Skaneateles: town and village code offices
Skaneateles has separate town and village offices. Outside the village, the Town of Skaneateles Building and Codes Department calls itself the first stop for all proposed construction in the town (town Building and Codes Department). Chapter 40 of the town code, replaced in 2022 by Local Law No. 4, requires a building permit for work that must conform to the Uniform Code or the Energy Code, including construction, enlargement, alteration and demolition, and a separate zoning permit under the town zoning chapter (Local Law No. 4 of 2022). The town also notes that plumbing work, such as a bathroom renovation with new piping, must be done by a master plumber licensed in Onondaga County after Onondaga County Plumbing Control issues a plumbing permit.
Inside the Village of Skaneateles, the village Code Enforcement Office coordinates building permits and construction inspections. Since March 1, 2025, building and zoning permit applications have to be filed through its online system, and the village also publishes Historic District Design Standards (village Codes and Zoning page).
For the town as a whole, the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates count 3,492 housing units, about 83 percent (margin of error 4 percentage points) of them single-family detached houses, with a median construction year of 1956 (margin of error 5 years).
