Upper Darby, PA Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

Group living quarters, meaning shared housing for four or more unrelated individuals with disabilities living as a single household, are allowed in Upper Darby's residential districts only by special exception under Article IV of the Zoning Ordinance, and Section 550-43B sets the conditions an applicant must prove before the Zoning Hearing Board grants that exception. Subsection B(8), added by Ordinance No. 3092 on April 21, 2021, overrides the standard Township Building Code and mandates two life-safety systems throughout the building and any attached accessory building: a fire sprinkler system complying with NFPA 13D, the national standard for sprinklers in one- and two-family dwellings and manufactured homes, and a fire alarm system complying with Chapter 11 of NFPA 72, the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.

The requirement applies regardless of whether the underlying structure was built before sprinklers were common, because the ordinance text expressly states it applies notwithstanding any other Building Code provision. Beyond the sprinkler and alarm mandate, an applicant must also prove compliance with occupancy limits set by the applicable building and fire codes, provide a dimensioned floor plan on request from the Zoning Officer, meet minimum parking for the district, and register the facility's location, responsible individual, and maximum resident count with the Township in writing, updating that registration within five business days of any change. No group living quarters may sit within 500 feet of another one, measured property line to property line, to prevent clustering.