Delaware County, PA sets no building setbacks. Under the PA Municipalities Planning Code, each of the county's 49 boroughs and townships sets its own front, side and rear yard minimums by zoning district. In Upper Darby Township's R-2 district, the minimum front yard is 20 feet, rear yard 20 feet,
Building setbacks in Delaware County are set entirely by municipal zoning, not the county. The PA Municipalities Planning Code authorizes this at Section 603(b)(3): zoning ordinances may regulate "Areas and dimensions of land and bodies of water to be occupied by uses and structures, as well as areas, courts, yards, and other open spaces and distances to be left unoccupied by uses and structures." That last clause, distances to be left unoccupied, is the statutory basis for yard and setback minimums. Each borough and township then adopts a table of dimensional standards per zoning district. As a representative example, Upper Darby Township's dimensional standards for the R-2 Residence District require a minimum front yard of 20 feet, a minimum rear
Setback enforcement is municipal. Building into a required yard without a variance is a zoning violation handled by the local zoning officer and, on appeal, the municipal zoning hearing board. Penalties, stop-work orders and required setbacks all come from your
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Backyard composting is legal across Delaware County and encouraged by the county's Act 101 recycling program. There is no county compost permit, but municipa...
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Delaware County sets no rule on artificial turf. Whether synthetic grass is allowed, and any impervious-coverage or stormwater conditions, is decided by your...
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Delaware County has no rule against native-plant or meadow landscaping. Native gardens are encouraged for stormwater and pollinator benefits, but you must st...
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Rainwater harvesting is legal in Pennsylvania and Delaware County has no ban. The county and its municipalities generally encourage rain barrels and cisterns...
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Delaware County publishes no lawn-watering schedule. Mandatory outdoor-water restrictions in Pennsylvania take effect only when the Governor declares a droug...
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There is no Delaware County weed ordinance. Each municipality bans noxious weeds and overgrown vegetation through its own property-maintenance code. Lower Ch...
See how Delaware County's setback rules rules stack up against other locations.
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