Local Laws

Noise — Chapter 92 (hamlet districts)

Created Chapter 92 of the Town Code: within the four Hamlet Districts — Speigletown, Pleasantdale, Hemstreet Park and Melrose — no amplified noise between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. that causes public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm. Fines rise from $250 to $500 to $1,000 per conviction, with up to 15 days’ imprisonment. Reporting a violation takes a sworn deposition to a police officer. Adopted August 12, 2026 after a two-year drafting effort and a public hearing.

Zoning change

New Town Code chapter — does not amend the Zoning Law

Filed as: A Local Law Creating "Chapter 92 – Noise" of the Code of the Town of Schaghticoke to Regulate Unreasonably Loud, Disturbing and Unnecessary Noise

Adopted August 12, 2026; filed with the Department of State August 18, 2026 and in force since that day. The link is the filed copy with the DOS acknowledgment, as the town posted it in October 2026. Our annotated version, with the hearing questions and the town’s answers, is at /noise-ordinance/.

Highway Superintendent may live anywhere in Rensselaer County

Adopted April 8, 2026 after a public hearing; filed with the Department of State May 4, 2026. Adds Section 30-3A: the Highway Superintendent need not be an elector of the Town of Schaghticoke to run for or hold the office, so long as they are an elector of Rensselaer County. Expressly supersedes the town-residency rule in Public Officers Law 3(1) and Town Law 23(1). The Board’s stated purpose was to widen the pool of eligible candidates.

Filed as: A Local Law Amending Article II of Chapter 30 (entitled Term of Highway Superintendent) of the Code of the Town of Schaghticoke with Respect to Residency of the Highway Superintendent

Filed copy with the Department of State acknowledgment, as posted by the town in October 2026.

Dog licensing fees set by resolution; optional shelter donation on the form

Adopted April 8, 2026 after a public hearing; filed with the Department of State May 4, 2026. Rewrites the dog-license fee section so the license fee, state surcharge, replacement-tag fee, enumeration surcharge and any purebred license fee are set by Town Board resolution rather than written into the code, keeping the town in step with Agriculture and Markets Law 110. Also requires the license application to offer a clearly marked voluntary contribution to the animal shelter the town uses, paid into a dedicated fund and passed on annually.

Filed as: A Local Law Amending Sections 57-15, 57-16 and 57-17 of the Code of the Town of Schaghticoke with Respect to Dog Licensing Fees

Filed copy with the Department of State acknowledgment, as posted by the town in October 2026. The actual dollar amounts now live in Town Board resolutions; ask the Clerk for the current schedule.

Disability and limited-income tax exemption: income scale updated

Adopted December 10, 2025. Resets the sliding income scale for the partial property-tax exemption for owners with disabilities and limited incomes under Real Property Tax Law § 459-c, matching the senior scale: 50% exemption up to $40,000 of income, stepping down to 5% at $47,500 to $48,399.99 and zero at $48,400 and above. Annual application required.

Filed as: Taxation: Real Property Tax Exemption Amendment (Chapter 112, Article V)

No town PDF exists for this law. The link opens our October 3, 2026 download of the town code from ecode360 at Chapter 112, Article V. The live code is at ecode360.com/SC1145.

Senior citizens tax exemption: income scale updated

Adopted December 10, 2025. Resets the sliding income scale for the town’s senior citizens (age 65 and over) partial property-tax exemption under Real Property Tax Law § 467. As the code now reads, households with income up to $40,000 get the maximum 50% exemption, stepping down 5 points per bracket to 5% at $47,500 to $48,399.99 and nothing at $48,400 and above. Annual application required; income counts Social Security, pensions, interest, dividends, rental and self-employment income.

Filed as: Taxation: Senior Citizens Tax Exemption Amendment (Chapter 112, Article I)

No town PDF exists for this law. The link opens our October 3, 2026 download of the town code from ecode360 at Chapter 112, Article I, where the amended table appears with its history line. The live code is at ecode360.com/SC1145.

Disability and limited-income tax exemption: earlier income scale update

Adopted February 14, 2024. Amended the disability and limited-income exemption income scale in Chapter 112, Article V. Superseded by Local Law No. 3 of 2025; the code prints only the current table.

Filed as: Taxation: Real Property Tax Exemption Amendment (Chapter 112, Article V)

Known from the code’s history line and disposition list only. Ask the Town Clerk for the filed text.

Senior citizens tax exemption: earlier income scale update

Adopted February 14, 2024. Amended the senior citizens exemption income scale in Chapter 112, Article I. Superseded by Local Law No. 2 of 2025; the code prints only the current table, so the 2024 figures are not shown online.

Filed as: Taxation: Senior Citizens Tax Exemption Amendment (Chapter 112, Article I)

Known from the code’s history line and disposition list only. Ask the Town Clerk for the filed text.

Electronic messaging signs

Allowed electronic message signs in certain zoning districts and set the rules for them — brightness, how often the message may change, and where they are permitted. Directly relevant to any lit sign proposal in the hamlet.

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Law of the Town of Schaghticoke with Respect to Electronic Messaging Signs

Rezoning at 850 Route 40 — Godfrey

Rezoned two adjoining parcels at 850 Route 40 out of the Residential District.

Requested by

Carl Godfrey

Tax map

51.2-1-18.1 and 51.2-1-19

Zoning change

from Residential District (R)

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Map of the Town of Schaghticoke for Lands Located at 850 NYS Route 40

Rezoning at Route 40 & Fogarty Road — out of the Hamlet District

Took a 4.76-acre parcel out of the Hamlet District — Speigletown and rezoned it Highway Commercial 1. One of the few laws to remove land from the hamlet zoning that governs Speigletown itself.

Requested by

Vincent Ragone

Tax map

71.-2-4.13

Zoning change

Hamlet District — Speigletown (HD) → Highway Commercial 1 (HC-1)

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Map of the Town of Schaghticoke for Lands Located at NYS Route 40 (east side) and Fogarty Road

Filed with the Department of State on August 24, 2020.

Rezoning — Rohloff, Route 40 near Campbell Road

Rezoned two parcels at 943 Route 40 to Highway Commercial 1.

Requested by

Brian Rohloff

Tax map

41.-1-62 and 41.-1-62.2

Zoning change

to Highway Commercial 1 (HC-1)

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Map of the Town of Schaghticoke for Lands Located at 943 NYS Route 40 in the Vicinity of Campbell Road

Residential development in Highway Commercial districts

Changed the Schedule of Use Regulations to allow residential development in Highway Commercial districts, prompted by an owner of 138 acres on Route 67.

Requested by

the Burello family

Tax map

30.-4-4.11

Filed as: Amending the Schedule of Use Regulations Contained in the Zoning Law of the Town of Schaghticoke

Rezoning at Route 40 & East Schaghticoke Road — the Dollar General parcel

Took 8.15 acres out of a 19.87-acre horse farm zoned Residential Agricultural and rezoned it Highway Commercial 1. This is the law that made commercial development possible on the corner now proposed for a Dollar General and for ProLine Power’s equipment storage.

Requested by

Brian Rohloff

Tax map

32.-3-29 (now carried as 32.-3-47)

Zoning change

Residential Agricultural → Highway Commercial 1 (HC-1)

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Map of the Town of Schaghticoke for Lands at the Corner of NYS Route 40 and East Schaghticoke Road

Rezoning near Old Schaghticoke Road — St. Gelais

Rezoned about 67.4 acres to Residential Agricultural.

Requested by

Kristopher J. St. Gelais

Tax map

31.-1-5.212

Zoning change

to Residential Agricultural (RA)

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Law and Map of the Town of Schaghticoke for Lands Adjacent to Old Schaghticoke Road

The town also posts a one-page public notice summarising this law, adopted June 14, 2017.

Solar energy facility rules

The town’s permanent solar siting law, replacing the 2016 moratorium: where solar is allowed, at what scale, and under what conditions. This is the law every solar application in the Planning Board minutes is judged against.

Filed as: Amending the Code of the Town of Schaghticoke to Regulate Solar Energy Facilities

Rezoning — Franklin Woods

Rezoned about 66 acres next to Turner Road to Highway Commercial.

Requested by

Michael Sanders, Franklin Woods Investments

Tax map

60.-1-13.111

Zoning change

to Highway Commercial

Filed as: Amending the Zoning and Map of the Town of Schaghticoke for Land Adjacent to Turner Road

Nine-month solar moratorium

Paused solar development for nine months while the town wrote permanent siting rules — which became Local Law #1 of 2017.

Filed as: Local Law Imposing a Nine-Month Moratorium

Filed as "Local Law No. 1 of the year 2016" — the same number the opt-out law below carries. One of the two filings is mis-numbered; the town’s site gives no way to tell which.

Opting out of the solar and wind tax exemption

Removed the automatic property-tax exemption that state law grants solar and wind installations, so those projects are taxable here unless the town negotiates a payment agreement. A real decision about who pays for what, taken with almost no public attention.

Filed as: Opt-Out of Section 487 of the NYS Real Property Tax Law

Also filed as "Local Law No. 1 of the year 2016" — see the note on the moratorium above.

Zoning Law changes

An eleven-page package of amendments tidying up provisions across the Zoning Law after nearly a decade of minor Town Board changes.

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Law of the Town of Schaghticoke

Stream setbacks and Planning Board decisions

Replaced the Zoning Law’s "Development Near Streams and Wetlands" subsection — imposing a 100-foot setback from the normal streambank of the Hudson, the Hoosic, the Tomhannock, the Deepkill and other named waters — and rewrote how the Planning Board records decisions on special use permits.

Filed as: Zoning Amendment 2013

The town publishes this as "Zoning Amendment 2013". The document carries no local law number, and no 2013 amendment appears in the Zoning Law’s own list of adopted amendments — so treat it as the town presents it and check with the Town Clerk before relying on it.

Rezoning — Dumas

Rezoned about 7.78 acres to Highway Commercial at the owners’ request.

Requested by

Steve and Shari Dumas

Tax map

30.-3-5

Zoning change

to Highway Commercial

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Law and Map of the Town of Schaghticoke

Review of minor projects

Created a lighter review path for small projects, so the Planning Board is not obliged to run a full site-plan review on everything. This is the law behind the "minor project" shorthand in Planning Board minutes.

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Law of the Town of Schaghticoke with Respect to the Review of Minor Projects

Rezoning — Legace

Rezoned roughly 28 acres to Highway Commercial at the owner’s request.

Requested by

Frank Legace

Tax map

61.-1-14.113

Zoning change

to Highway Commercial

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Law and Map of the Town of Schaghticoke

Rezoning — 32.-3-16.111

Changed the zoning map for one parcel.

Tax map

32.-3-16.111

Filed as: A Law Amending the Zoning Map of the Town of Schaghticoke

Subdivision Law rewrite

Updated and modernised Chapter 108 of the Town Code — the rules the Planning Board applies to every subdivision application, including the ones in the minutes archive.

Filed as: A Law Amending the Subdivision Law of the Town of Schaghticoke

Rezoning on Route 40 — Mancuso

Rezoned roughly 20 acres to Highway Commercial at the request of the owner.

Requested by

Joe Mancuso

Tax map

61.-1-14.112

Zoning change

to Highway Commercial

Filed as: Amending the Zoning Law and Map of the Town of Schaghticoke

Telecommunications towers

The town’s original siting rules for cell and telecommunications towers, adopted the year before the current Zoning Law. Enacted under the Municipal Home Rule Law to supersede provisions of Town Law.

Filed as: A Local Law Which Provides For Regulations for Telecommunication Towers Within the Town

The town posts two scans of this law. They differ slightly in length; we mirror both.