It is often said that cities succeed when people want to live and work there, and we largely want to live where our heritage and history are preserved.

Rochester is proud of its unique architectural and landscape heritage, and its citizens recognize the importance of retaining and maintaining this built history. One tool to help accomplish this is the Preservation Ordinance, enacted by City Council in 1969. The ordinance allows for the designation of landmark properties and districts and defines the process to manage physical changes to these properties.

City of Rochester Charter and Code Online

The code and charter can be researched online in an indexed, searchable database.

The Rochester City Charter is a legal document granted by the New York State Legislature in 1834 to establish the City of Rochester and define the municipality's powers and duties; it has been amended numerous times by City Council since that date.

Remember to place the following empty, clean, and unbagged items in the recycling container. 

Pet care in hot weather

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When the temperature goes

Click here to view the City of Rochester meetings calendar

Rochester City Hall is located at 30 Church St. Council Chambers is located in City Hall, Room 302-A, and the Council Conference Room is located in City Hall, Room 208-A.  Please visit the Council's YouTube page to view livestreams of past meetings.   

Practice Fire Safety in the Home 

 If you have a fire in your home, get out and stay out, and call 911 from a neighbor's house.

The City of Rochester prides itself on providing safe, reliable, high quality water to our customers. We ensure our water is safe from source to tap by conducting over 1,500 physical, chemical and microbiological tests from locations throughout the system each month. 

Most of these tests are performed in our New York State (NYS) certified laboratory located at the Hemlock Water Treatment Facility. For less routine testing requiring highly specialized equipment, samples are sent to a NYS accredited laboratory under contract with the City.