York County does not regulate backyard chickens. In Pennsylvania, keeping poultry is a land-use question decided by your borough, city, or township zoning ordinance under the Municipalities Planning Code. Some York County municipalities (like Hanover Borough) have residential-chicken rules; others treat it as an accessory or agricultural use.
Under Pennsylvania's Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247 of 1968, 53 P.S. §10101 et seq.), zoning and land use are set by boroughs, cities, and townships, not the county. The York County Planning Commission advises municipalities but does not issue chicken permits. Whether you can keep hens, how many, coop setbacks, and whether roosters are allowed all depend on your specific municipality's zoning ordinance. Some York County communities have adopted residential-chicken ordinances; others allow poultry only in agricultural districts or as an accessory use with a zoning permit. Backyard flocks are generally treated as an accessory use to a residence, not commercial agriculture. Note that the PA Department of Agriculture requires all poultry keepers, regardless of flock size, to keep a
Enforcement is by the municipal zoning officer, not the county. Keeping chickens where prohibited, exceeding a local flock cap, or building a coop without a required zoning permit can bring a zoning violation notice, daily fines, and an order to
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
York County, PA
The York County Solid Waste Authority actively encourages backyard composting and mulch-mowing and runs a county yard-waste drop-off at the Resource Recovery...
York County, PA
York County has no rule on artificial turf. Whether synthetic grass is allowed, and any permit or stormwater requirement, is decided by your borough, city, o...
York County, PA
York County does not require or ban native-plant landscaping. Native meadows and pollinator gardens are legal and encouraged, but any 'natural landscaping' e...
York County, PA
Pennsylvania places no restriction on collecting rainwater, and York County does not ban it. Rain barrels and cisterns for garden use are legal statewide; la...
York County, PA
York County imposes no countywide lawn-watering restriction. Limits, if any, are set by your water supplier (such as the York Water Company) or your municipa...
York County, PA
York County has no countywide weed ordinance. Noxious weeds and overgrown vegetation are declared a nuisance and abated by your borough, the City of York, or...
See how York County's chickens & livestock rules stack up against other locations.
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