Clay, NY Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Section 230-13.J establishes the LuR Limited Use for Riverfront District (formerly T-3) to preserve the small, narrow riverfront lots along the river, tracing its origin to lots created through the State of New York's old temporary occupancy permit system and later conveyed to permit holders, illustrated by reference to the Brewerton South Shore Tract surveyed by Richard J. Chiesa and filed with the Onondaga County Clerk on June 11, 1984. LuR permits one one-family dwelling per lot, provided the lot has river frontage, and no more than one dwelling structure on a lot at a time.

Accessory structures are limited to a boat dock, a waterfront deck, a single-car garage and one accessory building no larger than 100 square feet; all other uses are prohibited outright. Every LuR lot must also meet minimum dimensional standards: 40 feet of yard depth measured from the mean water level at the river shore, 25 feet of yard depth from the edge of the paved or graveled road, an eight-foot side yard on each side, a 50-foot lot width measured at the midpoints of the side lines, and a minimum lot area of 7,500 square feet.

Outside LuR, § 230-11 separately defines an individual dock as a 'Marina, Individual,' the accessory use of land next to a water body for a private dock or boathouse incidental to a principal residential use, distinguishing it from a commercial 'Marina, Private' or 'Marina, Public.'