9 rules for unincorporated Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Verified from official government sources
Delaware County sets no countywide lawn-height limit. Each of the 49 boroughs, townships and cities sets its own maximum through a property-maintenance or grass-and-weeds ordinance. Lower Chichester Township, for example, caps grass at twelve inches.
Delaware County does not regulate tree trimming on residential streets. In municipalities that have adopted the Pennsylvania Shade Tree Act, a shade-tree commission has exclusive control of trees in the public right-of-way. Trees wholly on your own land are yours to prune.
53 P.S. §2811 (Act of May 31, 1907, P.L. 349, §1)
a Commission of three freeholders, to be known and designated as the Shade-tree Commission of the said township, borough, or city ... who shall have exclusive and absolute custody and control of, and power to plant, set out, remove, maintain, protect, and care for, shade-trees, on any of the public highways of the said townships, boroughs, and cities.
Delaware County has no countywide tree-removal permit. Removing a street tree in the public right-of-way requires the local shade-tree commission's action under state law, while a tree entirely on your own property is generally yours to remove unless your municipality's zoning code says otherwise.
53 P.S. §2811 (Act of May 31, 1907, P.L. 349, §1)
who shall have exclusive and absolute custody and control of, and power to plant, set out, remove, maintain, protect, and care for, shade-trees, on any of the public highways of the said townships, boroughs, and cities.
There is no Delaware County weed ordinance. Each municipality bans noxious weeds and overgrown vegetation through its own property-maintenance code. Lower Chichester Township, for example, forbids noxious plant growth and grass over twelve inches.
Delaware County publishes no lawn-watering schedule. Mandatory outdoor-water restrictions in Pennsylvania take effect only when the Governor declares a drought emergency; the DEP's drought coordinator issues informational watch and warning notices, and your water utility may add its own rules.
PA DEP Drought Information
Drought watch and warning are informational declarations issued by the Coordinator with input from the Drought Task Force. Drought emergency declarations, which have mandatory conservation requirements, follow a similar process but require final approval by the Governor.
Rainwater harvesting is legal in Pennsylvania and Delaware County has no ban. The county and its municipalities generally encourage rain barrels and cisterns as stormwater best practices, though large systems tied to a building can trigger local plumbing or stormwater-management review.
Delaware County has no rule against native-plant or meadow landscaping. Native gardens are encouraged for stormwater and pollinator benefits, but you must still meet your municipality's weed and grass-height ordinance, which can flag an unmaintained lot as overgrown.
Delaware County sets no rule on artificial turf. Whether synthetic grass is allowed, and any impervious-coverage or stormwater conditions, is decided by your borough or township zoning and stormwater ordinances under the PA Municipalities Planning Code.
Backyard composting is legal across Delaware County and encouraged by the county's Act 101 recycling program. There is no county compost permit, but municipal property-maintenance and nuisance rules require that piles not create odors, attract rodents or become a health hazard.
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