Dutchess County

Town of Washington, NY: zoning for new construction

9 districts Min residential lot 0.25–10 ac Central Hudson

Residential lots in the Town of Washington run from a 0.25-acre minimum in Hamlet up to 10 acres in Rural Residential Special 10-Acre, across 9 zoning districts in all. Short-term rentals allowed with local rules. Power here is Central Hudson territory. The district table below has the setbacks, height limits and coverage - confirm the specifics with the building department at (845) 677-3419 before you rely on a figure.

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

Zoning districts

District	Min lot	Setbacks F / S / R	Max height	ADU
Rural Residential 10-Acre	10 ac	100 / 100 / 75 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Rural Residential Special 10-Acre	10 ac	100 / 100 / 75 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Low Density Residential 5-Acre	5 ac	100 / 75 / 75 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Low Density Residential Special	5 ac	100 / 75 / 75 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Medium Density Residential 2-Acre	2 ac	75 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	Special permit
High Density Residential 1-Acre	1 ac	50 / 30 / 25 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Hamlet Mixed-Use	1 ac	50 / 30 / 25 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Land Conservation	10 ac	100 / 100 / 75 ft	15 ft	No
Hamlet (floating district)	0.25 ac	20 / 15 / 25 ft	35 ft	—

Rural Residential 10-Acre — Height is capped twice over: 2 1/2 stories and 35 ft. Minimum road frontage is 400 ft, published as its own column beside the lot width. For rear lot frontages see § 165-68.

Rural Residential Special 10-Acre — Height is capped twice over: 2 1/2 stories and 35 ft. Minimum road frontage is 400 ft, published as its own column beside the lot width. For rear lot frontages see § 165-68. RS-10 shares a single schedule column with RR-10.

Low Density Residential 5-Acre — Height is capped twice over: 2 1/2 stories and 35 ft. Minimum road frontage is 300 ft, published as its own column beside the lot width. For rear lot frontages see § 165-68.

Low Density Residential Special — Height is capped twice over: 2 1/2 stories and 35 ft. Minimum road frontage is 300 ft, published as its own column beside the lot width. For rear lot frontages see § 165-68. RS-5 shares a single schedule column with RL-5.

Medium Density Residential 2-Acre, High Density Residential 1-Acre — Height is capped twice over: 2 1/2 stories and 35 ft. Minimum road frontage is 200 ft, published as its own column beside the lot width. For rear lot frontages see § 165-68.

Hamlet Mixed-Use — Appendix B publishes TWO complete columns for HM. The base row here is the residential one. A NON-RESIDENTIAL use in the same district is governed by the other column: half an acre rather than one, 100 ft of lot width rather than 200, an 80 ft front yard, a 15 ft side yard, a 50 ft rear yard and 60% coverage rather than 10%. Height is capped twice over: 2 1/2 stories and 35 ft for a residential use; the non-residential column states no storey limit, only the 35 ft. Minimum road frontage is 100 ft, published as its own column beside the lot width. For rear lot frontages see § 165-68.

Land Conservation — Height is capped twice over: 1 story and 15 ft — the lowest in the Town. Minimum road frontage is 400 ft, published as its own column beside the lot width. For rear lot frontages see § 165-68.

Hamlet (floating district) — H is a FLOATING district under § 165-13: Appendix B publishes a full column of standards for it, but the district is not on the Zoning Map until the Town Board maps one, at which point it replaces the previous use classification. The setbacks above are minimums and the district also sets MAXIMUMS — a front yard of no more than 50 ft and a side yard of no more than 50 ft, which are build-to limits rather than setbacks; the rear yard has no maximum (Note 2). The quarter-acre minimum is a floor only: § 165 Appendix B Note 1 requires such greater area as the Dutchess County Department of Health demands, which on an unsewered lot is usually a great deal more. Height is capped twice over: 2 1/2 stories and 35 ft. Minimum road frontage is 50 ft, published as its own column beside the lot width. For rear lot frontages see § 165-68.

Short-term rentals

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules. Short-term rentals require a Town permit under Chapter 115, Rentals, Short-Term, adopted 1-31-2024 by L.L. No. 1-2024. § 115-3 makes the permit mandatory and caps how many may be issued, § 115-4 sets the application requirements and § 115-5 the operating standards. § 115-2 presumes a dwelling unit is an STR from advertising, so listing the property is itself evidence of the use. New York State's 2025 short-term rental registry (Ch. 99 of the Laws of 2025) separately requires every host statewide to register the unit regardless of local law. Confirm with Town of Washington at (845) 677-3419 before listing.

Good to know

UtilityCentral Hudson territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/37495610
Building dept(845) 677-3419
Last reviewed2026-08-16

Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $215–$282/sq ft , and a conforming lot adds about $8,033 on top - see the full cost to build a house in Washington, or what an ADU costs here.

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