Westchester County, NY Ordinances (2026)

Westchester County issues no vape-shop license: that is New York State's job. County law controls the counter instead: e-cigarettes count as tobacco products, must sit behind a manned…

Westchester County caps non-consent tow charges at $65 for the first mile, $1.50 per added mile, and $5 per 24-hour storage day, enforced by the County Department of Weights and…

Anyone buying, selling, exchanging or pledging secondhand precious metals, gems, watches, coins or electronics in Westchester County must hold a county secondhand dealer license before…

Westchester's Room Occupancy Tax law treats short-term rental booking platforms as 'room remarketers' deemed to operate the hotel, making them liable to collect and remit the county's…

Westchester has no county-level defensible space ordinance. NYS Property Maintenance Code requires yards clear of combustible debris. Enforcement is municipal.

Westchester is not a designated high wildfire hazard area. NYS DEC tracks fire danger countywide; northern rural towns have moderate wildland-urban interface risk.

Westchester County's Sanitary Code bans open burning countywide unless the fire falls under a narrow permit exception for land-clearing or demolition debris, or fire-department…

Westchester County prohibits destroying, cutting or removing any tree, shrub or plant on county-owned property, including parks, without permission from the County Executive.

When the county Health Commissioner declares a noxious-weed danger, no Westchester County property owner may allow ragweed, poison ivy or other allergenic weeds to grow on their land.

Once the County Executive declares a drought emergency, lawns may be watered only 4 hours a day in early-morning or evening windows, on odd or even days matching your street address.

Westchester County requires a county-wide master plumber's license, not a town-issued credential, before anyone may install, alter, test or repair plumbing systems requiring a permit…

Westchester County, not individual towns, licenses master electricians and electrical inspectors county-wide; no one may perform or hold themselves out as an electrician without a…

Westchester County's housing code requires existing lead-poisoning paint conditions in dwellings to be eliminated under the state Public Health Law's lead-poisoning prevention…

Public and semipublic pools in Westchester County must post a red-letter drowning-hazard warning sign, keep U.S. Coast Guard-approved lifesaving equipment on deck, and provide required…

Westchester County doesn't permit above-ground pools, but retailers selling any portable or inflatable pool deeper than two feet must post a county drowning-hazard warning at the point…

Westchester County's housing code requires owners furnishing heat to maintain dwellings at no less than 68 degrees Fahrenheit, measured 18 inches above the floor and three feet from an…

The county's Fair Housing Law bars landlords, brokers and agents from refusing tenants because their income includes Section 8 vouchers, social security, alimony, or other public…

Organized picnics or outings in Westchester County parks need a Parks Department permit obtained before the group arrives at the designated area.

Westchester County Health Department inspectors can enter and inspect any dwelling without a fee, during business hours, to check compliance with the county's housing hygiene standards.

Chain restaurants with 15 or more locations in Westchester County must post calories for every standard menu item on menus and menu boards, enforced by the County Health Department.

Owners of vacant grounds in Westchester County must keep the property free of rodent and vermin nuisances that affect public health, under the county's Sanitary Code.

Westchester County parks operate from dawn to dusk unless otherwise posted, per County Code § 765.201.

Westchester County bans any non-stormwater discharge into its municipal separate storm sewer system countywide, with narrow exemptions for things like pool backwash and residential…

Westchester County requires anyone holding an industrial or construction SPDES stormwater permit that discharges into its MS4 to fully comply with that permit and prove it to the…

Westchester County requires every mobile food unit to hold a Health Department permit and display the operator's name, address and permit number in four-inch letters on both sides.

Food service establishments and retail food stores in Westchester County may give out single-use utensils, straws and condiment packets only when a customer requests them.

Westchester County bans food service vendors and stores from possessing, selling or using expanded polystyrene foam cups, plates, trays and takeout containers.

County Code § 712.314 bars removing a protected or specimen tree, or disturbing its dripline, on Westchester County-owned property without prior authorization.

Westchester County requires written approval from the Commissioner of Public Works and Transportation before anyone plants, removes, trims, or damages a shade tree on a county road…

New or rebuilt parking garages and open lots built or funded under a County contract must dedicate 10% of spaces to EV charging, or 50 spaces if the lot holds more than 250 vehicles.

In Westchester County parks, dogs must be licensed and kept on a leash no longer than six feet, with unleashed animals subject to impoundment.

Westchester County parks bar keg or bulk-container alcohol, but allow canned or bottled drinks in food-consumption areas; some sites ban alcohol outright.

Westchester County bans smoking at every place of employment, including the outdoor areas of restaurants and bars, with no exception besides dedicated retail tobacco shops.

Aircraft operating from Westchester County Airport must comply with current federal rules and the airport's local noise abatement regulations under County Code § 712.421.

Westchester County requires landscaping and gardening licensees to use only EPA Phase 2, 2007-compliant leaf blowers operated per manufacturer specs; it sets no hours or seasonal ban.

Every waste generator in Westchester County must separate recyclables from solid waste at the point of generation under the county's Source Separation Law.

Westchester County licenses Class D and Class L haulers to collect garden and yard waste, and sets the county's leaf-collection season as October through January.

Westchester County bans dumping dirt, debris, waste or hazardous material on any county-owned street, park, lot or waterway without site-specific authorization.

Westchester County's only codified plate-camera rule is Chapter 708. Images and license plate data from school bus stop-arm cameras must be destroyed 90 days after an alleged violation…

The county runs a red-light camera demonstration program at up to 50 intersections at a time, needing city consent for cameras inside White Plains, Yonkers, Mount Vernon or New…

Westchester County bars selling, leasing or renting e-bikes and electric mobility devices unless their battery and electrical system carry UL, IEC, ANSI or SAE safety certification.

Westchester County's Health Department can order the abatement, suppression or removal of any property condition it finds detrimental or prejudicial to life or health, entering…

Westchester County has imposed a 3% Room Occupancy Tax on hotel and motel rentals since January 1988, collected by the County Commissioner of Finance and waived only for permanent…

Westchester County exempts garage, yard, estate and moving sales from secondhand dealer licensing only if held on residential property, capped at 96 hours and four sales per year.

Executive Order No. 10 of 2018 bars any plant species listed as Prohibited or Regulated under New York's invasive species regulations from all Westchester County parks, roadsides, and…