Westchester County
City of White Plains, NY: zoning for new construction
Residential lots in the City of White Plains run from a 0.0689-acre minimum in Planned Senior Residential Development District up to 0.6887 acres in Residential One Family, across 33 zoning districts in all. No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission. Power here is Con Edison territory. The district table below has the setbacks, height limits and coverage - confirm the specifics with the building department at (914) 422-1269 before you rely on a figure.
Looking specifically at an accessory dwelling unit? See ADU rules for White Plains →
Zoning districts
| District | Min lot | Setbacks F / S / R | Max height | ADU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential One Family | 0.4591 ac | — | 30 ft | Occupancy restricted |
| Residential One Family | 0.6887 ac | — | 30 ft | Occupancy restricted |
| Residential One Family | 0.287 ac | — | 30 ft | Occupancy restricted |
| Residential One Family | 0.1722 ac | — | 30 ft | Occupancy restricted |
| Residential One Family | 0.1148 ac | — | 30 ft | No |
| Residential One and Two Family | 0.1148 ac | — | 30 ft | No |
| Residential One and Two Family | — | — | — | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | 0.1148 ac | — | 35 ft | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | 0.1148 ac | — | 35 ft | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | 0.1148 ac | — | 35 ft | No |
| Residential Townhouse | 0.1148 ac | — | 35 ft | No |
| Residential Townhouse | 0.1148 ac | — | 35 ft | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | 0.4591 ac | — | 35 ft | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | 0.1148 ac | — | 35 ft | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | 0.1148 ac | — | 35 ft | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | 0.2296 ac | — | 125 ft | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | 0.3444 ac | — | 125 ft | No |
| Residential Multi-Family | — | — | 35 ft | No |
| Campus Office | 10 ac | — | 50 ft | No |
| Restricted Business | — | — | 50 ft | No |
| Neighborhood Business | — | — | 25 ft | No |
| Intermediate Business | — | — | 50 ft | No |
| Enclosed Mall | — | — | 90 ft | No |
| Business Residential -1 | — | — | 35 ft | No |
| Business Residential -2 | — | — | 65 ft | No |
| Core Business-1 | — | — | — | No |
| Core Business-2 | — | — | — | No |
| Core Business-3 | — | — | — | No |
| Core Business-4 | — | — | — | No |
| Office-Residential | — | — | 40 ft | No |
| Urban Renewal Central Business | — | — | 230 ft | No |
| Light Industrial | 0.1148 ac | — | 50 ft | No |
| Planned Senior Residential Development District | 0.0689 ac | — | — | — |
Short-term rentals
No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission. The earlier note attributed a short-term-rental registration and licensing requirement to 'Chapter 9-7 of the City Code'; Chapter 9-7 is Affordable Housing Regulations. The Rental Housing Registry and License Program is an ordinance of the Common Council of 18 June 2018 adding §§ 4-28-1 et seq. to Title IV, Article I of the White Plains Municipal Code — and it never mentions short-term rentals, transient occupancy or any rental period. Both documents were read in full 2026-08-27, together with the City Zoning Ordinance as amended through 5 February 2024 (296 pp.), which returns zero hits for 'short-term'. WHAT ACTUALLY GOVERNS IS THE ZONING ORDINANCE'S CLOSED USE SCHEDULE. Section 5 states: 'Any use not specifically listed as being permitted shall be deemed to be prohibited.' No residential district in the Schedule of Use Regulations lists any transient-lodging use. The only lodging-adjacent entry in a residential district is a Permitted Accessory Use — 'the keeping of not more than two roomers per dwelling unit' in the R1 districts, and not more than one roomer per dwelling unit in a one- or two-family dwelling in the R2 and RM districts. A 'roomer' is defined as the occupant of a 'rooming unit', and a 'rooming house' (a dwelling containing three or more rooming units) is a special permit use in only some districts. 'Hotel' is defined by rooms 'occupied by transient guests who are lodged ... which rooms have primary access from interior lobbies' — a commercial building, not a house. TOURIST HOMES GET ONE MENTION AND IT IS A NEGATIVE: the definition of 'customary home occupation' states that tea rooms, barber shops, beauty parlors, real estate and insurance offices, limousine and taxi operations 'and tourist homes are not customary home occupations.' THE REGISTRY IS STILL A REAL OBLIGATION FOR AN UNHOSTED LET. § 4-28-4: 'It shall be unlawful ... to conduct, keep, manage, or operate ... any rental housing unit until a Rental Housing License is issued by the Department of Building.' A 'rental housing unit' is any dwelling unit being rented or intended to be rented. § 4-28-3 EXEMPTS owner-occupied single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings where one unit is owner-occupied, condominium and co-operative buildings, multifamily buildings of more than twelve units, hotels/motels/rooming houses/group homes/nursing homes and assisted living, and government-managed multifamily. So a non-owner-occupied White Plains house let out is inside the registry; an owner-occupied one is not. Licences run 1 January to 31 December and require landlord inspections reported to the City. The registry licenses rental housing generally — it does not authorise a transient use that the zoning schedule does not list. Get the Department of Building's written position before underwriting nightly income: (914) 422-1269. Municipal source
Good to know
- UtilityCon Edison territory.
- Building dept(914) 422-1269
- Last reviewed2026-06-08
Working out a budget? A standard-finish build here runs $242–$318/sq ft , and a conforming lot adds about $539 on top - see the full cost to build a house in White Plains, or what an ADU costs here.
Sizing up a specific parcel in White Plains?
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.
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Zoning figures for City of White Plains are compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-06-08) 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 (914) 422-1269 before relying on any number. Source: Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset, municipalData.js.