Ulster County
Town of Ulster, NY: zoning for new construction
Residential lots in the Town of Ulster run from a 0.9183-acre minimum in R-30 Residential up to 1.3774 acres in R-60 Residential, across 8 zoning districts in all. No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission. 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) 338-5012 before you rely on a figure.
Looking specifically at an accessory dwelling unit? See ADU rules for Ulster →
Zoning districts
| District | Min lot | Setbacks F / S / R | Max height | ADU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-60 Residential | 1.3774 ac | 40 / 30 / 30 ft | 35 ft | Occupancy restricted |
| R-30 Residential | 0.9183 ac | 30 / 20 / 25 ft | 35 ft | Occupancy restricted |
| R-10 Residential | 0.9183 ac | 30 / 20 / 25 ft | 35 ft | Occupancy restricted |
| LC Local Commercial | — | 30 / 10 / 10 ft | 35 ft | No |
| HC Highway Commercial | — | 30 / 10 / 10 ft | 60 ft | No |
| RC Regional Commercial | — | 50 / 10 / 10 ft | 60 ft | No |
| OM Office and Manufacturing | — | 40 / 10 / 10 ft | 75 ft | No |
| I Industrial | — | 75 / 50 / 50 ft | 60 ft | No |
R-60 Residential — Min green space 40%. The table publishes no maximum building coverage for a residence district. R-60 has a single row — it does not vary with utility service. TND and ROD appear as columns in the Table of Use Regulations but have no row in the Table of Lot and Bulk Requirements, so this law publishes no dimensional standard for them.
R-30 Residential — The base row is "(2) No central water or sewer" — the conservative case, correctly. Min green space 25%. The table publishes no maximum building coverage for a residence district.
R-10 Residential — The base row is "(4) No central water or sewer" — the conservative case, correctly. R-10 publishes FOUR rows and the lot minimum falls from 40,000 sq ft to 10,000 on municipal water and sewer, taking the side yard from 20 ft to 10 and the width from 100 ft to 75. Min green space 25% on the base row and 15% on the three served rows.
LC Local Commercial, HC Highway Commercial, RC Regional Commercial — The table prints N.A. for this district's minimum lot area and minimum lot width — it publishes neither. Land per DWELLING UNIT is "Same as R-10", so a residential use is governed by R-10's utility ladder, which is recorded as variants here; the yards, height and coverage above are this district's own. Min green space 5%.
OM Office and Manufacturing — The table prints N.A. for this district's minimum lot area and minimum lot width — it publishes neither. Land per DWELLING UNIT is "Same as R-10", so a residential use is governed by R-10's utility ladder, which is recorded as variants here; the yards, height and coverage above are this district's own. Min green space 10%.
I Industrial — The table prints N.A. for minimum lot area, minimum lot width AND lot area per dwelling unit in Industrial — unlike the other commercial districts it does not point at R-10, so no residential density standard is published for it at all. Min green space 10%.
Short-term rentals
No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission. No local short-term-rental law found as of 2026-08-26; the Town Zoning Law was read in full and contains no short-term-rental or transient-rental provision. The related uses it does regulate are a BED & BREAKFAST ESTABLISHMENT — an owner-occupied one-family dwelling providing overnight accommodation to transient lodgers, allowed only on the conditions at § J — and boardinghouses and rooming houses, which carry a detailed operating regime at § K covering heating, linen changes and a resident agent. Both are owner-present or managed lodging uses and neither reaches an unhosted whole-house rental. Absence of a found STR law is not permission. 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 Ulster at (845) 338-5012 before listing. Municipal source
Good to know
- UtilityCentral Hudson territory.
- Zoning codetownofulster.ny.gov/wp-content/uploads/zoning-law.pdf
- Building dept(845) 338-5012
- Last reviewedApr 2026
Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $206–$270/sq ft , and a conforming lot adds about $11,665 on top - see the full cost to build a house in Ulster, or what an ADU costs here.
Sizing up a specific parcel in Ulster?
Aldo pulls the exact zoning district, setbacks, and build feasibility for any parcel — before you buy. Enter your email to open Aldo and run your free report.
Other Ulster County towns
All Ulster County zoning: Kingston (City) · Denning · Esopus · Gardiner · Hardenburgh · Hurley · Lloyd · Marbletown · Marlborough · New Paltz · Olive · Plattekill · Rochester · Rosendale · Saugerties · Shandaken · Shawangunk · Wawarsing · Woodstock
Zoning figures for Town of Ulster 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) 338-5012 before relying on any number. Source: Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset, municipalData.js.