Rochester, NY Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Green infrastructure got added to Rochester's list of permitted accessory uses and structures in the citywide accessory-use table at § 120-163, which Article XX makes applicable in every zoning district in the city. Subsection A(9) covers residential lots, and identical language in Subsection B(17) covers nonresidential lots, so a homeowner, a landlord and a commercial property owner all get the same green-infrastructure allowance. Rain barrels, rain gardens and bioswales don't have to sit only in the rear yard the way most detached accessory structures do under § 120-163A(1)'s general rear-yard rule: green infrastructure specifically gets the side yard as an option too, giving property owners more flexibility to place a rain garden or bioswale where the drainage actually needs it.

No numeric size, volume or setback limit applies to rain barrels or rain gardens the way it does to fences or accessory buildings, and because the use is listed as permitted by right, it doesn't trigger the same review a new detached structure like a shed or garage would need. A rain garden built as part of a larger site-plan-reviewed project still has to appear on that project's landscaping plan under § 120-169E(2), which requires plans to show water features and drainage elements. Placing a rain barrel or bioswale in the front yard, or building green infrastructure as a disguised structure that functions as an accessory building, falls outside the side/rear-yard allowance.