Pennsylvania and Lehigh County do not impose wildfire defensible-space or brush-clearance mandates like Western states. Overgrown brush is handled locally as a weed, blight, or nuisance issue by your city or township, and property owners remain responsible for keeping lots clear.
Lehigh County sets no defensible-space law - PA is not a WUI fire-hazard-severity state, so there is no state 100-foot clearance rule. Brush and tall vegetation are instead regulated municipally as nuisances or blight. Allentown and boroughs enforce property-maintenance and weed ordinances (typically requiring grass and weeds under 10-12 inches and removal of accumulated brush). During dry spells, PA DCNR may issue burn bans that also discourage brush burning. If you want to clear brush by burning, you still need the local open-burning permit described above.
Overgrown or brush-covered lots are cited under municipal weed and property-maintenance codes; the city may abate the nuisance and bill or lien the owner. There is no wildfire-specific penalty.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Lehigh County, PA
Pennsylvania sets no numeric hoarding limit, but the state's animal-neglect law makes it a crime to keep animals without providing each one adequate food, wa...
Lehigh County, PA
Pennsylvania Game Commission regulations make it unlawful to intentionally feed bear or elk anywhere in the Commonwealth, including Lehigh County. Feeding th...
Lehigh County, PA
Home composting is permitted in Lehigh County; Pennsylvania's Act 101 encourages diverting yard waste. There is no county composting permit. Keep piles maint...
Lehigh County, PA
Lehigh County sets no rule on artificial turf. Whether synthetic grass is allowed, and any limits on impervious coverage or front-yard use, depends on your m...
Lehigh County, PA
No Lehigh County rule limits native plantings, and Pennsylvania encourages them. The catch is Allentown's 10-inch weed limit: a deliberate, maintained native...
Lehigh County, PA
Pennsylvania has no law restricting rainwater collection, and Lehigh County imposes none. Homeowners may install rain barrels and cisterns for non-potable us...
See how Lehigh County's brush clearance rules stack up against other locations.
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