Custom Home Builder in North Salem, NY

Westchester Custom Home Building Service Serving North Salem

New homes on North Salem’s large, rolling lots in northern Westchester: horse country, stone walls and the Titicus Reservoir. Zoning, wetlands, septic, tree permits and the build itself, handled by one Guardian team.

Horse Country, Built Slowly

North Salem is one of the most rural towns in Westchester. Its zoning keeps lots large, often two or four acres, and its landscape of pasture, woods, stone walls and reservoirs is the reason people choose to build here. Houses sit well back from roads like Titicus Road and June Road, many with barns, paddocks and long gravel drives.

Building on that kind of land rewards patience. Wetlands, steep ground and the reservoirs limit where a house can go, and the Town’s boards look carefully at clearing and site work. A good plan accounts for all of it before construction drawings are finished.

Reading a North Salem Parcel

Buildable area. The lot has to meet the district’s minimum acreage after constrained land is discounted, so a ten-acre parcel with large wetlands may have less room than it looks.
Setbacks. Deep front, side and rear yards in R-4 and R-2, plus 150 feet of frontage in R-2.
Wetlands. Work near wetlands needs a Town wetlands permit, with the Conservation Advisory Council involved.
Fill & grading. Imported fill falls under the Town’s Fill Law and needs its own permit.
Septic & well. Soil testing and a septic design for Westchester County Health Department approval, with watershed setbacks where they apply.
Historic overlay. Some areas fall within the Town’s Overlay Historic District, which adds a design dimension to the review.

We check each of these against a current survey before you commit to a design.

North Salem Permits a New House May Need

Building Permit Long Form

The application for a new single-family house, with at least three sets of construction documents.

Tree cutting

A permit that requires Planning Board approval.

Wetlands

A Town wetlands permit for work in regulated areas.

Fill

A Fill Law permit for importing or moving fill.

Demolition

A separate permit if an existing house or barn is coming down.

County Health

Septic and well approval from the Westchester County Department of Health.

Our Process, Start to Finish

1. Site evaluation

Survey, wetland flagging, soils and the buildable envelope.

2. Design & budget

A house designed for the land, priced in stages as the plans develop.

3. Approvals

Planning Board, wetlands, tree and fill permits as needed, then County Health and the building permit at Town Hall on Titicus Road.

4. Construction

Licensed, insured subcontractors under a Guardian project manager, with Town inspections at each stage.

5. Move-in

Final inspection, certificate of occupancy and a one-year workmanship warranty, with 10 years on the roof.

North Salem New Home FAQs

How much land do we need to build in North Salem?

It depends on the zoning district. The Town’s code includes R-4 (four acres), R-2 (two acres) and smaller districts down to a quarter acre. In R-4, for example, setbacks are 75 feet front and side and 100 feet rear. Not all of the land counts: only half of any wetland, water, 100-year floodplain, utility easement or slopes steeper than 25 percent can be applied toward the minimum lot area.

Which permit form does a new house use?

North Salem uses its Building Permit Long Form for a new single-family house. Applications include at least three sets of construction documents and the tax map number, among other items. Demolition, fill, wetland and tree cutting have their own forms.

Do we need approval to cut trees for the house site?

North Salem’s tree cutting permit requires Planning Board approval, so the clearing plan has to be settled during design rather than once the excavator arrives.

Can the house include an accessory apartment?

The Town allows accessory apartments under its zoning code, and one condition is that the main house has at least 1,500 square feet. Septic capacity and the County Health Department review also need to account for the extra unit.

Is North Salem in the NYC watershed?

Yes. The Titicus and Croton Falls reservoirs are in town, and much of North Salem drains to them. On a watershed lot, New York City’s rules keep a septic absorption field at least 100 feet from a watercourse or wetland and 300 feet from a reservoir, in addition to the Westchester County Health Department requirements.

Nearby Towns

We also build in Somers, Katonah and Bedford.

Planning a Home in North Salem?

Share the address or the parcel you’re considering. We’ll review the zoning and site constraints and explain the path to a permit.

Guardian Remodeling Corp · 143 Lake Shore Dr W, Carmel, NY 10512 · 914-912-0385 · Frank@guardianremodelingcorp.com