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

Table 2, the Dimensional Requirements Table in § 203-305 of the Lower Paxton Township Code, ends every district row with a Maximum Building Height column. For the R-1 Low Density Residential, R-2 Medium Density Residential and R-3 Medium High Density Residential Districts the entry is the same: 3 stories or 40 feet, whichever is more restrictive. The AR Agricultural Residential and CO Conservation Districts carry the identical limit, as do the CN Neighborhood Commercial, CG General Commercial and ON Office Neighborhood Districts. The LI Light Industrial, GI General Industrial and IN Institutional Districts allow 60 feet. The Institutional District adds that a building should be no closer to a lot line or street right-of-way line than the building is tall, unless the abutting lot is in common ownership.

Section 203-512 defines the measurement. Height is the vertical height from the average elevation of finished grade at the front of the structure to the highest point of coping for flat roof structures, to the deck line of the roof for mansard roof structures, or to the average height of the roof for a gable or hipped roof. A habitable attic counts as a story, which matters when a house is already close to the three story cap.

Section 203-513 exempts certain features from the height limits: flag poles, church spires, belfries, domes and similar architectural projections not used for human occupancy, along with chimneys, ventilation shafts, skylights, water tanks, public utility facilities, bulkheads, silos, ham radio antenna and other necessary mechanical and operational apparatus carried above the roof level.

Accessory buildings follow a separate table. Under § 203-314, detached private garages are limited by Table 13: 15 feet on lots of one acre or less, and 20 feet on lots over one acre up to two acres and on lots over two acres.