Haverford, PA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Haverford Township sets a 35-foot ceiling for buildings in residential districts, with a built-in trade for bigger yards. Section 182-705B allows the 35-foot maximum to be exceeded by one foot for each foot by which the width of each side yard and the depth of the rear yard are increased beyond minimum yard requirements, up to a maximum height of 45 feet. The extra height comes only from wider side yards and a deeper rear yard, and the cap is 45 feet.

Section 182-705A covers roof projections. Church spires, domes, radio and television towers, chimneys, smokestacks, flagpoles, aerials, elevators, tanks and other projections neither intended nor used for human occupancy are limited to no more than 15 feet above the roofline.

Other sections of the zoning chapter print their own height numbers. Accessory buildings other than private garages cannot exceed one story or 12 feet, and private garages are limited to one story or 15 feet, with a garage wider than 18 feet allowed up to 18 feet (§ 182-711A). In a special residential development, single-family semidetached dwellings are limited to three stories, not to exceed 35 feet, subject to § 182-705B, and multiple-family dwellings to four stories, not to exceed 65 feet, with a building allowed up to a total of 75 feet where the front and rear yard depths and each side yard width grow by one foot for each foot or portion over 65 feet (§ 182-721C(2)(b)).

The Zoning Officer examines every permit application against these limits and issues permits only for construction that follows the chapter (§ 182-901B). Anyone seeking more height than the code allows goes to the Zoning Hearing Board, which acts on special exceptions and variances before the Zoning Officer can issue the permit (§ 182-901B(4)). An appeal from a Zoning Officer decision must be filed with the Zoning Hearing Board within 30 days (§ 182-901C).