Neighborhood Parking FAQ

The Sleepy Hollow Board of Trustees Considers New Parking Regulations

Download the document - Neighborhood Parking FAQ

The Board of Trustees (BOT) and Mayor are working to help residents park closer to their homes while preserving the quality and character of our neighborhoods.

The Need for State Legislation

The Village of Sleepy Hollow does not currently have the authority to set aside parking for residents-only on public streets. All public roads and streets start off with no restrictions as these streets are held in the public trust. The state can grant authority to municipal governments, like the Village of Sleepy Hollow, to restrict access to public streets. To that end, the Village is requesting State Legislation (sometimes referred to as “Home Rule Legislation”) in 2026 to gain the authority to establish Neighborhood Parking Programs in the Village. Many areas of our Village experience tourists looking for parking on residential streets, this legislation allows us to preserve parking for residents.

This State Legislation WILL:

  • Grant the Village the ability to develop Neighborhood Parking Programs in the Village of Sleepy Hollow when we are ready 
    • Without this authority, there is no way to preserve parking for residents-only. 
  • Protect the Village from a legal challenge by keeping it in compliance with New York State law.

This State Legislation itself does NOT:

  • Automatically create or implement a Neighborhood Parking Program for Philipse Manor (PM), Edge on Hudson (EoH), Downtown, or any other neighborhood eligible for the program. 
  • Create any specific parking rules or permit requirements. 
  • Change the established local parking codes and rules.

Ensuring Our Parking Changes Meet the Needs of Our Neighborhoods

The Village BOT and Transportation & Parking Committee, which consists of representatives from Village neighborhoods, concluded that the ability to protect parking for residents-only is a critically important tool to address neighborhood concerns. The intent of the committee is to craft rules that preserve the ability for residents and their guests to park outside their homes while preventing commuters and other non-residents from parking on residential streets.

Benefits of instituting a Neighborhood Parking Program in the Village include:

  • Capacity for the Village to establish parking FOR NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS, their guests and visitors. 
  • Flexibility to create different parking zones with rules that vary by neighborhood and street within them to meet residents’ needs. For example, this could include zones where only residents could legally park, but with specified hours for non-resident, commercial or guest parking. 
  • Ability for the Village to address issues that cannot currently be addressed from changing local parking codes, such as deterring commuter parking on the streets.

If the State legislation is approved by the Senate and Assembly in Albany this legislative session, any new parking regulations for neighborhoods or streets in the Village would be developed after public outreach, neighborhood association collaboration, and public hearings. The Board of Trustees continues to deliberate on including specific streets from the Village in the legislation. The State of New York has the authority to determine exactly what streets are included and what rules will govern the Neighborhood Parking Program. Residents are encouraged to attend Board meetings or submit written feedback to the BOT, the Transportation & Parking Committee, or your neighborhood associations.

As of January 29, 2026, a formal bill draft and Bill Number for the State Legislation has not been released by the New York State Assembly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why do we need the State to pass Home Rule Legislation? 
Public streets are for the benefit of the general public. A municipal government, like the Village of Sleepy Hollow, must request and receive authority from New York State, in order to legally discriminate between residents and non-residents (or the general public) using the public street. Once the Village of Sleepy Hollow receives Home Rule authorization from New York State, the Village can legally create rules that reserve public street parking for residents only. 

Q: Does the State Legislation create new parking regulations now or in the future?
No. The State Legislation only gives the Village of Sleepy Hollow the ability to make different rules for residents and non-residents on Village streets included in the legislation. Any specific rules must be developed and voted on by the Village Board of Trustees. 

Q: What Sleepy Hollow neighborhoods are eligible for State Home Rule Legislation? 
Sleepy Hollow neighborhoods within relative walking distance of train stations are normally eligible for a Neighborhood Parking Program after authority is granted to the Village by the State. The State provides no specific rules on how it determines streets eligibility. As a result, it’s exceedingly unlikely Sleepy Hollow Manor, Webber Park, and other neighborhoods further away from the Tarrytown and Philipse Manor train stations will be eligible to receive a Neighborhood Parking Program.

Q: What is the process that the Village will follow to enact the new permit parking rules? 
Like all new local laws, the Village collects information from the public, drafts new rules, publishes the draft and seeks input during public hearings. The Board of Trustees will use the public hearing process to refine the draft rules. The Village will keep public hearings open until the Board of Trustees feels they’ve heard a diversity of opinions regarding the draft rules. After public hearings close, a final draft of rules becomes a resolution before the Board of Trustees. A vote is set to approve the final draft resolution as law. The rules can be further refined or modified over time with amendments to the law, which require the same public process outlined above and herein.

Q: Does this change require the Village to pass new legislation? 
Yes. See above.

Q: Do future Boards of Trustees have the right to change parking regulations? 
Yes. It is illegal to prevent elected officials from making decisions in the future. For this reason, future Board of Trustees retain the right to modify any part of the code of the Village of Sleepy Hollow and all laws contained therein.

Q: Can’t the Village Board of Trustees currently grant residents a parking sticker for their vehicle so they can park on the street? 
No, it is illegal for the Village of Sleepy Hollow to differentiate between residents and nonresidents on public Village streets because public roads must be managed for public benefit unless legislation says otherwise. State Legislation would give this authority to the Village.

Q: Can’t the Village Board of Trustees allow neighborhood residents to register their vehicle(s) so they can park on the street as an exception to a street parking ban, while not allowing non-residents to park? 
Same as above. No, it is illegal for the Village of Sleepy Hollow to differentiate between residents and non-residents on public Village streets because public roads must be managed for public benefit unless legislation says otherwise. Again, State Legislation would create this authority for the Village.

Q: We don’t want non-residents parking on the street, but doesn’t the State Legislation call for 20% of permits to be available to non-residents? 
The Village can count existing permitted parking spaces in public parking lots nearby (e.g. train station parking with 74 parking spaces or other public metered spaces) toward the 20%. The Village can also count guest parking passes toward the 20%. The goal is to help residents more easily park by their homes while preserving the character and quality of our neighborhoods. 

Q: Must the 20% of the permits that get attributed to non-resident parking permits be issued to people that live outside of Sleepy Hollow (non-resident of the village vs non-resident of the zone)? 
No. There is no distinction between non-Sleepy Hollow residents and residents living outside of a particular zone.

Q: Do residents of Sleepy Hollow that do not live in the zone have the ability to buy non-resident permits? 
Yes. The intent is to define “residents” as “residents living within a specific zone.” We already sell parking passes to “non-residents” and “residents not living in particular zones” – these passes are available for purchase at Village Hall. These parking passes provide access to specific parking spaces at the Philipse Manor Train Station and other long-term parking lots throughout the Village. 

Q: What will be the price of Resident Parking Permits and the price of Guest Passes? 
The Village has not determined if it will create a Neighborhood Parking Program or what the price of permits would be. The Village of Sleepy Hollow is required by law to charge fees that reflect costs and cannot charge fees to profit.

Q: Will the Village limit the number of Neighborhood Parking Program permits or guest passes per household? 
The Village Transportation and Parking Committee is working to figure out what residents need.

Q: How many residential parking permits will be available per household? How many guest passes will be available per household?
See above. 

Q: How will residents accommodate a large number of guests for parties or a yard sale, or for similar events at their home? 
The resident can get permits or call the Sleepy Hollow Police Department and let them know of the event ahead of time. 

Q: Can the Village create non-resident parking passes in Philipse Manor to accommodate event parking? 
The Village already has the power to accommodate event parking in several ways. Under a Neighborhood Parking Program, the Village will continue to accommodate events as it sees fit. Should the Village establish a Neighborhood Parking Program, it can choose to issue special permits for events as necessary.

Q: Will commercial vehicles for plumbers, movers, landscapers or other services need a permit? 
Based on feedback so far, we would work to accommodate all legal commercial activity and avoid inhibiting residents who require services at their home.

Q: Will there be residential parking zones in front of commercial businesses?
We are aware of no legal precedent for streets with storefronts, restaurants, or other commercial businesses to be part of a residential parking scheme. The street segments can be metered parking like what one sees on Beekman Ave in the Village’s downtown core. 

Q: If I have a residential parking permit, will I be able to park in any residential neighborhood of Sleepy Hollow? 
These details have not been fully fleshed out. We are investigating creating different zones for permits (i.e. Downtown, Philipse Manor, Riverfront including Edge, etc.). This approach would be consistent with the rules in Tarrytown and neighboring villages. Some residents have expressed the desire for residents to have exclusive access to their neighborhood, meaning residents outside the neighborhood would not be able to park if they did not have a permit for their corresponding zone.

Q: Can we define "resident" within the legislation? Is the legislation saying that only residents within the zone can get resident parking permits or do all Village of Sleepy Hollow residents have the ability to get permits?
State Legislation is silent on the definition of resident. The Village of Sleepy Hollow will ultimately set rules associated with the Neighborhood Parking Program.

Q: Does the parking location of non-resident permits need to be defined or can the Village change that location as it sees necessary?
Yes, the Village will define the locational restrictions for non-resident, non-zone resident permits.