Pottstown, PA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 200, in Part 2 of Chapter 27, Zoning, lists exactly when a zoning permit is required in Pottstown: to build or install any structure, including signs, fences and storage buildings; to change the existing use of any land or building; to alter the exterior of a building in the Conservation or Gateway Districts; or to install solar energy equipment totaling eight square feet or more, under Section 503 of that chapter. Section 201 routes applications to the Zoning Officer in the Pottstown Codes Department, signed by the owner, lessee or an authorized agent, and Section 200 leaves permit fees to a Council resolution rather than fixing them in the ordinance.

Separately, on the construction side, Section 901 has Pottstown Borough electing to administer and enforce the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, and Section 902 adopts the Uniform Construction Code at 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as the Borough's Municipal Building Code, which also readopts UCC standards for the Borough Authority's water main and sanitary sewer construction. Section 903 lets the Burgess and Town Council choose how that Code gets administered, from an in-house Municipal Code Official to a third-party agency or an intermunicipal agreement, and Section 905 keeps any pre-July 1999 Borough building ordinance in force as long as it meets or exceeds the Uniform Construction Code's minimums.

Between the zoning permit in Chapter 27 and the construction permit issued under the adopted Uniform Construction Code in Chapter 5, most building and renovation work in Pottstown needs sign-off from both tracks before work starts.