Troy, NY Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Troy City Code § 285-81 governs where off-street parking sits on a lot in the City of Troy, Rensselaer County, New York. Subsection A allows off-street parking facilities in any required front, side or rear yard on the lot, except as provided in subsection B. Subsection B(1) is the exception for the two lowest-density districts: off-street parking and loading facilities are not permitted in the front yard of any use in an R-1 or R-2 district unless site plan approval under § 285-25A is granted by the Planning Board. The same paragraph protects the driveway itself, because access by driveway or other means may be permitted in the front yard without review. The code separates reaching the parking from parking in the front yard.

Surface and width standards come from § 285-83(A), which applies to parking and loading facilities required by the article or proposed on a voluntary basis, with the design and layout approved by the Planning Board. Under A(4), surfaces of parking facilities and related accessways hereafter constructed must be of bituminous, concrete or other durable material placed in a manner that avoids dust and provides a smooth parking surface free from mounds and depressions. Under A(5), curb cuts and driveway access widths at property lines must be at least 20 feet but no more than 46 feet wide. Under A(1), each automobile space is a minimum of 162 square feet and no less than 18 feet in length.

There is one temporary relief in § 285-83(B)(1). Where a structure with a cellar or basement was razed within four years preceding the Planning Board review, the owner can choose to be exempt from the material requirement until the fourth anniversary of the razing, and the article's terms must be met within 60 days of that anniversary unless the Zoning Board of Appeals varies them or grants a temporary permit. Under § 285-80(B), except for one- and two-family dwellings, no work permit is issued until the Planning Board approves the plan for parking and loading areas and access to them.