Bristol Township, PA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Section 205-23 of the Bristol Township zoning chapter sets the area and dimensional requirements for the R-1 Residence District, the township's medium-intensity suburban residential district. Unless a greater area or dimensional requirement is listed in Article III, Use Regulations, for a specific use, all uses in the R-1 District shall meet the list, which includes two coverage limits.

Subsection C is the maximum building area: 20%. Subsection D is the maximum impervious surface ratio: 30%. The two limits are different tests. Building area counts the footprint of buildings. The impervious surface ratio is wider, and the Code defines it as a measure of the intensity of use of a piece of land, measured by dividing the total area of all impervious surfaces within the site by the net buildable site area. Impervious surfaces are surfaces which do not absorb water, including all buildings and paved or hard surfaces, plus any other areas the Township Engineer determines to be impervious. A driveway, patio or paved walk therefore counts toward the 30% limit even though it does not count as a building.

The same section prints the other R-1 standards that sit beside the coverage numbers: minimum lot area of 10,000 square feet, minimum lot width of 75 feet, front yard of 35 feet, rear yard of 25 feet, and maximum height of 35 feet. Side yards are two yards with aggregate width of 30 feet, neither less than 12 feet.

Other residential districts carry higher coverage limits in their own sections. Under § 205-26 in the R-2 District, maximum building area is 25% and maximum impervious surface ratio is 35%. Under § 205-29 in the R-3 District, they are 30% and 40%.