Building permits, zoning and septic rules in the Village of Scottsville, New York

At a glance

Building permit

Required inside the village; issued by the village Code Enforcement Officer¹²

Zoning

Village zoning with a Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals³

Septic permits

Monroe County Department of Public Health (countywide program)⁴

Subdivision

Regulated by village code Chapter 145⁵

Historic district

Rochester Street Historic District homes may need a certificate of appropriateness¹

Certificate of occupancy

Required statewide for work done under a building permit⁶

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in the Village of Scottsville?

Yes. The Village of Scottsville requires building permits for new buildings, additions, demolitions, renovations, structural alterations and changes of use¹². The list also reaches accessory and storage buildings, sheds, signs, sewer hook-ups, standby generators, swimming pools, fireplaces and wood stoves, fences, roofs and roof repairs, and decks¹.

New York State sets the floor: its Uniform Code requires a building permit for work that must conform to the code, though a local authority may exempt listed small items such as detached sheds up to 144 square feet⁷. Scottsville's own list names sheds, so do not assume a small shed is exempt; ask the Code Enforcement Office first¹.

Homes in the Rochester Street Historic District may also need a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission¹.

Who issues building permits in Scottsville, and how do you reach them?

The village's Code Enforcement Officer issues building, sign, plumbing and electrical permits, reviews plot plans and surveys for zoning compliance, and issues certificates of compliance, occupancy and capacity². The village directs applicants to contact the Code Enforcement Officer at the village office⁸.

The office phone is (585) 889-6050 and the email is code@scottsvilleny.org; the village office is at 22 Main Street, Suite 3, Scottsville, NY 14546². Permit application forms and requirement sheets for decks, additions, generators and demolition are posted on the village's code enforcement page⁸.

The village page we reviewed did not list a permit fee schedule, so ask the office what a given project will cost.

Does Scottsville have zoning, and what does it mean for RVs, tiny homes and setbacks?

Yes. The Village of Scottsville has its own zoning, with a Planning Board and a Zoning Board of Appeals; site plan review and special use permits apply³. Monroe County does not zone, because New York gives zoning power to cities, towns and villages rather than counties⁹.

The specifics a buyer usually wants (lot sizes, setbacks, building height, minimum house size, RVs, tiny homes and accessory dwellings) sit in the village's zoning chapter, and we could not confirm those numbers. Ask the Code Enforcement Office at (585) 889-6050 for the zoning summary and map before you offer on a lot².

To appear before either board or apply for a zoning-related permit, contact the Code Enforcement Officer at the village office⁸. Dividing a lot is regulated separately under the village's subdivision chapter⁵.

How do septic permits work in Scottsville?

Septic permits come from Monroe County, not from the village. The Monroe County Department of Public Health administers the onsite wastewater program under its Sanitary Code⁴. Constructing, altering or repairing a private sewage disposal system requires a permit from the county Health Director or an authorized representative¹⁰.

The county code also says that where a public sanitary sewer is available and accessible, a private sewage disposal system may not be built on that property¹¹. Because Scottsville has a village sewer chapter, a lot inside the village may be required to connect to sewer instead of installing a septic system; we could not confirm which streets are served, so ask the village office before you plan a septic field².

For a septic system, contact the county's public health engineering bureau at 585 753-5060¹².

Building a home in Scottsville: the steps, in order

1. Call the Code Enforcement Office at (585) 889-6050 and confirm the lot's zoning district and any historic-district review²³.
2. If the lot would be divided, check the village subdivision chapter first⁵.
3. Confirm whether public sewer serves the lot; if not, apply to the Monroe County Department of Public Health for a septic permit¹¹¹².
4. Apply for the building permit with the village, using the forms posted on its code enforcement page⁸.
5. Keep work exposed until it is inspected, then obtain a certificate of occupancy before moving in¹³⁶.

What stays with Monroe County, and what to check before you buy in Scottsville

Land outside the village follows a different set of offices; see the Monroe County page for unincorporated land and the surrounding towns. The county sets no zoning, so the village and the town each decide their own¹⁴.

Before you buy inside the village, confirm four things: the zoning district, whether public sewer is available, whether the lot is in the Rochester Street Historic District, and whether it lies in a mapped flood hazard area. Private development in a FEMA-mapped flood area needs a local floodplain permit, usually through the building inspector or code enforcement official¹⁵.

Monroe County's effective property tax rate is about 2.8%¹⁶, and the typical home is valued near $297,573¹⁷. Those figures are county-level, not village-specific.

Watch-outs

• We could not confirm the village's minimum lot size, setbacks, height limits, RV or tiny-home rules, or accessory-dwelling rules; ask the Code Enforcement Office at (585) 889-6050 for the zoning chapter².
• Do not assume a small shed or fence is exempt: the village's permit list names sheds, fences, decks, roofs and fireplaces¹.
• Rochester Street Historic District homes may need a certificate of appropriateness on top of a building permit¹.
• A driveway onto a state highway needs a permit from the NYS Department of Transportation¹⁸.

Sources

1. Village of Scottsville Code Enforcement/Building Inspector (Village of Scottsville), quoted and re-checked
2. Village of Scottsville Code Enforcement Office (scottsvilleny.gov)
3. Village of Scottsville, NY code of ordinances table of contents (eCode360) (Village of Scottsville), quoted and re-checked
4. Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems, quoted and re-checked
5. Village of Scottsville, NY code of ordinances table of contents (eCode360) (Village of Scottsville), quoted and re-checked
6. Part 1203 Uniform Code and the Energy Code: Minimum Standards for Administration and Enforcement (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
7. Part 1203 Uniform Code and the Energy Code: Minimum Standards for Administration and Enforcement (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
8. Village of Scottsville Zoning/Planning Board (Village of Scottsville), quoted and re-checked
9. documents.dps.ny.gov (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
10. Monroe County Sanitary Code, Article IIA, Private Sewage Disposal Systems, quoted and re-checked
11. Monroe County Sanitary Code, Article II-A, Private Sewage Disposal Systems, quoted and re-checked
12. Monroe County Department of Public Health, Bureau of Public Health Engineering (monroecounty.gov)
13. Part 1203 Uniform Code and the Energy Code: Minimum Standards for Administration and Enforcement (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Monroe County, NY - Plan Forward: Why Plan?, quoted and re-checked
15. Floodplain Management - NYSDEC (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
16. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
17. Typical home value (Zillow): Bolthole Index county data
18. Residential Driveway Permits (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 14, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.