Lancaster County, PA Ordinances (2026)

Lancaster County itself issues no short-term-rental permit. Under Pennsylvania's Municipalities Planning Code, each of the county's 60 municipalities regulates STRs. The City of…

Lancaster County imposes no primary-residence requirement on short-term rentals. Whether a rental must be your home is municipal. The City of Lancaster distinguishes a Homestay - where…

Lancaster County sets no host-presence rule. Whether an owner or manager must be present is municipal. The City of Lancaster does not require owner occupancy for a standard STR, but a…

Lancaster County levies a hotel room rental tax (3.9%) plus a county hotel excise tax (1.1%) on lodging patrons countywide, collected by the County Treasurer. The revenue benefits the…

Lancaster County sets no STR occupancy cap; limits are municipal. In the City of Lancaster, the number of guests in one party may not exceed two adults per bedroom, and the maximum…

Lancaster County sets no STR parking rule; it is municipal. The City of Lancaster requires one off-street parking space per dwelling, plus one additional off-street space per bedroom…

Lancaster County does not license daycares. Under 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3290, a family child care home caring for four to six unrelated children must hold a certificate of compliance…

Lancaster County issues no home occupation permits. A qualifying no-impact home-based business needs no zoning approval statewide, but a larger home occupation usually needs a zoning…

Lancaster County sets no sign rule. State law bars any outside sign of business for a no-impact home-based business. Larger home occupations may display a small sign only if your…

Pennsylvania has no cottage food law and no county food rule. A home food business registers as a Limited Food Establishment with the PA Department of Agriculture, gets an on-site…

Lancaster County has no countywide leash law. Statewide, the Pennsylvania Dog Law requires every dog be confined to the owner's premises, secured, or under a person's reasonable…

Lancaster County has no hoarding ordinance, but Pennsylvania's animal-cruelty law reaches hoarding through the neglect statute (18 Pa.C.S. §5532), which requires basic care for every…

Pennsylvania bans breed-specific legislation, so no Lancaster County municipality may outlaw pit bulls or any breed. Dogs are instead regulated individually under the state's…

You cannot own exotic wildlife in Lancaster County without a state permit. The PA Game Commission (34 Pa.C.S. §2963) requires a possession permit for exotic wildlife, and it is…

Feeding bears and elk is always illegal in Pennsylvania, and deer feeding is banned in Lancaster County, which sits in a Chronic Wasting Disease management area. These Game Commission…

Pennsylvania DEP rule 25 Pa. Code §129.14 sets the baseline: open burning is barred where its smoke, odor, or emissions cross your property line and interfere with neighbors. Lancaster…

Pennsylvania (3 Pa.C.S. Chapter 11) governs consumer fireworks statewide. Adults 18+ may use them, but never within 150 feet of any building or vehicle, on others' property without…

In Lancaster County parks, marked passenger or loading zones may be used only for prompt loading and unloading of passengers or materials, not general parking. On public streets…

In Lancaster County parks, no one may park a vehicle across more than one designated spot or in a way that obstructs traffic. Restrictions on oversized vehicles parked at homes or on…

In the Lancaster County Park System, no vehicle may be parked between sunset and sunrise unless the Director grants written permission or a permit. On municipal streets…

Pennsylvania law prohibits abandoning any vehicle on a highway or on public or private property without consent. A vehicle is presumed abandoned once left inoperable or illegally more…

Lancaster County has no countywide EV-charging-station ordinance. County parks allow e-bikes wherever bicycles are permitted (max 20 mph on motor). On-street EV charging, curbside…

Lancaster County sets no building setbacks. Each municipality does, under MPC §603(b), which authorizes zoning of the “location” of structures and “yards” left unoccupied. Front, side…

Lancaster County sets no lot-coverage limit. Municipalities do, under MPC §603(b), which authorizes zoning of the “areas and dimensions of land… to be occupied by… structures.” Caps…

Lancaster County sets no building-height limit. Municipalities do, under MPC §603(b), which authorizes zoning of the “height… of structures.” Limits vary by district. Lancaster City…

Lancaster County sets no weed ordinance; your municipality does (e.g., Lancaster City's six-inch limit). Statewide, Pennsylvania's Controlled Plants and Noxious Weeds law bars…

Tree-removal permits are municipal, not county-level (street trees need a permit under the PA Shade Tree Act). Lancaster County's distinctive land-protection authority is farmland…

Lancaster County sets no tree-trimming rule. Under the PA Shade Tree Act, a municipality's shade-tree commission or public works has custody of trees in the public right-of-way…

Residential pool safety is set by the statewide PA Uniform Construction Code (2021 ISPSC), not the county. Public pools follow the PA Department of Health's 28 Pa. Code Chapter 18…

Lancaster County issues no residential pool permits. A private single-family pool needs a building permit from your municipality under the PA Uniform Construction Code. Only…

Lancaster County sets no countywide quiet hours. Each of the 60 municipalities does. Lancaster City bars amplified sound that is plainly audible across a property line between 9 p.m…

Lancaster County sets no construction-hours rule. In the City of Lancaster, construction, drilling, and demolition may not run 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, or any…

Lancaster County has no leaf-blower ordinance. Lancaster City's Chapter 198 restricts powered lawn and garden tools, including leaf blowers, outdoors in residential areas between 9:00…

Lancaster County has no countywide barking-dog noise law. Lancaster City's Chapter 198 makes it unlawful to keep an animal that barks continuously for 10 minutes, or intermittently for…

Motor-vehicle noise is governed statewide by the PA Vehicle Code, which requires every vehicle to have a working muffler with no cutout or bypass. Lancaster City adds local limits tied…

On private property, political-sign rules are set by your municipality's zoning ordinance, not Lancaster County. In county parks, political signs are banned except within 100 yards of…

Lancaster County sets no garage-sale-sign rule for private property: your city/borough/township sign ordinance governs placement, size, and removal. In county parks it is illegal to…

Under PA Act 101, larger Lancaster County municipalities must run recycling programs. Municipalities with 10,000+ residents (or 5,000–10,000 with density over 300/sq mi) must require…

Illegal dumping is a state crime in Pennsylvania. Under 18 Pa.C.S. §6501 (scattering rubbish), depositing waste on roads, others' land, or waterways is a summary offense carrying…

Lancaster County parks (Central Park, Money Rocks, and the rest of the Park System) are open to the public only from sunrise to sunset each day, unless posted otherwise. Lighted…