Monroe County
Village of Fairport, NY: zoning for new construction
Residential lots in the Village of Fairport run from a 0.0918-acre minimum in Residential Transitional Neighborhood (RTN) — 4,000 sf, the smallest residential lot in Monroe County, with maximum building coverage 55% and a height standard stated as 3 STORIES / 42 FEET, the only residential district in the county to exceed the near-universal 35 ft. Front setback 20 ft, side 10 ft, rear 15 ft. The recorded 25 is the townhouse figure because the townhouse is plainly the form this district exists to deliver — a 4,000 sf lot at 25 ft of width is a fee-simple rowhouse parcel, and no other Monroe jurisdiction provides for one. Sizing a detached house here requires the 50 ft figure instead. THE FRONT SETBACK IS 20 FT 'OR SEE § 551-75', the same contextual override that applies in RLD and RN. Accessory buildings take 5 ft side and 5 ft rear setbacks and a 20 ft front, matching the principal building. Note that the height row is formatted differently from the other districts — it appears under a separate 'Height Standards' heading rather than as a lot-standards row — so a parser keyed to the RLD and RN table shape will miss it. up to 0.3444 acres in Residential Low Density (RLD) — 15,000 sf with 85 ft of lot width, side setback 15 ft, rear setback 50 ft, maximum building height 30 ft and A MAXIMUM BUILDING COVERAGE OF JUST 15%, by a wide margin the most restrictive coverage figure recorded anywhere in Monroe County. On the 15,000 sf minimum that allows a 2,250 sf building footprint, so the coverage cap — not the setbacks — is the binding constraint on any substantial house here, and a large single-storey design will hit it before it hits the yards. THE 50 FT REAR SETBACK EQUALS THE FRONT and is the deepest in the village, so RLD lots hold a large private core. THE FRONT SETBACK IS 50 FT 'OR SEE § 551-75', a contextual override — on a built-up street the established building line may govern instead of the 50 ft figure, in the same family as Hilton's most-common-setback-on-the-block rule and Greece's neighbourhood-average override. Do not quote 50 ft as fixed without checking § 551-75. ACCESSORY BUILDINGS ARE REGULATED SEPARATELY AND MUCH MORE TIGHTLY IN THE YARDS BUT NOT IN THE FRONT: 5 ft side and 5 ft rear setbacks against the principal building's 15 and 50, but a full 50 ft front setback, the same as the principal building. The district's purpose statement expressly contemplates accessory dwelling units — see `aduNotes`. Height is stated in feet only, 30 ft, with no storey limit, which is lower than the 35 ft that is standard across almost every other Monroe jurisdiction., across 3 zoning districts in all. Power here is RG&E territory. The district table below has the setbacks, height limits and coverage - confirm the specifics with the building department at (585) 421-3207 before you rely on a figure.
Looking specifically at an accessory dwelling unit? See ADU rules for Fairport →
Zoning districts
| District | Min lot | Setbacks F / S / R | Max height | ADU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Low Density (RLD) — 15,000 sf (0.34 acres) with 85 ft of lot width, side setback 15 ft, rear setback 50 ft, maximum building height 30 ft and A MAXIMUM BUILDING COVERAGE OF JUST 15%, by a wide margin the most restrictive coverage figure recorded anywhere in Monroe County. On the 15,000 sf minimum that allows a 2,250 sf building footprint, so the coverage cap — not the setbacks — is the binding constraint on any substantial house here, and a large single-storey design will hit it before it hits the yards. THE 50 FT REAR SETBACK EQUALS THE FRONT and is the deepest in the village, so RLD lots hold a large private core. THE FRONT SETBACK IS 50 FT 'OR SEE § 551-75', a contextual override — on a built-up street the established building line may govern instead of the 50 ft figure, in the same family as Hilton's most-common-setback-on-the-block rule and Greece's neighbourhood-average override. Do not quote 50 ft as fixed without checking § 551-75. ACCESSORY BUILDINGS ARE REGULATED SEPARATELY AND MUCH MORE TIGHTLY IN THE YARDS BUT NOT IN THE FRONT: 5 ft side and 5 ft rear setbacks against the principal building's 15 and 50, but a full 50 ft front setback, the same as the principal building. The district's purpose statement expressly contemplates accessory dwelling units — see `aduNotes`. Height is stated in feet only, 30 ft, with no storey limit, which is lower than the 35 ft that is standard across almost every other Monroe jurisdiction. | 0.3444 ac | 50 / 15 / 50 ft | 30 ft | As of right |
| Residential Neighborhood (RN) — 7,500 sf (0.17 acres) with 50 ft of lot width, front setback 30 ft, side 10 ft, rear 30 ft, maximum building height 30 ft and maximum building coverage 35%. This is Fairport's ordinary village-fabric district and it is HALF the lot of RLD at MORE THAN DOUBLE the coverage allowance, which is a far sharper step than the lot sizes alone suggest: 35% of 7,500 sf is 2,625 sf of footprint against RLD's 2,250 sf on twice the land. A house in RN can therefore be physically LARGER in footprint than one in the low-density district. THE DISTRICT IS DEFINED AS A MIX OF SINGLE-FAMILY AND TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGS — § 551-11A says so in its purpose statement — so a two-family is part of the district's character rather than an exception, and the same statement expressly contemplates accessory dwelling units alongside it. See `aduNotes`. THE FRONT SETBACK IS 30 FT 'OR SEE § 551-75', a contextual override — on an established street the prevailing building line may govern instead. Accessory buildings take 5 ft side and 5 ft rear setbacks but a full 30 ft front setback, matching the principal building. Height is 30 ft with no storey limit stated. | 0.1722 ac | 30 / 10 / 30 ft | 30 ft | As of right |
| Residential Transitional Neighborhood (RTN) — 4,000 sf (0.09 acres), the smallest residential lot in Monroe County, with maximum building coverage 55% and a height standard stated as 3 STORIES / 42 FEET, the only residential district in the county to exceed the near-universal 35 ft. Front setback 20 ft, side 10 ft, rear 15 ft. The recorded 25 is the townhouse figure because the townhouse is plainly the form this district exists to deliver — a 4,000 sf lot at 25 ft of width is a fee-simple rowhouse parcel, and no other Monroe jurisdiction provides for one. Sizing a detached house here requires the 50 ft figure instead. THE FRONT SETBACK IS 20 FT 'OR SEE § 551-75', the same contextual override that applies in RLD and RN. Accessory buildings take 5 ft side and 5 ft rear setbacks and a 20 ft front, matching the principal building. Note that the height row is formatted differently from the other districts — it appears under a separate 'Height Standards (Maximum Stories/Feet)' heading rather than as a lot-standards row — so a parser keyed to the RLD and RN table shape will miss it. | 0.0918 ac | 20 / 10 / 15 ft | 42 ft | As of right |
Short-term rentals
Short-term-rental status not confirmed. NO SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROVISION APPEARS IN FAIRPORT'S NEW ZONING CHAPTER. A search of Article 4 District Standards for 'short-term rental' returns nothing, and a sweep of all 53 chapters of the Village Code found no standalone rental, lodging, licensing or registration chapter of the Gates Ch. 148 or Mendon Ch. 208 kind. TREAT THIS FINDING AS PROVISIONAL FOR ONE SPECIFIC REASON: Fairport has just replaced its zoning code wholesale (Ch. 551 supersedes Ch. 550, now marked 'Prior Zoning Code (Reserved)'), the chapter carries 'new_releases' markers on its sections indicating very recent publication, and a NYSDEC Environmental Notice Bulletin dated 2026-02-25 records a Village of Fairport 'Code Update' still moving through SEQR review. A village mid-recode is exactly the situation where a use can be added between one reading and the next, and the STR question is the most commonly amended one in this county. RE-CHECK Ch. 551 AND THE VILLAGE BOARD'S AGENDA BEFORE RELYING ON THIS NEGATIVE AFTER 2026. Note also the divergence from the surrounding Town of Perinton, which likewise has no STR provision — but the two codes are independent and a Perinton finding does not transfer, as the Pittsford town-versus-village split in this county demonstrates. New York State's 2025 statewide short-term rental registry (Ch. 99 of the Laws of 2025) obliges every host to register regardless of local law. Confirm with Building and Code Enforcement at (585) 421-3207.
Good to know
- UtilityRG&E territory.
- Building dept(585) 421-3207
- Last reviewed2026-08-13
Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $204–$268/sq ft - see the full cost to build a house in Fairport, or what an ADU costs here.
Sizing up a specific parcel in Fairport?
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Other Monroe County towns
All Monroe County zoning: Rochester (City) · Brighton · Chili · Clarkson · Gates · Greece · Hamlin · Henrietta · Irondequoit · Mendon · Ogden · Parma · Penfield · Perinton · Pittsford · Riga · Rush · Sweden · Webster · Wheatland · Town/Village of East Rochester (Village) · Brockport (Village) · Churchville (Village) · Hilton (Village) · Honeoye Falls (Village) · Pittsford (Village) · Scottsville (Village) · Spencerport (Village) · Webster (Village)
Zoning figures for Village of Fairport are compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-08-13) 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 (585) 421-3207 before relying on any number. Source: Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset, municipalData.js.