Bethlehem, PA

Bethlehem bans parking a truck tractor, truck tractor and trailer, or tri-axle dump truck on any street in a residential, institutional, or commercial zone. The rule covers streets…

Once Bethlehem's Snow Emergency Coordinator declares a snow emergency, parking is banned on designated Snow Emergency Routes four hours later unless signs say otherwise. The Director…

Bethlehem's amended property maintenance code bars inoperative, unregistered or abandoned motor vehicles from being kept on any premises. A vehicle left on private property more than…

Bethlehem bars parking on sidewalks, in intersections, on crosswalks and in front of any driveway, plus within 15 feet of a fire hydrant and 20 feet of a crosswalk. Every parked…

Bethlehem's Parking Authority can designate impacted residential blocks as Residential Permit Parking areas, letting permit-holders park without time limits while non-permitted…

A Pennsylvania private parking lot cannot tow you unless it is posted. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3353(b)(2) the trespass-parking rule does not reach a private parking lot at all unless the…

Bethlehem bars anyone from igniting, discharging or launching consumer fireworks between 9:00 PM and 9:00 AM, and bans them outright on all city-owned property, under Codified…

Bethlehem's day care facilities code requires a working smoke detector on every floor used by the facility, with an extra detector in any room used for sleeping. The rule sits inside…

Bethlehem enforces its own version of the fire code's open-burning rule: any fire kindled outdoors must stay at least 50 feet from a structure, with the fire prevented from spreading…

Bethlehem does not allow the backyard fire pits and bonfires most Pennsylvania fire codes permit under a 25-foot setback. Article 1501.05 rewrote IFC § 307.4.2 from a setback rule into…

Bethlehem forbids storing liquefied petroleum gas in its most residential zoning districts entirely, and caps it at 2,000 gallons per installation everywhere else. Article 1501.05…

Pennsylvania's Forest Fire Protection Law makes it a crime to set fire to any woodlot, forest, or wild land anywhere in the Commonwealth. Accidental ignition is a misdemeanor…

Bethlehem's stormwater ordinance treats rain barrels and cisterns as an approved Capture/Reuse best management practice for regulated construction sites. Under Codified Ordinances…

Bethlehem caps noxious weeds and grass at one foot tall on any lot within 200 feet of a building or public right-of-way. The Bureau of Health enforces the limit citywide, in both the…

Bethlehem can order mandatory water conservation during a supply shortage, and the first thing it bans is outdoor watering: § 911.12 lists sprinkling lawns, shrubs, gardens, and other…

Bethlehem property owners must keep trees along their public right-of-way pruned to maintain 8 feet of clearance over sidewalks and 14 feet over roadways. Codified Ordinances § 910.11…

Removing a tree from a Bethlehem public area, including the right-of-way in front of a home, requires a Director of Public Works permit under Codified Ordinances § 910.04. The Director…

Bethlehem's subdivision and land development code encourages native plant species in required landscaping but does not mandate them. Section 1349.19 sets the City's landscaping…

Bethlehem's general noise nuisance ban in Section 717.01 runs around the clock, but the code carves out one true nighttime curfew: construction, drilling, and demolition tools and…

Bethlehem's noise ordinance treats most sound as background regulation, but construction and demolition work gets a hard curfew: tools and equipment used in construction, drilling or…

Bethlehem caps amplified and reproduced sound at a 40-foot audibility radius. Section 717.01(a)(1) bars operating a radio, stereo, boom box, CD player, or any other sound reproduction…

Bethlehem amended its adopted building code to add IBC 720.08, requiring every new residential structure affected by vehicular, industrial, or aircraft noise to be designed so interior…

Bethlehem's traffic code bans car stereos audible more than 40 feet away, requires every motor vehicle to run a working muffler with no cutout or bypass, and caps overall vehicle noise…

Bethlehem does not regulate dogs by breed, but any dog of fierce, dangerous or vicious propensities, or a female dog in heat, cannot run at large or roam another owner's property…

Bethlehem's Codified Ordinances flatly prohibit keeping cattle, sheep, swine, goats, llamas, alpacas, horses or fowl anywhere within city limits. Fowl is defined broadly to include…

Bethlehem bars keeping any wild or exotic animal, a term the code defines to include lions, wolves, venomous snakes, primates, alligators and dozens of other named species, anywhere…

Bethlehem limits any premises to six animals six months or older, regardless of how many owners live there, and treats exceeding that number as a public nuisance. Households wanting…

Bethlehem pet shops cannot sell or offer for sale any dog, cat or rabbit under a 2024 ordinance amendment. Stores may still host animal shelters or rescue organizations for adoption…

Bethlehem dogs must stay on a leash or other restraint whenever they leave the owner's premises, and letting a dog run loose on city streets is declared a public nuisance. Officers who…

Bethlehem's park code makes it unlawful to hunt, harm, trap or throw projectiles at any animal, reptile or bird within a City park, and separately bars anyone from taking eggs, nests…

Bethlehem bars feeding any animal or bird in a City park outright. Section 941.02(c)(2) makes it unlawful to give, offer, or even attempt to feed park wildlife, a rule dating to a 1970…

Pennsylvania's Bee Law requires all beekeepers to register their colonies annually with the Department of Agriculture for inspection and disease control.

Bethlehem requires a building permit before any swimming pool goes in, under the city's adoption of the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code. The Codified Ordinances set the building…

Pennsylvania's Public Bathing Place Act regulates safety, lifeguards, and water quality at public, semi-public, and apartment swimming pools statewide.

A Bethlehem short-term rental owner convicted of a third violation of the Short Term Lodging ordinance within any five-year period is disqualified from using the property as a rental…

Bethlehem requires every Short Term Lodging Facility to hold an annual license, pay a yearly license and inspection fee set by the City's Housing Inspection Fee Schedule Resolution…

Bethlehem allows an owner to rent out their entire primary residence to transient visitors, but only as a licensed Short Term Lodging Facility, only for stays of at least 7 consecutive…

Bethlehem bans short term lodging citywide unless the owner first obtains a Short Term Lodging License for that specific property, and the license cannot be sold, transferred, or…

Every Bethlehem Short Term Lodging License states a specific maximum number of lodgers, and that number is set by the City's Housing Code, not by the owner. Bedroom rentals are capped…

Bethlehem's Short Term Lodging ordinance bars a licensed rental from generating noise, vibration, glare or odor that unreasonably interferes with a neighbor's enjoyment of the area…

Bethlehem lets an owner rent up to 2 bedrooms of their owner-occupied home to transient visitors, but only if the owner personally occupies the residence for the entire stay, which can…

Bethlehem allows fences, hedges, and walls up to seven feet above natural grade in front, side, and rear yards without triggering the city's yard setback lines, under Codified…

Bethlehem caps terraced retaining walls used on steep slopes at a five-foot maximum vertical drop per terrace under the Zoning Ordinance's steep-slope development standards, and the…

Under Pennsylvania's 1905 Line Fence Act (29 P.S. § 41), adjoining owners of improved and occupied land must build and maintain equal halves of any boundary or division fence, and…

Bethlehem's zoning code allows a home occupation only as a personal service run entirely by the resident family inside the dwelling, capped at 25% of the building's floor area. The use…

Pennsylvania never enacted a cottage food law, so there is no sales ceiling to stay under and no exemption to claim. Instead 3 Pa.C.S. § 5734(a) makes it the duty of every person…

Pennsylvania requires Department of Human Services certification for family child day care homes serving four to six unrelated children, with statewide background checks, training, and…

Bethlehem allows only two on-site yard-sale signs of up to four square feet each, plus two smaller off-site directional signs with the property owner's written permission, and every…

Placing a political sign, banner, or any advertising matter within the legal limits of a Pennsylvania state highway is unlawful without PennDOT's written consent under Section 425 of…

Placing a structure, fixture or non-vending activity on a Bethlehem street, sidewalk, lane, alley or right-of-way requires a Department of Public Works permit and a $100 fee, and it…

Bethlehem's Article 721 makes it unlawful to erect stands, awnings, signs, trash receptacles or piles of merchandise that occupy or project over any city street, sidewalk, lane, alley…

In Bethlehem, the owner of any property abutting a public street or alley must keep the sidewalk, curb, and gutter in good, safe condition and must repair or replace them within 30…

Bethlehem taxes the privilege of doing business inside city limits under its Business Privilege and Mercantile Tax, splitting gross receipts into three classes with different mill…

Bethlehem's Blighted Property Review Committee can certify a vacant property as blighted under Article 149, triggering a Redevelopment Authority power to acquire it by purchase, gift…

Property owners, occupants and controllers along any Bethlehem street or sidewalk must clear snow, ice, mud, sand, gravel, leaves or rubbish from the abutting pavement within…

Any municipally sponsored or sanctioned event occupying a Bethlehem street, sidewalk or right-of-way needs a permit from the Department of Public Works before setup. The permit is…

Block parties and parades in Bethlehem need a temporary street-closing permit controlled by the Police Department rather than the Department of Public Works, which handles every other…

Restaurants that want to serve diners on the public right-of-way in Bethlehem need a $25 Public Works permit under Section 721.06, must leave five feet of clear sidewalk, and cannot…

Anyone organizing an activity or event in a Bethlehem city park must first get an Event Permit from the Director of Parks and Public Property, who evaluates the request against five…

No parade or procession can occupy or move along a Bethlehem street without a permit from the Traffic Division, under an ordinance dating to 1962. Funerals and Armed Forces marches are…

Bethlehem bans loitering that blocks a public street, sidewalk, bridge, or building, or that interferes with a business's ingress and egress. Section 705.05 defines loitering as…

Bethlehem bans personal possession or use of a small amount of marijuana anywhere in the city, including public consumption, as a summary offense under Codified Ordinances section…

Bethlehem bans alcoholic beverages in city parks except inside designated pavilions at Monocacy, Saucon and South Mountain parks, and only under a permit's restrictions on beverage…

Bethlehem prohibits roller skating, skateboarding or operating any recreational-type device on the city's downtown Pedestrian Malls, an area defined by boundaries around Broad, Main…

Bethlehem caps household yard sales at two per calendar year, each limited to two consecutive daylight days. The rule applies across the city in both Northampton and Lehigh Counties…

Bethlehem's Bureau of Health licenses and inspects every day care center in the city under Article 1165, which sets minimum indoor space, staff-child ratios, sanitation and fire-safety…

Bethlehem's Article 1167 Lead Poison Control ordinance lets the Bureau of Health inspect any dwelling for lead hazards, order abatement on a strict timeline and post a health-hazard…

Bethlehem issues plumbing permits only to licensed Master Plumbers. Under Codified Ordinances § 1705.08(b), an application for a plumbing permit must go to the Chief Code Official, who…

A Bethlehem Short Term Lodging License application must include a floor plan showing the location of every carbon monoxide detector and smoke alarm in the unit, mapped level by level…

Bethlehem requires a City inspection before issuing any certificate of occupancy, and the outcome of that inspection sets which of three certificates the property gets. A transferor…

Bethlehem requires a permit under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code for erecting, altering, repairing, moving, demolishing or converting any building or structure in the city…

Bethlehem regulates land development, subdivision and earth-moving activity across its Lehigh River, Catasauqua Creek, Monocacy Creek, Nancy Run and Saucon Creek watersheds under the…

Bethlehem requires an approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan before any regulated earth-disturbance activity can start under Codified Ordinances Section 925.14. The City Engineer…

Bethlehem restricts boating and docking on park waters to locations the Director designates, and bars anyone from launching, docking or operating a boat at all between a park's closing…

Any structure in Bethlehem's Flood Fringe District used to produce, store, or maintain listed hazardous substances must sit at least one and one-half feet above the one-hundred-year…

Bethlehem bans ordinary development inside the Floodway District overlay established by Article 1327 unless the effect on flood heights is fully offset by state-approved stream…

Bethlehem makes planting, growing or allowing running bamboo a summary offense unless the owner proves it predates 2017, sits at least 20 feet from every property line, easement and…

Anyone vending food, beverages or fresh flowers from a cart, stand or vehicle on a Bethlehem sidewalk for more than 21 days a year needs a Community and Economic Development vendor's…

A licensed sidewalk vendor in Bethlehem can only operate where the underlying zoning allows it: Section 721.05 restricts vending locations to a commercial zoning district, requires the…

Bethlehem charges a $300 per-unit inspection fee for Mobile Food Establishments under its Food Code Regulation article, plus a $1.00 annual license fee, and requires at least one…

Bethlehem collects residential solid waste six days a week, Monday through Saturday, 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the south side and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the north side. Every owner must…

Bethlehem bars storing trash containers in front of a building unless there is no rear or side access, and containers otherwise must sit within five feet of the building. Carts can go…

Before a hauler can drop a dumpster at a Bethlehem business, the Director of Community and Economic Development must approve it. The dumpster and its location must meet zoning and…

Bethlehem bars anyone from depositing or throwing solid waste on any street, private alley, vacant lot, public area or waterway inside the city. A first conviction under the solid…

Bethlehem has no separate curbside bulk-item pickup program; instead Article 1162 folds oversized rubbish into its general solid-waste rules. Section 1162.08 requires trash to be…

The City of Bethlehem runs a mandatory curbside recycling program under Codified Ordinances Article 933. The Department of Community and Economic Development collects commingled…

Section 933.04 of Bethlehem's Codified Ordinances spells out exactly how residents must sort recyclables for curbside pickup: commingled containers in one bin, paper products in a…

Bethlehem collects yard waste twice a year at the curb under Section 1162.04(f), separate from trash and recycling. Leaves are collected each fall at a City-designated facility, and…

Section 1162.09 sets Bethlehem's trash pickup schedule: six days a week, Monday through Saturday, with different hours on the city's north and south sides. Commercial and institutional…

Bethlehem's Police Commissioner and Parking Authority order non-consent tows of illegally parked vehicles and of vehicles whose owners are delinquent on five or more parking fines. The…

Bethlehem pawnbrokers, jewelers, and any merchant taking in second-hand jewelry, coins, precious metals, or goods must keep detailed records of every item pawned, exchanged, or…

Pennsylvania regulates electronic cigarettes and vape products under Act 84 of 2016, imposing a 40 percent wholesale tax on e-liquids and devices and requiring tobacco product…

Bethlehem requires peddlers and solicitors who sell goods, wares, or merchandise door-to-door to buy a $10.00-per-day City license under Section 303.01, and separately declares…

Bethlehem's park code bans camping in any city park unless the Director of Parks and Public Property gives written permission first. The rule sits inside the same behavior article that…

Bethlehem parks are open every day from dawn to dusk, and entering before dawn or after dusk without the Director's written permission is a violation. Certain lighted facilities close…

Bethlehem enforces food establishment permitting and food employee certification through the Pennsylvania Food Code, Title 7 Chapter 46, which the city adopted by ordinance into its…

When Bethlehem's Bureau of Health finds a building infested with rats, roaches or other disease vectors severe enough to be a health nuisance, the property owner must hire a…

Bethlehem customers must repair immediately any leak in their own water service line or fixtures, the pipe running from the curb to the building. Codified Ordinances § 911.04 gives the…

Anyone who wants to plant a tree in a Bethlehem public right-of-way, including the parkway strip between the sidewalk and the curb, needs a permit from the Director of Public Works…

Bethlehem requires every owner of a regulated rental unit to obtain an annual License before renting it out, with registration fees, mandatory inspections and occupant caps enforced by…

Bethlehem enforces habitability through its local amendments to the International Property Maintenance Code. Landlords must furnish heat from October 1 to May 15 to keep 68F in all…

Under 68 P.S. Section 250.501, a Pennsylvania landlord must serve a written notice to quit before eviction: 10 days for nonpayment of rent, and 15 days (term of one year or less) or 30…

Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Act establishes uniform eviction notice and procedure requirements applicable statewide, governing all residential tenancy terminations universally.

Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent during the first year and one month's rent in the second and later years…

Pennsylvania's general adverse possession period is 21 years under 42 Pa.C.S. Section 5530. A shorter 10-year period applies under 42 Pa.C.S. Section 5527.1 to a parcel of one-half…

Bethlehem requires every residential rental unit to carry an annual occupancy license and undergo a Code Official inspection every three years under Article 1738. License fees run from…

Bethlehem's Code Official can inspect a regulated rental unit any time a rental ordinance is violated, and is not limited to license-renewal inspections. If entry is refused, the Code…

Bethlehem folds car alarms into its vehicle noise nuisance ordinance: causing or allowing more than one false alarm from a motor vehicle alarm within 24 hours is a violation of Article…

Bethlehem's zoning code bars any operation from producing glare that's visible beyond its own property line. Section 1318.22(c), part of the General Performance Standards in Article…

The Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act establishes statewide siting rules for dispensaries, including a 1,000-foot setback from schools and daycares, while allowing reasonable local…

Pennsylvania prohibits home cultivation of cannabis by patients, caregivers, and recreational users. The Medical Marijuana Act limits production to state-permitted growers, and…

Commercial drone operators in Pennsylvania must hold an FAA Part 107 certificate and comply with state crimes under Act 78 of 2018 (18 Pa.C.S. Section 3505). That law preempts local…

Pennsylvania Act 78 of 2018 (18 Pa.C.S. Section 3505) criminalizes drone surveillance of a private place, menacing operation, and contraband delivery, and preempts most local drone…

Pennsylvania is a shall-issue state requiring a License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) issued by the county sheriff for concealed carry or carry in a vehicle, with statewide rules under 18…

Pennsylvania law comprehensively preempts local regulation of firearms under 18 Pa.C.S. §6120. Cities and counties cannot regulate lawful ownership, possession, transfer, or…

Open carry of firearms is generally legal in Pennsylvania for adults 18 or older without a permit outside Philadelphia, but a License to Carry Firearms is required statewide for…

Under 18 Pa.C.S. Section 6106, carrying a firearm in a vehicle anywhere in Pennsylvania generally requires a valid License to Carry Firearms, with limited exceptions for unloaded…

Pennsylvania caps mini-casinos at ten Category 4 slot machine licenses statewide under 4 Pa.C.S. § 1305.1, each barred from sitting within 25 linear miles of an existing Category 1, 2…

Pennsylvania nonprofits can't run raffles, punchboards, or 50/50 drawings for charity until their own municipality's voters approve it in a referendum. Once approved, the county…

Pennsylvania's gambling code has no social-game or private-residence exception. 18 Pa.C.S. § 5513 makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to let people 'collect and assemble for the…

Pennsylvania channels all sports wagering through Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board certificates, and only an existing slot machine licensee can hold one under 4 Pa.C.S. § 13C11…

Under Pennsylvania's Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315, an association has an automatic lien on a unit for unpaid assessments and fines from the time they become due…

A Pennsylvania association's bylaws must call at least one owners' meeting a year, and notice has to go out not less than ten and not more than 60 days before it, stating the time, the…

Pennsylvania's American, Commonwealth and Military Flag Act overrides any HOA covenant that bans flags. Whatever the declaration says, an association may not stop a unit owner from…

Pennsylvania sets no dollar ceiling on a homeowners association fine. Under the Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5302(a)(11), an association may levy "reasonable fines" for…

A Pennsylvania planned community association gets a lien on a lot the moment an assessment or fine falls due, and 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315(a) lets it foreclose that lien in a like manner as a…

Sobriety checkpoints are lawful in Pennsylvania, and the authority is a single clause in 75 Pa.C.S. § 6308(b) permitting an officer to stop a vehicle whenever he is engaged in a…

Pennsylvania is an all-party consent state, and 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703 grades an intentional interception of an oral communication as a felony of the third degree, one of the harshest…

Pennsylvania has never enacted a general stop-and-identify statute, so a person stopped on the street in this Commonwealth has no statutory duty to state a name or produce…

Pennsylvania does not require an officer to obtain written consent before searching a car, and it does not require a warning that you may refuse. Since 5 December 2025 it does require…

Pennsylvania draws a hard line between a golf cart and a neighborhood electric vehicle. Chapter 77A of the Vehicle Code makes it unlawful to operate a golf cart on any highway at all…

Pennsylvania protects agricultural land through Agricultural Security Areas under Act 43 of 1981 and the Agricultural Area Security Law, working alongside municipal zoning to limit…

Pennsylvania's Right to Farm Act (Act 133 of 1982, 3 P.S. §951 et seq.) protects established agricultural operations from local nuisance lawsuits and overly restrictive municipal…

Pennsylvania Act 112 of 2019 raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco and e-cigarettes to 21, aligning with the federal Tobacco 21 law (Dec 2019). The state law covers all tobacco…

Pennsylvania does not currently impose a statewide ban on flavored tobacco or menthol cigarettes, though federal FDA marketing rules restrict which flavored vape products and…

Pennsylvania allows a passenger vehicle or light truck exactly one pair of approved auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps, mounted at least 20 inches apart from center to center and no…

Pennsylvania has never written a dash cam allowance into the Vehicle Code. 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524(a) bars nontransparent material on the front windshield that materially obstructs the…

Lane splitting is expressly illegal in Pennsylvania. Section 3523(c) of the Vehicle Code says no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or…

Pennsylvania flatly prohibits a tinted registration plate cover. Section 1332(b)(5) of the Vehicle Code makes it unlawful to display a plate that "has a tinted plate cover," with no…

A radar detector is legal in a private passenger vehicle in Pennsylvania. The full text of Title 75, the Vehicle Code, contains no occurrence of the word "detector" at all, and the…

Studded snow tires are legal in Pennsylvania only between November 1 and April 15 of the following year, and the studs may project no more than two thirty-seconds of an inch beyond the…

Pennsylvania sets no separate front-and-rear tint percentages the way most states do. 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524(e)(1) simply bars driving with any sun screening device that does not permit a…