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

Chapter 7-307 of the Harrisburg Codified Ordinances, adopted by City Council on 7-8-2014 by Ord. No. 5-2014, sets development standards, including minimum lot size and setback dimensions. Section 7-307.2 applies the chapter to all development located within the City of Harrisburg. The district-by-district minimum yard numbers for RL, RM, CN and the other districts are not printed in the body text. Section 7-307.3A points to an attachment for them, so the written rules below are the ones that govern how those numbers apply to accessory buildings and projecting features.

Accessory buildings: Section 7-307.6 sends every accessory building, structure, or use back to the setback requirements of the applicable district, unless the chapter states a clearly more or less restrictive standard for a particular accessory use. Subsection B bars accessory structures, uses, and buildings from a required front yard in any district unless the Code specifically permits one. Subsection C treats any portion of a building, such as a garage, that is structurally attached to a principal building as part of that principal building when setbacks are determined.

Projections: Section 7-307.7 lets listed features reach into a required yard. Fire escapes, new or improved fire exits, and handicapped access facilities added onto a building that existed before the Code was adopted project a maximum of four feet, and a fire escape never reaches into a required front yard. Bay windows, cornices, eaves, fireplaces, flues, gutters, chimneys, and window sills project a maximum of two feet. Uncovered stairs, stoops, and landings needed for entry into the main doors project a maximum of three feet. A patio without a structural roof can project into a required yard, and awnings and canopies qualify only if they are fire-resistant, fabric-like, kept in good condition, and not enclosed on the front or sides.

Other setback rules: On a nonresidential or multifamily lot with more than one principal building, the front, side, and rear yard requirements apply only at the exterior lot lines (§ 7-307.5). No building can sit within three feet of an approximately parallel exterior door or window on another lot unless that lot's owner signs a written waiver (§ 7-307.10).

Relief: Under § 7-307.2, relief from these standards takes a variance from the Zoning Hearing Board under Chapter 7-323. Applications go to the Zoning Officer, and the Board must find unnecessary hardship caused by unique physical conditions that the applicant did not create (§ 7-323.7).