Business Licensing & Operations in Lower Merion, PA (2026)
6 verified business licensing & operations rules for Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Lower Merion Township's Zoning Code lists adult entertainment as a regulated use only in the LI Light Industrial District, and Table 5.3 fixes hard buffers: no adult entertainment use within 1,000 feet of a public or private school, and none within 3,000 feet of another adult entertainment establishment, so two cannot cluster together.
Lower Merion Adult Entertainment Zoning Buffers
Some RestrictionsLower Merion Township Code § 155-5.2.G and Table 5.3, Use Regulations (LI District)
G. Separation requirements. Certain uses, while compatible with other lawful uses, can be detrimental to the quiet use and enjoyment by others if concentrated in the same neighborhood. The Board of Commissioners has determined that undue concentration can be avoided by mandating a minimum distance of separation between these uses, as shown in Table 5.3, Use Regulations. ... Adult entertainment ...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Lower Merion Township requires anyone operating a tattoo or body piercing business to hold a premises license from the Building and Planning Department plus a current inspection certificate before any practitioner touches a client. Ordinance No. 3909 created the licensing article, covering sanitation standards, $100,000 liability insurance, annual renewal, and revocation hearings before the Board of Commissioners.
Tattoo and Body Piercing Licensing in Lower Merion
Significant RestrictionsLower Merion Township Code § 90-4.3
No practitioner, except a duly licensed health care provider, shall engage in the practice of body piercing or tattooing in Lower Merion Township unless the operator where the procedure takes place has been issued a license by the Building and Planning Department and the premises has a current inspection certificate.
Tobacco Retail License
Lower Merion Township's zoning code creates a special use category called Significant Tobacco Retailer covering vape, e-cig, and smoke shops. These retailers must sit at least 1,000 feet from any other Significant Tobacco Retailer and 1,000 feet from any public or private school, measured wall to wall.
Lower Merion Significant Tobacco Retailer Rules
Significant RestrictionsLower Merion Township Code, Table 5.3, Use Regulations (implementing § 155-5.1D)
Significant Tobacco Retailer is subject to the following regulations: (1) A Significant Tobacco Retailer shall be a minimum distance of 1,000 feet from any other Significant Tobacco Retailer, measured along a straight line between the closest walls of each establishment. (2) A Significant Tobacco Retailer shall provide adequate ventilation such that the ventilation, at a minimum, must prevent s...
Secondhand Dealers
Chapter 95 of the Lower Merion Township Code requires anyone buying or selling junk, rubber, rags, scrap metal or similar materials as a junk dealer to first obtain a license from the Township Secretary under § 95-1. The Police Committee sets license conditions and fees and can revoke a license for a breach, and operating unlicensed carries a fine of up to $600 per offense under § 95-4.
Lower Merion Junk Dealer Licensing Rule
Significant RestrictionsLower Merion Township Code §§ 95-1, 95-3, 95-4
§ 95-1. License required. ... Hereafter no person, firm, association or corporation shall engage in the business of buying or selling junk, rubber, rags, rope, scrap iron, brass, lead, copper or other materials, commonly known as the "business of a junk dealer," within the Township of Lower Merion without having first obtained a license from the Township Secretary as hereinafter provided. § 95-...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Lower Merion Township excludes automobile, motorcycle, and lawnmower repair from the one home-based repair-services use its Zoning Code allows in historic resources. Table 7.1.2 lets a Class 1 or Class 2 Historic Resource run "repair services" as a conditional use, but the same table says the exclusion applies before any employee, hours, or access rules matter.
Home Auto Repair Ban in Lower Merion Township
Heavy RestrictionsLower Merion Township Code § 155-7.1, Table 7.1.2
Repair services C/R Shall only be authorized as a conditional use subject to the following regulations: (1) The property shall be accessed from a primary and/or secondary street only and not located in a local historic district. (2) Excludes automobile, motorcycle, or lawnmower repair. (3) Limited to one employee per 500 square feet of gross habitable floor area. (4) Permitted hours of operatio...
Towing Companies
No towing company may haul a vehicle off private property in Lower Merion Township without the owner's consent unless it holds an annual towing service license from the Township Police Department. Hooking fees are capped at $85 and violators face fines up to $600 per offense.
Lower Merion Non-Consent Towing License
Significant RestrictionsLower Merion Township Code §§ 145-75, 145-76
§ 145-75. Towing unattended vehicles from private property. ... No towing service shall remove vehicles parked or left unattended on private property without the consent of the property owner. In addition, the towing service must be issued a license by the Township authorizing them to do so. The license shall be issued for a fee as provided in Ch. A167, Fees, shall be renewed annually and shall...
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