Schenectady, NY Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

City Code Section 264-30, Additional height regulations, gives R-1 and R-2 homeowners a specific trade: widen both side yards to at least 15 feet each and the house can rise an extra 10 feet above the district's normal limit, though it still cannot exceed three stories no matter how much side yard is provided. The same section carves out exceptions for rooftop features that are not intended for human habitation: spires, belfries, cupolas, antennas, wireless communications towers (separately regulated under Chapter 257), water tanks, ventilators and chimneys can rise above the district height limit, but only a church spire or a public building's tower is exempt without a cap; every other listed appurtenance is capped at 25% over the applicable district height limitation.

Section 264-30C then addresses through lots, parcels that front on two streets, 120 feet deep or less: a builder may measure height from the grade of either frontage street. Where a through lot runs deeper than 120 feet, only the first 120 feet from the street offering the greater height allowance gets the benefit of that street's height rules and measurement basis; the remainder of the lot reverts to the standard measurement for its own frontage. Together these three subsections operate as an overlay on the base height limits set for each zoning district in Schedule C, Lot Development Standards, adjusting how tall a permitted building can actually be built and how that height gets measured on the ground, rather than resetting the underlying numeric caps themselves.