Aldo

Ulster County

Town of Gardiner, NY: zoning for new construction

8 districts Min residential lot 1.8365–5 ac Central Hudson

Gardiner is the town where the Shawangunk Ridge writes the zoning, and it does it in steps - SP-1 sets a 5-acre minimum at 10% lot coverage, SP-2 moves up to 10 acres with a 25-foot height limit and 5% coverage, and SP-3 tops out at a 20-acre minimum with 3% coverage, so the higher you go the less you're allowed to put down. Off the ridge it loosens considerably: Rural Agricultural is 5 acres, and the two hamlet districts sit around a tenth of an acre with coverage running up to 70%. An accessory apartment is permitted by right under §220-12C with no explicit size cap written into the code, which is unusual for Ulster and worth knowing before you plan a second unit. The town was still drafting short-term rental regulations as of 2024, so find out where that landed with the town at (845) 255-9675 before you count on rental income.

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

Zoning districts

District Min lot Setbacks F / S / R Max height ADU
RA Rural Agricultural 5 ac 30 / 30 / 50 ft 35 ft As of right
HM Hamlet Mixed-Use 1.8365 ac 10 / 10 / 15 ft 45 ft As of right
HR Hamlet Residential 1.8365 ac 10 / 15 / 15 ft 40 ft As of right
CLI Commercial/Light Industrial 2 ac 40 / 20 / 50 ft 35 ft As of right
HC Highway Commercial 2 ac 30 / 20 / 50 ft 35 ft Special permit
SP-1 Shawangunk Ridge Protection 5 ac 75 / 50 / 100 ft 35 ft As of right
SP-2 Shawangunk Ridge Protection (Middle Slope) 10 ac 75 / 50 / 100 ft 25 ft Special permit
SP-3 Shawangunk Ridge Protection (Upper Slope) 20 ac 75 / 50 / 100 ft 25 ft Special permit

RA Rural Agricultural — The recorded width is the minimum ROAD FRONTAGE for a conventional subdivision on a TOWN road; the table publishes no lot width at all. Minimum road frontage on a county or state road is 300 ft. The setbacks shown are for CONVENTIONAL development (§ 220-74); in an open space development they are set by § 220-20E and the minimum lot size by § 220-11D. Maximum base density in an open space development is 2 acres per dwelling unit before bonuses. Maximum footprint for a nonresidential structure 6,000 sq ft. The coverage figure is MAXIMUM IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, not building coverage (§ 220-74). It applies to each lot and to a whole subdivision including new roads, does not apply to agricultural uses or pre-existing nonconforming lots, and the Planning Board may waive it for HM lots. An applicant may exceed it using partially permeable materials under § 220-11C.

HM Hamlet Mixed-Use — THE BASE ROW IS THE UNSERVICED CASE, AND IT IS 80,000 SQ FT. The Dimensional Table prints no acreage for HM — the cell carries footnote 4, which sends the reader to § 220-11D, where the minimum runs 80,000 sq ft with neither utility, 40,000 with water only, 20,000 with sewage only and 10,000 with both. § 220-11E caps the result at 8 dwelling units per acre of buildable land however the lot-size and density provisions combine, counting a studio as 0.5 of a unit, a one-bedroom as 0.67 and a two-bedroom as 0.75. Front yard is a MINIMUM/MAXIMUM range: 10 ft to 25 ft on a town or private road and 15 ft to 35 ft on a county or state road, and a build-to line may be set to hold the street wall. The side yard may be 0 for a party-wall or zero-lot-line building and may be reduced by the Planning Board to suit hamlet context (table note 11). Minimum road frontage 40 ft on a town road and 50 ft on a county or state road. Maximum footprint for a nonresidential structure 10,000 sq ft, which may rise to 60,000 for a supermarket, cinema or similar destination use meeting the special permit impact criteria (table note 12). The coverage figure is MAXIMUM IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, not building coverage (§ 220-74). It applies to each lot and to a whole subdivision including new roads, does not apply to agricultural uses or pre-existing nonconforming lots, and the Planning Board may waive it for HM lots. An applicant may exceed it using partially permeable materials under § 220-11C.

HR Hamlet Residential — THE BASE ROW IS THE UNSERVICED CASE, AND IT IS 80,000 SQ FT. The Dimensional Table prints no acreage for HR — the cell carries footnote 4, which sends the reader to § 220-11D, where the minimum runs 80,000 sq ft with neither utility, 40,000 with water only, 20,000 with sewage only and 10,000 with both. § 220-11E caps the result at 8 dwelling units per acre of buildable land however the lot-size and density provisions combine, counting a studio as 0.5 of a unit, a one-bedroom as 0.67 and a two-bedroom as 0.75. Front yard is a MINIMUM/MAXIMUM range: 10 ft to 25 ft on a town or private road and 15 ft to 40 ft on a county or state road, and a build-to line may be set to hold the street wall. The side yard may be 0 for a party-wall or zero-lot-line building and may be reduced by the Planning Board to suit hamlet context (table note 11). Minimum road frontage 40 ft on a town road and 50 ft on a county or state road. Maximum footprint for a nonresidential structure 1,000 sq ft. The coverage figure is MAXIMUM IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, not building coverage (§ 220-74). It applies to each lot and to a whole subdivision including new roads, does not apply to agricultural uses or pre-existing nonconforming lots, and the Planning Board may waive it for HM lots. An applicant may exceed it using partially permeable materials under § 220-11C.

CLI Commercial/Light Industrial — The recorded width is the minimum ROAD FRONTAGE for a conventional subdivision on a TOWN road; the table publishes no lot width at all. Minimum road frontage on a county or state road is 200 ft, and the front yard there is 125 ft against 40 ft on a town road. WHERE THE LOT ABUTS A RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT the side and rear setbacks become 100 ft with a wooded buffer, for structures, driveways, parking and any paved area (table note 7). Maximum footprint for a nonresidential structure 200,000 sq ft. The coverage figure is MAXIMUM IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, not building coverage (§ 220-74). It applies to each lot and to a whole subdivision including new roads, does not apply to agricultural uses or pre-existing nonconforming lots, and the Planning Board may waive it for HM lots. An applicant may exceed it using partially permeable materials under § 220-11C.

HC Highway Commercial — The recorded width is the minimum ROAD FRONTAGE for a conventional subdivision on a TOWN road; the table publishes no lot width at all. Minimum road frontage on a county or state road is 300 ft, and the front yard there is 40 ft against 30 ft on a town road. WHERE THE LOT ABUTS A RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT the side and rear setbacks become 100 ft with a wooded buffer, for structures, driveways, parking and any paved area (table note 7). Maximum footprint for a nonresidential structure 60,000 sq ft. The coverage figure is MAXIMUM IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, not building coverage (§ 220-74). It applies to each lot and to a whole subdivision including new roads, does not apply to agricultural uses or pre-existing nonconforming lots, and the Planning Board may waive it for HM lots. An applicant may exceed it using partially permeable materials under § 220-11C.

SP-1 Shawangunk Ridge Protection — The recorded width is the minimum ROAD FRONTAGE for a conventional subdivision on a TOWN road; the table publishes no lot width at all. Minimum road frontage on a county or state road is 300 ft. Maximum base density in an open space development is 5 acres per dwelling unit before bonuses; open space lot sizes and setbacks are set by §§ 220-11D and 220-20E. Maximum footprint for a nonresidential structure 6,000 sq ft. The coverage figure is MAXIMUM IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, not building coverage (§ 220-74). It applies to each lot and to a whole subdivision including new roads, does not apply to agricultural uses or pre-existing nonconforming lots, and the Planning Board may waive it for HM lots. An applicant may exceed it using partially permeable materials under § 220-11C.

SP-2 Shawangunk Ridge Protection (Middle Slope), SP-3 Shawangunk Ridge Protection (Upper Slope) — SP-2 and SP-3 are NOT in the § 220-11 Dimensional Table — their dimensional regulations are in § 220-16, which this pass did not read. The figures here are unchanged and are not sourced from the Dimensional Table.

Short-term rentals

Short-term-rental status not confirmed. The Town of Gardiner was actively drafting STR regulations as of 2024 — status may have changed. Contact Town of Gardiner at (845) 255-9675 to confirm current requirements before purchasing with STR income as a financial assumption. Municipal source

Good to know

Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $206–$270/sq ft , and a conforming lot adds about $44,164 on top - see the full cost to build a house in Gardiner, or what an ADU costs here.

Sizing up a specific parcel in Gardiner?

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Other Ulster County towns

Zoning figures for Town of Gardiner are compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed Apr 2026) 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 (845) 255-9675 before relying on any number. Source: Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset, municipalData.js.

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