a two-family needs a special use permit.

What the Stillwater 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
V3 Neighborhood	0.23 ac	15 / 10 / 20 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
V4 Mixed Use	0.11 ac	0 / 5 / 5 ft	40 ft	Occupancy restricted
V5 Mixed Use Center	0.11 ac	0 / 5 / 5 ft	40 ft	Occupancy restricted

V3 Neighborhood - These figures are necessary but not sufficient. The regulating plan also fixes build-to lines, private frontage types, window transparency minimums, entrance and orientation rules, massing breaks every 50 ft in a linear row, and materials and colours.

A parcel that satisfies the lot and setback figures can still fail the code on frontage type, entrance placement or transparency, with the Route 4 corridor design guidelines layered on top.
A one-family dwelling and an accessory dwelling unit are both permitted by right, so a second unit comes far more easily as an accessory unit than as a duplex.
A two-family dwelling needs a special use permit here, a three- or four-family needs one too, and multifamily of five or more is not permitted at all.
Agriculture, agricultural tourism and roadside farm stands are permitted by right here, and a manufactured home or park, a cemetery or a self-storage facility is available by special use permit.

V4 Mixed Use - The figures shown are the non-waterfront case. On a waterfront parcel the side yard is 10 ft rather than 5 ft and the height drops to 2 stories or 35 ft, so establish which side of that line a parcel falls on first.

The front figure is a build-to band with a ceiling, not a minimum: build to the sidewalk or at most 10 ft from the frontage line, with 15 ft allowed only for outdoor dining or a plaza.
Pushing a building back beyond that band is a violation, not a courtesy.
There is no side yard setback at all for buildings sharing a party wall.
One-family, two-family and accessory dwelling units are permitted by right, and multifamily of five or more, mixed-use buildings, live-work units, retail and hotels go through site plan review.
Craft production, light industrial, drive-through windows and fast-food restaurants need a special use permit.
The regulating plan also fixes build-to lines, frontage types, window transparency, entrance and orientation rules, massing breaks every 50 ft in a linear row, and materials and colours.

V5 Mixed Use Center - The front figure is a build-to band with a ceiling, not a minimum: build to the sidewalk or at most 10 ft from the frontage line, with 15 ft allowed only for outdoor dining or a plaza. A fourth storey is available by bonus rather than by right.

The bonus is worth a whole storey: a building may reach 4 stories or 50 feet where a listed public benefit is provided and the Village Board of Trustees approves it.
The affordable route asks at least 10% of the units, deed restricted for not less than 30 years at 50 to 80% of HUD median household income; historic reuse and LEED design also qualify.
Pushing a building back beyond that band is a violation, not a courtesy.
There is no side yard setback at all for buildings sharing a party wall.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Stillwater

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Village of Stillwater. The Village of Stillwater has no local short-term rental law, and that is not the same as permission. Confirm the Village's position in writing before counting on short-stay 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.

Good to know

UtilityNational Grid territory.
Zoning codevillageofstillwaterny.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Form-Based-Code-Amended-2020-07-21-w-Tables-and-Map.pdf
Building dept(518) 664-6258

ADU FAQ — Stillwater, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Stillwater, NY?

Village of Stillwater has 3 districts. All districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (518) 664-6258.

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

No district in Village of Stillwater requires a special-use permit for an ADU - 3 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions. Site-plan review or a building permit may still apply.

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

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

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What an ADU costs to build in Stillwater

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $200k–260k 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 Stillwater, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Village Form-Based Code § 3.3(A)-(D) accessory dwelling units; § 3.5 bed and breakfast; Article X definitions
Districts confirmed: 3 of 3 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-02
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 Stillwater: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Saratoga County · All Saratoga County towns

ADU information for Village of Stillwater is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-08-02) 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) 664-6258 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.