13 local rules on file · Pop. 3,765 · Erie County
Showing ordinances that apply to Highland-on-the-Lake, NY
Highland-on-the-Lake is an unincorporated community with a population of approximately 3,765 in Erie County, New York. Because Highland-on-the-Lake is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal government or city code. Instead, Erie County ordinances apply directly to residential and commercial properties here. The rules below are the county-level regulations that govern your area. Nearby incorporated cities in Erie County may have different rules.
The Erie County Department of Health permits, inspects, and enforces safety rules for every public, semi-public, and rental swimming pool in the county under New York State Sanitary Code Subpart 6-1, covering operator training, supervision, water quality, and pre-opening engineering review.
Erie County Department of Health permits and inspects PUBLIC swimming pools under New York State Sanitary Code Subpart 6-1 (10 NYCRR Part 6). This covers pools at hotels, motels, schools, campgrounds, children's camps, membership clubs, and municipal housing complexes. Private backyard residential pools are explicitly excluded from Subpart 6-1.
These unincorporated areas are also governed by Erie County ordinances.
Erie County has no separate county pool-fence ordinance; instead, every town and village in the county enforces the uniform New York State Residential Code §R326, which requires a 48-inch barrier with self-closing, self-latching gates around any residential pool deeper than 24 inches.
Erie County Local Law 2-2025, "The Sky Lantern Prohibition Act," bans the sale, use, release, and dispatch of sky lanterns county-wide. The law was adopted by the Erie County Legislature on July 24, 2025 and signed by County Executive Mark Poloncarz on August 12, 2025. Sky lanterns are classified as unattended recreational fires that pose fire, livestock, and entrapment hazards.
Erie County has no separate county-level open-burning ordinance; outdoor burning across all of Erie County is governed by New York State regulation 6 NYCRR Part 215. A statewide residential brush-burning ban runs annually from March 16 through May 14. Outside the ban, on-site burning of small downed brush is allowed only in towns with population under 20,000 — which excludes most of Erie County's urbanized towns. Burning of household garbage is prohibited statewide year-round, and individual towns and villages within Erie County may impose stricter local burn bans.
Erie County does not adopt a single county-wide leash ordinance; dog control is set by each town or city under New York Agriculture & Markets Law Article 7. The Erie County Department of Health, however, enforces mandatory rabies vaccination and immediate animal bite reporting county-wide, and dog licensing under §109 is required for every dog over four months old.
Erie County has no breed-specific dog ban, and neither county nor any municipality within it may adopt one. New York Agriculture & Markets Law §107(5) expressly preempts local laws that regulate dogs by breed; any "dangerous dog" determination in Erie County must be made on the individual animal's behavior under §123, regardless of pit bull, Rottweiler, or other breed identity.
Erie County does not issue its own STR land-use permit, but every short-term rental operator must register with the Erie County Comptroller and collect a county hotel occupancy tax under Local Law 12-1974, as amended effective January 4, 2024 to expressly cover short-term and vacation rentals booked for under 30 consecutive days.
Every Erie County short-term rental operator must register with the Erie County Comptroller and collect a county hotel occupancy tax. Local Law No. 12-1974, as amended effective January 4, 2024, expressly covers "a short term rental or vacation rental" booked for fewer than 30 consecutive days. The rate is 3% for lodging with 30 or fewer rooms and 5% for more than 30 rooms, separate from New York State and local sales tax.