Upper Darby, PA Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

" Unlike the non-impact standards in § 550-41B, which allow certain low-impact activities if they stay within 25% of the home's floor area and generate no outside appearance, the twelve uses in § 550-41C are barred outright with no size or intensity threshold; a resident cannot bring vehicle repair into compliance by scaling it down. The prohibited list groups vehicle repair with other uses the Township considers incompatible with residential character regardless of scope, including machine or welding shops (C(5)), equipment rental (C(6)), and laundry or dry cleaning (C(12)), reflecting a judgment that these activities inherently generate noise, fumes, outdoor storage, or customer/vehicle traffic that a house-based operation cannot contain.

Anyone wanting to operate an auto repair business in Upper Darby must locate in a commercially or industrially zoned property that permits that use under the Township's Table of Permitted Uses (an attachment to Chapter 550), obtain the applicable business license, and comply with the Township's separate commercial zoning and licensing requirements; there is no residential accommodation for this use.