ADU · Monroe County
Can you build an ADU in Pittsford, NY?
Village of Pittsford has 3 districts. 2 districts prohibit ADUs, 1 requires a special-use permit. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:
What the Pittsford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Density Residential (LDR) — 17,000 sf (0.39 acres) for a single-family dwelling with 100 ft of lot width, a MINIMUM AVERAGE LOT DEPTH of 120 ft, side yard 10 ft, rear yard 35 ft and maximum height 35 ft (2 1/2 stories). This is the village's largest-lot district and the only one with any accessory dwelling unit route, by special permit under § 210-24.3. THE 70 FT FRONT YARD IS THE DEEPEST IN THE VILLAGE AND IT IS CONTEXTUAL: table note 2 provides the alternative of 'the average between developed lots adjacent to the property in question', so on a built-up street the neighbours may set the line instead of the 70 ft figure. That contextual override applies to the front yard in all three districts and is the village norm rather than an exception. THE SIDE AND REAR YARDS CARRY A USE-SENSITIVE SECOND FIGURE: side is stated '10/15 feet' and note 3 explains that THE LARGER REQUIREMENT APPLIES TO NONRESIDENTIAL USES ADJACENT TO A RESIDENTIAL USE, so the recorded 10 ft is the residential figure and a nonresidential neighbour owes 15. NO MAXIMUM LOT COVERAGE IS STATED ANYWHERE IN § 210-20.5 OR § 210-20.6 and the null is deliberate — this village regulates residential bulk by lot size, yards, height and a MINIMUM GROUND FLOOR AREA rather than by a coverage percentage. THAT GROUND-FLOOR MINIMUM IS UNUSUAL AND INVERSE TO WHAT ONE MIGHT EXPECT: 1,600 sf minimum for a ONE-storey principal structure, 1,400 sf for a 1 1/2-storey and only 1,000 sf for a TWO-storey — the taller the house, the smaller the footprint the code will accept. It is a massing control rather than a size floor, and on an LDR lot a single-storey design must deliver a substantial footprint to comply. Accessory structures are held to 3 ft side and rear yards and a 12 ft height, and note 4 caps them hard: NO MORE THAN ONE accessory residential storage building per lot excluding a private garage, not exceeding 120 SQUARE FEET, barred from the front and side yards, and required to stand at least 10 ft from the rear line of the principal building. | 0.3903 ac | 70 / 10 / 35 ft | 35 ft | Special permit |
| Medium Density Residential (MDR) — 9,000 sf (0.21 acres) for a single-family dwelling with 70 ft of lot width, a 120 ft minimum average lot depth, front yard 30 ft, side yard 10 ft, rear yard 30 ft and maximum height 35 ft (2 1/2 stories). MDR IS THE VILLAGE'S MOST RESTRICTIVE DISTRICT BY USE DESPITE ITS NAME, AND THAT IS THE FACT MOST LIKELY TO BE MISREAD: it permits a single-family detached dwelling and a home occupation and essentially nothing else. A two-family dwelling is barred, single-family attached is barred, multifamily is barred, a BED-AND-BREAKFAST IS BARRED — it is the only district where that use is unavailable — and there is NO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT ROUTE. So 'medium density' describes the lot size, which sits between LDR's 17,000 sf and LOR's 8,000 sf, and not the range of housing permitted. A parcel here has strictly one dwelling and no lodging option. The front yard's 30 ft figure carries the same contextual alternative as the other districts — the average between adjacent developed lots — and the side and rear yards carry the use-sensitive second figure (10/15 side, 30/35 rear) where the larger applies to a nonresidential use adjacent to a residential one; the recorded values are the residential case. NO MAXIMUM LOT COVERAGE IS STATED, deliberately. MINIMUM GROUND FLOOR AREA is lower than LDR's and follows the same inverse pattern: 1,400 sf for a one-storey principal structure, 1,000 sf for a 1 1/2-storey and 750 sf for a two-storey. Accessory structures take 3 ft yards, a 12 ft height cap and the one-per-lot, 120 sf storage-building limit. | 0.2066 ac | 30 / 10 / 30 ft | 35 ft | No |
| Limited Office Residential (LOR) — 8,000 sf (0.18 acres) for a single-family dwelling with 60 ft of lot width, a 120 ft minimum average lot depth, front yard 25 ft, side yard 10 ft, rear yard 25 ft and maximum height 35 ft (2 1/2 stories). The village's smallest residential lot and, by use, its most permissive residential district. LOR IS THE ONLY DISTRICT IN THE VILLAGE OF PITTSFORD THAT PERMITS A TWO-FAMILY DWELLING, AND IT PERMITS IT BY RIGHT — on the SAME 8,000 sf as a single-family, so the second unit costs no additional land at all. It also permits a bed-and-breakfast and a hospice, nursing home or assisted-living facility by special permit. AND YET LOR HAS NO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT ROUTE — its ADU cell is an em dash, with the only ADU in the village sitting in LDR. That is the county-wide village inversion described in `aduNotes`: the accessory unit is granted where nothing else is available and withdrawn where a two-family is already permitted outright. The 'Limited Office' half of the name reflects a nonresidential component, and the district accordingly carries a lower nonresidential lot minimum (12,000 sf) than LDR's 25,000 or MDR's 20,000. THE USE-SENSITIVE YARD FIGURES MATTER MOST HERE because mixed neighbours are likeliest: side is 10/15 ft and rear 25/35 ft, with the larger applying to a nonresidential use adjacent to a residential one, so an office building next to a house owes 15 ft and 35 ft rather than the recorded residential 10 and 25. The 25 ft front yard carries the same adjacent-lot-average alternative as the other districts. NO MAXIMUM LOT COVERAGE IS STATED, deliberately, and LOR states no minimum ground floor area at all — both the nonresidential and the per-storey ground-floor rows are em dashes for this district, unlike LDR and MDR. Accessory structures take 3 ft yards, a 12 ft height cap and the one-per-lot, 120 sf storage-building limit. | 0.1837 ac | 25 / 10 / 25 ft | 35 ft | No |
ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Pittsford
Short-term rentals restricted for Village of Pittsford. THE VILLAGE OF PITTSFORD HAS THE MOST DEVELOPED SHORT-TERM RENTAL REGIME IN MONROE COUNTY, AND ITS DEFAULT POSITION IS PROHIBITION. Article 29 Short-Term Residential Rental Property (§§ 210-29.1 to 210-29.9, guid 50089120) runs to nine sections covering legislative intent, definitions, a permit requirement, regulations and controls, notification, penalties and enforcement. § 210-29.4A IS THE CONTROLLING SENTENCE: 'except as otherwise provided in this section, the short-term rental of any dwelling unit ... SHALL BE STRICTLY PROHIBITED.' Everything else is a carve-out from that ban. THE STRUCTURE TURNS ENTIRELY ON WHETHER THE RENTAL IS HOSTED. (1) HOSTED, OWNER-OCCUPIED SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGS ARE PERMITTED outright — no special permit — but limited to FOUR ADDITIONAL RENTERS PER RENTAL PERIOD. (2) UNHOSTED RENTAL REQUIRES A SPECIAL PERMIT FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, not the ZBA or Planning Board — an unusually political level of approval — and is available only for a single-family dwelling or a qualifying UPPER FLOOR dwelling unit. (3) ONLY THE OWNER may apply, so a tenant or manager cannot obtain the permit. THE PRACTICAL EFFECT IS THAT A CONVENTIONAL INVESTOR-OWNED WHOLE-HOUSE STR IS AVAILABLE ONLY BY DISCRETIONARY TRUSTEE PERMIT, while the owner-occupied hosted model is genuinely by right. strStatus is recorded 'restricted' on that basis. THERE IS A SECOND, SEPARATE REQUIREMENT THAT IS EASY TO MISS AND IS NOT IN THE ZONING CHAPTER: § 210-29.3 provides that ALL dwellings used for short-term rental must ALSO comply with CHAPTER 154, RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTY PERMIT (§§ 154-1 to 154-13). So a Pittsford STR needs both the Article 29 zoning permission and a Ch. 154 rental property permit. THE REST OF ARTICLE 29 CARRIES the § 210-29.4C(3) limits on upper-floor units, the notification requirements of § 210-29.5, and penalties and enforcement. This is the town-village split that has already been flagged repeatedly in this county; never answer a village parcel from the town's code or the reverse. New York State's 2025 statewide short-term rental registry (Ch. 99 of the Laws of 2025) obliges every host to register in addition to both local permits. Confirm with the Building Inspector at (585) 586-4332. 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 minimum0.2066–0.3903 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
- UtilityRG&E territory.
- Building dept(585) 586-4332
- Last reviewed2026-08-13
ADU FAQ — Pittsford, NY
Are ADUs allowed in Pittsford, NY?
Village of Pittsford has 3 districts. 2 districts prohibit ADUs, 1 requires a special-use permit. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (585) 586-4332.
Do I need a special permit for an ADU in Pittsford?
It depends on the district: 1 of 3 require a special-use permit, the rest do not. Check the district that applies to your parcel before you design.
Can I use an ADU as a short-term rental in Pittsford?
Short-term rentals restricted for Village of Pittsford. 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 Pittsford
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 Pittsford, priced by size.
More on Pittsford: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · All Monroe County towns
ADU information for Village of Pittsford is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-08-13) 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 (585) 586-4332 before relying on any answer. Source: Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset, municipalData.js.