Colonie, NY

Colonie requires every vehicle parked on a marked Town street space to stay inside the painted lines, and on curbless highways to park parallel to the roadway edge facing the direction…

Colonie does not run a fixed loading-dock schedule. Under § 190-48, the Planning Board sets the number, size and location of loading facilities for each project during site plan…

The Town of Colonie's design standards cap driveway width at 16 feet within the required front-yard setback for two-car garages in PDD zones, conservation development subdivisions…

In Colonie's Single-Family and Multifamily Residence Districts, no vehicle or equipment used mainly for commercial or nonresidential purposes may be parked or kept on any lot, street…

Colonie's Highway Superintendent or Police Department may remove any vehicle abandoned or left unattended on a Town highway if it blocks traffic or sits in a no-parking, no-standing…

The Town of Colonie treats any vehicle over 25 feet long, eight feet wide, eight feet tall, or 8,000 pounds as an "oversized vehicle" under its zoning code. Oversized vehicles…

New York has adopted statewide building code and Public Service Commission rules governing EV charging installation, accessibility, and utility interconnection that apply uniformly to…

New Yorkers outside New York City who get towed or booted from a private lot rely on General Business Law 399-v, not a statewide rate cap. The law applies only to lots with capacity…

Land near Albany International Airport in the Town of Colonie sits inside an Airport Noise Impact Overlay District whenever it falls within the Year 2000 65-70 DNL or 70+ DNL noise…

Colonie's noise law makes it a violation for any animal owner to let a dog bark, whine, howl or screech for more than 15 minutes at any hour if the sound carries past the property…

Colonie's Town Code caps noise from residential or commercial property at 65 dBA, measured at the property line, from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 p.m. to…

Colonie doesn't set its own decibel limit for cars; it requires vehicles to meet the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law's sound and muffler standards and separately bans deliberately…

Colonie's noise ordinance bans running power tools, lawn mowers, leaf blowers or agricultural equipment on residential property between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. There's no seasonal or…

Most residential fences in the Town of Colonie do not need a building permit, but Town Code § 62-14 makes an exception: any fence built as part of an enclosure around a swimming pool…

Barbed wire and electrified fences are not banned outright in the Town of Colonie, but § 62-45E requires a special permit before the Building Department will even issue the building…

In the Town of Colonie, most retaining walls do not need a building permit at all. Town Code § 62-14B(5) exempts retaining wall construction from the permit requirement unless the wall…

New York's Town Law § 300 makes adjoining landowners split the cost of a division fence along their shared boundary, but only when the land is actually used to keep animals…

Colonie restricts who can live in an accessory dwelling unit to individuals related to the owner-occupant, by family relationship or its functional equivalent, under Town Code §…

An accessory dwelling unit permit in Colonie can only be held by the owner-occupant of the main house. Town Code § 190-22B(1)(b) requires the applicant to live in the principal…

Colonie lets accessory structures like sheds cover up to 40% of a single-family or two-family rear yard, with a five-foot setback from side and rear lot lines for anything under 16…

Colonie allows only one accessory dwelling unit per lot, and it must attach to the single-family home rather than stand alone. Town Code § 190-22B(2) requires the ADU to meet the same…

Colonie only allows a short-term rental at a property that is the owner's primary residence. Investment properties, second homes, and non-owner-occupied houses cannot legally operate…

The Town of Colonie caps short-term rentals at 50 active permits townwide. Owners must obtain an annual permit from the Building Department, pass an inspection, and renew every year to…

New York imposes state and local sales tax plus hotel-style occupancy taxes on short-term rentals statewide, and a 2024 registration law adds county-level registries and mandatory…

In areas influenced by the Albany Pine Bush Preserve within Colonie's Conservation Development Overlay, new commercial, industrial, and residential buildings must be landscaped with…

Colonie's Solid Waste chapter does not force residents to bag every leaf and clipping. Section 112-16(G) lets a yard waste generator compost that material on-site instead of setting it…

Colonie has no standing day-of-week lawn watering schedule. The Town Board may only restrict sprinkling, irrigation or car washing by resolution once it declares a water supply…

The Town of Colonie prohibits untended grasses, bushes and vegetation taller than 10 inches. The Building Department orders cutting within seven days; ignore it and town crews mow the…

In Town of Colonie subdivisions, no live tree over three inches in diameter may be cut down in areas the Planning Board designates for preservation without the Board's express consent…

Colonie ties home-business signage to which home-occupation tier a resident holds. Level I permits, the town's default tier, allow no sign at all, while Level II permits allow exactly…

Colonie caps the traffic a home-based business can bring to a residential street. Under the town's Level I home-occupation standard, § 190-53B(3) bars any home occupation from…

New York lets you sell home-baked and other shelf-stable foods without a food processing license through the Department of Agriculture and Markets Home Processing exemption, which…

New York Social Services Law preempts municipalities from imposing additional licensing on family or group family day care homes and requires the Office of Children and Family Services…

Colonie Code § 62-14B(3) waives the building permit for above-ground pools under 24 inches of water depth at one- and two-family homes or townhouses. Deeper or partly in-ground pools…

Hot tubs and spas in New York must meet Uniform Code barrier, electrical, and cover requirements, with public spas additionally regulated under the State Sanitary Code enforced by…

A dog off its owner's premises in Colonie must be on an adequate collar and leash no longer than eight feet, or under the immediate control of a responsible person 16 or older, or it…

Town Code § 79-33 permits up to six noncommercial chickens on single-family residential lots, bars roosters and on-site breeding, and requires coops under 20 square feet set back 15…

Town Code § 137-12(B) bars killing, trapping, hunting, pursuing or disturbing any wild bird, reptile, snake or other animal inside a Colonie Town park without Parks and Recreation…

Albany County has opted into New York's shorter shelter hold for cats: under 'Lulu's Law,' Code § 110-42, a duly incorporated humane society, SPCA or municipal shelter may place an…

Anyone who sells more than nine dogs or cats a year in Albany County for profit must hold a Commissioner-issued pet seller permit and meet minimum standards of care, or a…

Albany County bars anyone from possessing or displaying a live venomous or devenomed snake unless they operate a licensed laboratory, an accredited educational institution, or a…

Agriculture and Markets Law Article 15 establishes a uniform statewide apiary inspection program with mandatory disease control standards applicable to all hives in New York.

Agriculture and Markets Law section 107(5) preempts municipalities from enacting breed-specific dog regulations, ensuring uniform treatment regardless of breed across New York.

Colonie Code § 20-22 requires an approved automatic smoke-detection and alarm device in or adjacent to every sleeping area in any building where people sleep. The Division of Fire…

New York Penal Law bans most consumer fireworks statewide. Ground-based sparkling devices are legal by default outside New York City, though counties may opt out and about a dozen have…

New York's Environmental Conservation Law Section 9-1105 makes it unlawful to set any open fire burning brush, leaves, grass, or debris in a designated fire town without a written…

Colonie runs no rental registration or periodic rental-inspection program. The Town's Building Department controls occupancy through a one-time certificate of occupancy issued after…

Anyone who operates a massage business or works as a masseur in the Town of Colonie needs a separate permit from the Police Chief before opening or practicing. Business permits cost…

Colonie's home-occupation ordinance flatly excludes motor vehicle repair shops from the list of businesses residents may run from a house or accessory garage. No permit tier, size…

Colonie allows adult businesses in any zoning district that already permits their non-adult equivalent, but bars them within 1,000 feet of residential districts, other adult uses, and…

Albany County bars every pharmacy from selling tobacco products or electronic aerosol delivery systems, including e-cigarettes and vape devices, under Local Law No. 1-2018. The…

Albany County requires every tattoo and body piercing artist to hold an annual certification and every shop to hold a certificate of sanitation from the County Health Officer under…

Albany County Local Law 4-2007 (Code Ch. 279) regulates non-consent towing of vehicles from privately owned, publicly accessible parking lots. Lot owners must post specific warning…

Where a conservation subdivision's open space belongs to a homeowners' association, Town Code § 190-30L(2)(d) lets the HOA's assessment attach as a lien against each lot owner's…

In Town of Colonie conservation subdivisions, any homeowners' association that will own the preserved open space must be approved by the New York State Attorney General's Office before…

New York homeowners association boards answer to Not-for-Profit Corporation Law Section 621. A member of record for at least six months, or a holder of five percent of any voting…

New York voids HOA bans on solar power and EV charging. Real Property Law § 342 (Solar Rights Act) makes any restriction effectively prohibiting a solar system unenforceable and void…

New York's Electric Vehicle Rights Act, Real Property Law Article 9-D Section 343, bars homeowners' associations statewide from adopting rules that effectively prohibit or unreasonably…

New York Real Property Law Section 339-j strips condominium boards of managers of the power to enforce any by-law, rule, or resolution against a unit owner who displays a United States…

New York creates an assessment lien by statute only for condominiums. Real Property Law § 339-z gives the board of managers a lien on each unit for unpaid common charges that outranks…

New York condominiums have no inherent power to restrict unit leasing: under Real Property Law § 339-v(2)(a), by-laws "may also provide for" leasing restrictions only if the board…

Once you set solid waste or recyclables out for collection in Colonie, only your licensed hauler or an authorized third party may take it; anyone else who picks it up commits a…

A residential parcel in Colonie may host only one temporary dumpster at a time, and it cannot stay on the property longer than 30 days per calendar year unless an active building…

Colonie requires yard waste to be set out either in a rigid container marked with a Town of Colonie recyclables sticker or in a compostable paper bag. Larger material like sticks and…

Colonie requires every resident to put recyclables in the Town's standardized recycling container rather than a regular trash can, and to keep cans, bottles, newspapers, and cardboard…

Colonie's property maintenance code bars storing any garbage, recycling or yard-waste container over 96 gallons in a front or side yard, except on weekly pickup day or where a site…

Colonie's Solid Waste chapter requires every resident, business, and other waste generator to separate recyclable materials from the rest of the trash before it is picked up or…

The Town of Colonie bans using any land as a dump, dumping ground, refuse disposal area, or landfill site unless it is licensed and authorized under federal, state, and local law…

Albany County bulk disposal handled by City of Albany DGS appointment system or private haulers. Electronics banned from curbside under NY ECL §27-2601 (e-waste law). Appliances with…

The Town of Colonie requires a stormwater pollution prevention plan with an erosion and sediment control component before approving any land development activity, applying the New York…

New and substantially improved homes in Colonie's Zones A1-A30, AE, and AH must have the lowest floor, including any basement, built to or above two feet above the base flood…

The Town of Colonie requires a stormwater pollution prevention plan before any land development activity gets approved. Projects disturbing an acre or more, or increasing impervious…

Any construction, filling, or land disturbance in a Town of Colonie area of special flood hazard requires a floodplain development permit from the Planning and Economic Development…

New York Executive Law Article 42 and the Coastal Management Program require state and local agency actions in designated coastal areas to be consistent with statewide coastal policies…

In the Town of Colonie's Commercial Office Residential (COR) district, a restaurant's outdoor dining area must leave at least five feet of clear sidewalk, or half the sidewalk's width…

Anyone holding a gathering, ceremony, speech, parade or setting up a tent or platform in a Colonie Town park needs a special permit from the Parks and Recreation Department under §§…

Any outdoor or temporary-structure gathering of 500 or more people in the Town of Colonie needs a public-assemblage permit from the Town Board or its designee. Applications go to the…

Colonie Code Ch. 48 treats a block party as a "special event," and anyone who wants alcohol served there needs a Town Clerk permit filed at least five business days ahead. There's no…

Colonie doesn't have a stand-alone right-to-farm law, but its noise ordinance carves out agricultural equipment: sounds from farm equipment operated on a farm, as defined in the Town's…

Agriculture and Markets Law Article 25-AA governs certified agricultural districts statewide and limits how local zoning can apply to working farms inside them.

Every lot, building and structure in Colonie must be kept free of vermin and rodent harborage and infestation under Town Code § 62-45N, enforced by the Building Department Manager with…

Albany County requires chain food service establishments with 15 or more locations nationally to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards. The Albany County Department of Health…

Residents report suspected Uniform Code, Energy Code, or property maintenance violations to the Town of Colonie Building Department Manager, who reviews and investigates every…

In the Pine Bush-influenced portions of Colonie's Conservation Development Overlay, exterior security and parking lot lighting must use high-pressure sodium vapor fixtures rather than…

Colonie's billboard law requires every light source on a billboard to be shielded and aimed at the sign face, never toward the street or a neighboring property. Billboards may still…

All electrical work in the Town of Colonie outside the Villages of Colonie and Menands must follow the National Electrical Code and get approval from a Town-approved inspection agency…

Town Code § 62-18 lists every stage of construction the Building Department Manager must inspect before work can proceed, from footing and foundation through framing to the final…

Before you build, enlarge, alter, move, or demolish any structure in the Town of Colonie, you need a building permit from the Building Department. Town Code § 62-14 ties the…

The Town of Colonie requires a permit from the Building Department before anyone installs or alters a sprinkler system, fire alarm, or other fire-protection equipment, except in…

Town of Colonie Code § 62-45 applies to every parcel in Town, occupied or vacant, and requires all land be kept free of dead trees, brush, weeds, stumps, and debris that could start a…

When a Colonie building is dangerous, unsafe, or an attractive nuisance to trespassers, § 62-29 requires the Building Department Manager to inspect and report it, and the Town Board…

In the Town of Colonie, sidewalk repair is a Highway Division job, not a property owner's. Section 34-5 assigns construction, repair, and snow removal for streets and sidewalks to the…

Town Code § 63-7 bars clothing, donation and recycling bins from sidewalks and public rights-of-way, and requires at least five feet of clear pedestrian walkway wherever one is placed…

Town Code § 137-16 confines open fires in Colonie parks to devices built for that purpose, restricts grill fuel to charcoal or sterno, and expressly bans gas grills; Town-installed…

Town of Colonie Code § 190-51 permits roof-mounted solar panels that primarily serve the home as an accessory use in every zoning district and exempts them from site plan review, while…

New York's Solar Rights Act, Real Property Law Article 9-C, section 342, voids any homeowners' association rule that effectively bans rooftop solar. A restriction counts as an illegal…

The Town of Colonie has locally adopted both of New York's charitable-gaming schemes: Chapter 59 licenses bingo, and Chapter 108 licenses games of chance, each administered by the Town…

New York's Upstate Gaming Economic Development Act divides the state into two casino development zones. Zone One is New York City plus Nassau, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and…

New York's Penal Law never criminalizes playing a private card game or betting pool: it only criminalizes advancing or profiting from gambling. Penal Law § 225.00(3) protects anyone…

Sports betting is legal in New York only through operators licensed by the state Gaming Commission under Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law Section 1367-a. Nine mobile…

Anyone peddling door-to-door or street-to-street in the Town of Colonie outside the Villages of Colonie and Menands needs a Peddler Permit from the Town Clerk under § 140-3, and every…

Colonie lets residents post political and lawn signs on private property without a permit, capped at 4.5 square feet and three feet tall for freestanding signs. The sign counts as…

Colonie's sign law exempts holiday decorations from permit requirements entirely, but only while the holiday they mark is actually being observed. Once a holiday passes, decorations…

Town of Colonie Code § 190-50G caps garage-sale signage at one on-site sign plus up to four off-premises signs, each no larger than 1.5 square feet, allowed up two days before the sale…

Colonie won't let a billboard be built, erected, or altered within 660 feet of the right-of-way edge of any primary arterial roadway. The limit sits alongside separation, park, and…

Colonie allows digital billboards under its billboard illumination rule, but caps how fast the message can change: no more than one message every eight seconds. Digital boards must…

Colonie's Planning Board can grant density bonuses in its OR, CO, NCOR, COR, HCOR, ABA, and Industrial Districts in exchange for public amenities like conservation easements…

Colonie bars Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes, along with motorbikes, minibikes and motor vehicles, from every Town bicycle path under § 137-19(C), added by Local Law No. 6-2022; ordinary…

New York draws a hard line between a golf cart and a low-speed vehicle. A low-speed vehicle is defined by Vehicle and Traffic Law § 121-f as a limited use automobile with a maximum…

Operating a food truck in the Town of Colonie requires a Town Clerk permit plus written permission from every property owner, and confines vending to 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Trucks are…

Every food truck operating in the Town of Colonie outside the Villages of Colonie and Menands needs a Food Truck Permit from the Town Clerk under § 140-3, and trucks with grills…

A car alarm that keeps sounding for more than five minutes after it goes off violates Colonie's noise code, though the Town gives a break to alarms that misfire rarely: fewer than…

Colonie's Local Law No. 5-2021 opts the Town out of on-site cannabis consumption establishments, but the same chapter never opts out retail dispensaries, leaving licensed adult-use…

New York law lets adults 21 and over grow cannabis at home and preempts municipalities from prohibiting it, setting uniform plant limits and secure storage requirements statewide.

Town of Colonie parks open and close at hours set by the Parks and Recreation Department and posted at each park; § 137-8(C) ties vehicle parking to the same clock, and staying past…

Town of Colonie Code § 190-50 limits garage sales to three per premises or per seller in any twelve-month period, each running no more than three consecutive days between 8 a.m. and 6…

Before Colonie's PEDD Director will issue a floodplain development permit for new or substantially improved construction in Zones A1-A30, AE, or AH, the applicant must state the…

Colonie Code § 48-3 bans consuming alcohol in or on any public place, defined broadly to include streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and parks. Licensed premises are excluded from that…

Albany County prohibits smoking, tobacco use and vaping in every County-owned park and outdoor recreation area under Local Law No. 2-2017. The Department of Health posts warning signs…

Albany County's Food Service Waste Reduction Act (Ch. 170, Art. II) bars every food service establishment from selling prepared food in polystyrene foam containers and requires…

Albany County Chapter 170, Article III (L.L. No. 1-2020) bans establishments from offering consumers any single-use plastic straw or beverage stirrer, with narrow exceptions for…

Albany County Code § 170-19 requires restaurants, fast-food outlets, drive-throughs and beverage providers to hand out plastic cutlery only when a customer asks for it, though staff…

The New York Bag Waste Reduction Law (Environmental Conservation Law §27-2801, enacted 2019, enforced March 2020) bans most single-use plastic carryout bags statewide. Counties and…

New York prohibits the sale and distribution of expanded polystyrene foam food containers and loose packing peanuts statewide under Environmental Conservation Law Article 27.

Albany County imposes a 6% tax on the per-diem rental rate charged for every hotel or motel room countywide, collected by operators from occupants and remitted to the Commissioner of…

New York Labor Law §652 sets a tiered statewide minimum wage that leaves no room for local wage ordinances. As of January 1, 2026 the rate is $17.00/hr in NYC, Long Island, and…

New York mandates paid sick leave under Labor Law § 196-b and paid family leave under Workers' Compensation Law Article 9, with statewide coverage that applies to nearly every private…

New York requires a state-issued concealed carry license under Penal Law § 400.00, with mandatory training and a long list of statewide sensitive locations where carry is forbidden.

New York Penal Law treats a vehicle as a public place for firearm purposes, requiring a valid pistol license to transport a handgun and strict storage rules for long guns and…

No section of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law authorizes sobriety checkpoints by name. The practice rests on Court of Appeals case law, chiefly People v. Scott, applied against…

New York is one of the few states that put the right to record police into its own statute rather than leaving it to case law. Civil Rights Law § 79-p, headed "Recording certain…

New York has no stop-and-identify statute. Criminal Procedure Law § 140.50(1) lets a police officer who reasonably suspects a felony or a misdemeanor defined in the Penal Law stop you…

New York wrote an unusually specific rule into the Penal Law when it legalized adult-use cannabis: § 222.05(2) provides that no conduct made lawful by that section shall constitute the…

Before filing a nonpayment eviction, a New York landlord must serve a 14-day written rent demand under RPAPL Section 711. The demand requires, in the alternative, payment of rent or…

Real Property Law Section 235-b imposes an implied warranty of habitability in every residential lease. Premises must be fit for human habitation and free of conditions dangerous to…

New York's Good Cause Eviction Law (RPL Article 6-A) limits evictions and rent hikes for covered tenants in NYC by default, with optional adoption by other municipalities.

Real Property Law Section 238-a, added by the 2019 HSTPA, caps residential late fees at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and bars any late fee until rent is more than…

To end a tenancy or decline to renew, a New York landlord must give written notice scaled to how long the tenant has lived in the unit under Real Property Law Section 226-c: 30 days…

New York requires advance written notice before a landlord raises rent 5% or more, or declines to renew a lease. The notice window scales with how long the tenant has lived in the…

Since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, New York landlords cannot collect a security deposit larger than one month's rent. Within 14 days after a tenant vacates…

New York's adverse possession period is 10 years of continuous, exclusive possession under RPAPL Sections 501 and 511. A 2024 budget amendment to RPAPL Section 711 clarified that…

New York Public Health Law §1399-cc raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco and vapor products to 21 (Tobacco 21 Act, signed 2019). New York also bans the sale of all flavored vapor…

New York prohibits the sale of flavored vapor products statewide under Public Health Law § 1399-mm-1, allowing only tobacco-flavored e-liquid for legal retail sale.

Vehicle and Traffic Law section 375(41) governs every light added to a New York vehicle beyond the lamps the law already requires, and it opens with a near total prohibition: no light…

New York grants a dash cam no designated place on the windshield. Vehicle and Traffic Law section 375(30) makes it unlawful to operate a motor vehicle with any object placed or hung in…

New York prohibits lane splitting outright. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1252(c) makes it illegal to operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of…

New York does not allow license plate covers of any kind. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 402(1)(b)(ii-a) states flatly that number plates shall not be covered by glass or any plastic…

New York does not ban radar detectors in private passenger cars. Vehicle and Traffic Law section 397-a prohibits using a radar or laser detector only in a motor vehicle with a gross…

New York allows studded snow tires, but only within a fixed season and only within precise dimensional limits. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 375(35-a) makes it unlawful to drive a motor…

New York requires at least 70 percent light transmittance through the front windshield, both front side windows and the rear window under Vehicle and Traffic Law section 375(12-a)(b)…