Tonawanda, NY Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (2026)

Town Code § 215-24.7G requires every bed-and-breakfast and short-term rental to accommodate the Town's minimum off-street parking requirements entirely on-site, using the same parking-demand standards that apply to other uses under the zoning chapter. The section does build in some flexibility: where on-site parking is impracticable, the reviewing board, through site plan review, may grant relief from the on-site parking requirement in whole or in part, so an applicant with an undersized lot is not automatically disqualified but must make that case during review rather than assume an exemption.

Section 215-24.7H then restricts where that parking can go: off-street parking is not permitted in the front yard at all, except within an approved driveway area, so guests and hosts cannot turn a front lawn into an informal parking lot. Any parking area serving the rental must also be screened from adjacent properties and from the public right-of-way, with the specific screening method approved through site plan review rather than left to the operator's discretion. Read together with § 215-24.7I, which requires outdoor lighting for the operation to be shielded so it does not spill onto neighboring properties, the parking and lighting rules are meant to keep a short-term rental from visibly changing the residential character of the block, even though the use itself brings paying overnight guests to what is otherwise a single-family lot.