Bethlehem, PA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Bethlehem is a Third Class City straddling the Lehigh River between Lehigh and Northampton Counties, with a traditional urban fabric of dense rowhouse and detached-dwelling neighborhoods plus the historic Moravian downtown core. The Bethlehem Zoning Ordinance establishes the bulk schedule of minimum lot area, lot width, front yard, side yard, rear yard, lot coverage and maximum height for each zoning district, with principal residential districts including RT (rural transition), RR, RS, RG and RM ranging from lower to higher density, plus the CB (Central Business), CL/CG/CS commercial, LI (Light Industrial), HI (Heavy Industrial), and CM (Industrial Redevelopment) districts that govern the former Bethlehem Steel site. Front-yard setbacks in established neighborhoods are often subject to a contextual averaging rule that allows a new building to align with the average setback of adjoining existing buildings on the same block. Accessory buildings (sheds, detached garages) must generally be in the side or rear yard of the principal building and meet minimum offsets from any dwelling and from the side and rear property lines. Setback variances require an application to the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (53 P.S. §10101 et seq., the MPC), specifically §910.2 dimensional-variance authority, which requires the applicant to prove unnecessary hardship unique to the property, that the variance is the minimum necessary, and that it will not adversely affect the public good or neighborhood character.