Caledonia Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XV
Special Regulations
§ 130-80 Home occupations and professional offices.
A.
Home occupations (see definition in § 130-8A) shall be permitted in any residence or accessory building for activities such as hair dressing, laundering, television and radio repair, lawn mower and bicycle repair and other uses which the Board of Appeals determines to be similar in scale and nature.
B.
Professional offices (see definition in § 130-8A) may also be established as home occupations.
C.
The following requirements shall apply to all home occupations:
(1)
No more than two people other than members of the immediate family occupying such dwelling shall be employed as part of the home occupation.
(2)
A home occupation must be conducted within a dwelling which is the bona fide residence of the principal practitioner or in a building accessory thereto which is normally associated with a residential use.
(3)
No more than 25% of the gross floor area of such residence shall be used for the conduct of a home occupation. No more than 40% of the floor area of an accessory structure shall be used for a home occupation (except garages).
(4)
In no way shall the appearance of the structure be altered or the occupation within the residence be conducted in a manner which would cause the premises to differ from its residential character either by the use of colors, materials, construction, lighting or the emission of sounds, noises or vibrations.
(5)
No mechanical or electrical equipment shall be employed other than machinery or equipment customarily found in the home associated with a hobby or avocation not conducted for gain or profit or machinery or equipment which is essential in the conduct of the home occupation.
(6)
No outdoor display of goods or outside storage of equipment or materials used in the home occupation shall be permitted.
(7)
One sign shall be permitted not to exceed two feet by two feet in dimension. There shall be no use of utilities or community facilities beyond that normal to the use of the property for residential purposes.
(8)
One commercial-type vehicle may be used in connection with the home occupation and may be parked on the property.
(9)
No use shall create noise, dust, vibration, smell, smoke, glare, electrical interference, fire hazard or any other hazard or nuisance to any greater or more frequent extent than that usually experienced in an average residential occupancy in the district in question under normal circumstances wherein no home occupation exists.
(10)
A home occupation shall not be interpreted to include the following:
(a)
Restaurants.
(b)
Convalescent homes.
(c)
Mortuary establishments.
(d)
Garages or shops for the repair of motor vehicles.
(e)
Other trades and businesses of a similar nature.
§ 130-81 Bus passenger shelters.
Bus passenger shelters shall comply with the following:
A.
Architectural design shall be in keeping with the residential character of the neighborhood, and the structure shall be constructed for easy removal when its use is no longer needed.
B.
The shelter shall be set back from the road right-of-way line at least 10 feet to minimize possible damage from snowplowing and roadwork and to avoid obstruction of such work.
§ 130-82 Clubhouses.
Clubhouses must be architecturally compatible if located in a residential neighborhood and not cause a nuisance by reason of noise or other objectionable features.
§ 130-83 Day-care uses.
Home day-care and commercial day-care uses shall comply with the following:
A.
Outdoor play areas, if provided on the premises, must be fenced in or otherwise enclosed.
B.
No outdoor play equipment shall be placed within 10 feet of any property line, fence or structure.
C.
Minimum parking shall be one space per staff member plus one additional space for each seven children.
D.
Adequate space for dropping off and picking up children shall be provided off the street.
§ 130-84 Retreats.
Retreats shall comply with the following:
A.
Applicants shall provide evidence from the County Health Department that the on-site sanitary facilities are adequate to serve the number of guests anticipated.
B.
Evidence shall be provided that adequate emergency escapes are provided and that all fire codes have been met to the local Code Enforcement Officer's satisfaction.
§ 130-85 (Reserved) [1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 130-85, Satellite antennas, was repealed 9-14-2017 by L.L. No. 3-2017.
§ 130-85.1 Bed-and-breakfast establishments and inns.
A.
The application shall be accompanied by information as to the dimensions of the property, the improvements thereon and parking and a floor plan of the structure in which the operations are to be conducted, giving dimensions of rooms and a description of the interior of the structure. The applicant shall give further evidence as to the locations within the structure in which the bed-and-breakfast establishment and inn are to be operated. The applicant shall provide evidence satisfactory to the Code Enforcement Officer of compliance with fire and building laws and regulations. It shall be established to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer also that each sleeping unit shall have two exits.
B.
There shall be no change in the outside appearance of the building or premises or other visible evidence of the conduct of a bed-and-breakfast establishment other than one sign mounted on the property, not exceeding eight square feet in area, nonilluminated and mounted on the property or one freestanding sign in the yard no larger than 12 square feet. No additional advertising of any kind is allowed on site. The Planning Board shall have discretion regarding the location of the attached sign.
[Amended 9-14-2017 by L.L. No. 3-2017]
C.
The applicant shall also provide evidence to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer that the water supply and other sanitary facilities have been approved by the Department of Health.
D.
A minimum of one off-street parking space for each sleeping unit offered shall be provided. Parking areas shall be behind the required building setback line. Parking areas having exits or any main road shall be designed in such a way that vehicles enter the public right-of-way in a forward motion.
[Amended 9-14-2017 by L.L. No. 3-2017]
§ 130-85.2 Accesory dwelling units.
[Added 11-13-2025 by L.L. No. 2-2025]
A.
Intent. The Town seeks to legalize and control existing accessory dwelling units in single-family residential zones and regulate new conversions or new construction of accessory dwelling units to diversify housing while ensuring single-family residential zones maintain their character; to ease single-family homeowners' financial burden by allowing a means of rental income; and to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the Town of Caledonia's residents and the occupants of accessory dwelling units.
B.
Permit required. No person shall commence the construction of an ADU or rent or lease an ADU in the Town of Caledonia without first having obtained an ADU permit from the Zoning Enforcement Officer. Site plan approval from the planning board pursuant to Article XI of Chapter 130 is required for the issuance of an initial ADU permit to demonstrate that the ADU complies with the requirements of Subsection C of this section. Such ADP permit shall be renewed annually or within 60 days of transfer of ownership of the lot where the ADU is located to demonstrate compliance with this section. As part of the review of the ADP permit renewal application, the Zoning Enforcement Officer is authorized to inspect the ADU and review landlord-tenant agreements to confirm compliance with this section.
C.
Required standards. The Zoning Enforcement Officer shall grant an ADU permit only to one-family dwellings for the creation, legalization or construction of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU): i) within or as an addition to an existing one-family dwelling principal building in R-1 Residence Districts or R-R Agricultural and Rural Residential Districts; ii) within an existing detached accessory building in a R-1 Residence District or R-R Agricultural and Rural Residential District provided the existing accessory building meets all the requirements of this chapter; and iii) within a new detached accessory building that meets all the requirements of this chapter only in the R-1 Residence District or R-R Agricultural and Rural Residential Districts, subject to any applicable building and fire code standards and subject to these standards:
(1)
Number of ADUs per lot. There shall be no more than one ADU per lot.
(2)
Owner-occupancy. The owner of the one-family dwelling lot must reside in either the principal building or the ADU on the lot and such lot must be the owner's primary residence.
(3)
Floor area. An ADU shall have a minimum habitable floor area of 300 square feet and a maximum habitable floor area of not more than 50% of the habitable floor area of the lot's principal building.
(4)
Bedrooms. The maximum number of bedrooms in an ADU shall be two.
(5)
Nonconforming principal building. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an existing principal building that is legally non-conforming with current dimensional or coverage regulations may be legally changed in use, in part, to an ADU provided that the dimensional non-conformity is not increased and provided the height of an existing building that fails to meet setback requirements is not increased.
(6)
Entrances. No new entrances to the street-facing facade of a principal building may be added for the purpose of creating an ADU.
(7)
Height of ADU. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the maximum building height shall be the lesser of: 1) 25 feet; or 2) the height of the one-family dwelling principal building.
(8)
Minimum term of rental. The rental term of an ADU shall be for at least six months.
(9)
Parking. Single-family dwellings improved with an ADU shall have a minimum of a total of three off-street parking spaces with a minimum of one of the three off-street parking spaces designated for the ADU.
(10)
Certificate of owner occupancy. The owner of the property shall certify to the Town, in the form of an affidavit provided by the Zoning Enforcement Officer that the owner resides at the one-family dwelling improved with an ADU as the owner's primary residence in either the primary dwelling unit or the ADU. Such certification shall be made at the time of the initial application filed with the Zoning Enforcement Officer and after the sale or conveyance of the one-family dwelling.
(11)
Adequacy of septic and water system. If the lot is serviced by well water and/or a septic system the owner must demonstrate that the existing water well and/or septic system can handle the addition of any ADU by securing the necessary permits from the Livingston County Department of Health.
(12)
Dimensional standards. The ADU shall comply with the setback requirements of the principal building on the lot.
D.
Penalties for offenses.
(1)
Any owner or builder, or any agent of either of them, who fails to secure an ADU permit for the construction or creation of an ADU, who allows occupancy of an ADU without a certificate of occupancy for the ADU, or who constructs or causes to be constructed an ADU in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be in violation of this chapter and subject to penalties under § 130-107 of this chapter.
(2)
It shall be unlawful to rent or lease any portion of any premises as an ADU in the Town of Caledonia without first having obtained an ADU permit and certificate of occupancy for the ADU from the Code/Zoning Enforcement Officer.
(3)
All ADU owners who have not previously obtained a permit and certificate of occupancy for an ADU located on their lots shall apply to the Zoning Enforcement Officer within six months following the effective date of this section (and if necessary, the Zoning Board of Appeals). If application is so made within said six-month period, the owner of the ADU shall not be deemed in violation of this section. If application is not made within said six-month period, the owner of the ADU shall be deemed in violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties provided herein.