ADU · Ulster County

Can you build an ADU in Olive, NY?

Town of Olive has 5 districts. 4 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 1 does not. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Olive code says

An accessory apartment to a permitted residential use is allowed without Planning Board site plan approval. The owner has to live in the principal residence or the apartment, and may rent the other one out. B/H-1/2 lists no residential use, so it has no accessory apartment.

Conditions the code attaches:

Under Local Law No. 2 of 2025 an accessory apartment may not be used as a short-term rental, and an existing short-term rental permit ends when the property transfers.
The apartment's usable floor area must be at least 400 sq ft, no more than 1,000 sq ft, and less than the usable floor area of the principal dwelling on the same lot.
Usable floor area counts space used for human occupancy within the exterior walls, not open porches, breezeways, garages, basements or unfinished attic space.
The apartment may have no more than two bedrooms. The ZBA may allow more than 1,000 sq ft or more than two bedrooms where the building's features warrant it.
The Code Enforcement Officer may refer an application to the Planning Board where the site presents challenging design issues.
The lot must be at least one acre to carry a dwelling plus an accessory apartment, and the water supply and wastewater disposal method must be approved before the building permit issues.
The apartment may be inside the principal dwelling or in a separate structure on the same lot, with one accessory apartment and two dwelling units the maximum per lot.
One additional off-street parking space is required, and never fewer than three on the property.

How big an ADU can be in Olive

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

400 to 1,000 sq ft of usable floor area, and smaller than the principal dwelling

CR, RR, ER, B/V1/2 · owner-occupancy required · § 155-17D(9)(b), (e)

What the Olive 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
CR Conservation Residential (R/C-10A)	10 ac	50 / 100 / 100 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
RR Rural Residential (R/R-3A)	3 ac	50 / 50 / 75 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
ER ExUrban Residential (R/E-1A)	1 ac	50 / 25 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
B/V-1/2 Business/Village	0.5 ac	50 / 20 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
B/H-1/2 Business/Highway	0.5 ac	50 / 20 / 50 ft	35 ft	No

CR Conservation Residential (R/C-10A), RR Rural Residential (R/R-3A), ER ExUrban Residential (R/E-1A) - The lot minimum shown is the land required by each dwelling unit, not by the lot as a whole. Every use except a single-family and a two-family home needs Planning Board site plan approval before a zoning permit issues (§ 155-17).

Where a street right-of-way is under 50 ft, the front yard is measured from its centre line with 25 ft added, and from the centre line of the existing roadway where the right-of-way is unknown.
In special permit and site plan review the Planning Board may modify any of these standards by up to 10% in the interest of the public welfare.
An average density or conservation subdivision can modify lot area and dimensions if the average lot meets the district minimum, but only with Planning Board approval (§ 155-8).

B/V-1/2 Business/Village, B/H-1/2 Business/Highway - The half-acre minimum shown is the commercial figure. Residential and certain other uses require larger lot sizes under schedule note 4, which points at § 155-16, and the larger figure is not published there.

Every use except a single-family and a two-family home needs Planning Board site plan approval before a zoning permit issues (§ 155-17).
The lot minimum shown is the land required by each dwelling unit, not by the lot as a whole.
Where a street right-of-way is under 50 ft, the front yard is measured from its centre line with 25 ft added, and from the centre line of the existing roadway where the right-of-way is unknown.
In special permit and site plan review the Planning Board may modify any of these standards by up to 10% in the interest of the public welfare.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Olive

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Town of Olive. A short-term rental needs a permit from the Building Department anywhere in the town. Permits for owner-occupied rentals are uncapped, but permits for rentals the owner does not occupy are capped each January, so one may not be available. 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. Municipal source

Good to know

Residential lot minimum1–10 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityCentral Hudson territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/OL1834
Building dept(845) 657-8282

ADU FAQ — Olive, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Olive, NY?

Town of Olive has 5 districts. 4 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 1 does not. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (845) 657-8282.

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

No district in Town of Olive requires a special-use permit for an ADU - 4 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 1 does not. Site-plan review or a building permit may still apply.

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

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Town of Olive. 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 Olive

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $200k–265k 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 Olive, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: § 155-17D(9); § 155-14; § 155-2; § 114-4N
Districts confirmed: 5 of 5 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-17
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 Olive: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Ulster County · All Ulster County towns

ADU information for Town of Olive is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-09-17) 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) 657-8282 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.