Franklin Township, PA

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the zoning code's performance standards cap sound at the property line by land use and time of day: 50 dBA daytime and 40 dBA…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, engine-retarding devices ('Jake brakes') are banned on State Road 0896 and on State Road 3007 between the Maryland line and State…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, it's illegal to own, possess, harbor or control any animal or bird whose noise continues for 10 minutes straight or recurs…

Chester County sets no leaf-blower rule and Pennsylvania has no statewide leaf-blower law. Your borough or township controls it. West Chester bars electrically powered lawn and garden…

Chester County directly regulates amplified sound on its own property: no person may use a loudspeaker, public address system, amplified musical instruments or amplifier on county park…

Chester County sets no countywide construction-hours rule; it is governed by your borough or township. West Chester Borough, the county seat, bars construction, demolition and…

Franklin Township prohibits carrying, exploding or discharging fireworks, firecrackers and other missile-propelling devices anywhere in a township park. Section 16-103.R applies to…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the only propane storage rule in the township code is § 22-909, and it applies specifically inside licensed mobile home parks: tanks…

Outdoor burning in Chester County is governed by Pennsylvania DEP air-quality rules at 25 Pa Code 129.14, not a county ordinance. Recreational, ceremonial, and cooking fires are…

Chester County does not regulate residential fire pits; rules are set by your borough or township, which enforce fire safety through the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (34 Pa…

Pennsylvania's Forest Fire Protection Law makes it a crime to set fire to any woodlot, forest, or wild land anywhere in the Commonwealth. Accidental ignition is a misdemeanor…

Franklin Township bars hunting, capturing or killing any bird or animal, game or otherwise, in any township park unless the township grants written permission. Section 16-103.S carves…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, a veterinary hospital is not a permitted use anywhere in the zoning code: it appears only in the C Commercial District's…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, bans letting any animal run at large on streets, public property and parks, or trespass on another owner's private land. Section 2-201…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, permits chickens as outdoor pets in every zoning district under Code § 27-1719, but only on lots of at least 30,000 square feet. Owners…

Chester County restricts high-risk exotic animals. Under Health Department §202, wolves, bats, skunks, foxes, raccoons, and bobcats may not be sold, imported, or housed in the county…

Chester County requires all cats three months or older to be vaccinated against rabies. Under Health Department §202.8, a cat residing in the county for ten days or more must be…

Pennsylvania's Bee Law requires all beekeepers to register their colonies annually with the Department of Agriculture for inspection and disease control.

Pennsylvania state law prohibits municipalities from enacting breed-specific legislation that restricts dogs solely based on their breed or appearance.

Pennsylvania sets no statewide cap on how many dogs or cats a household may keep. The line that matters is the Dog Law's kennel definition in § 102: any establishment in or through…

Pennsylvania Game Commission regulations prohibit intentionally feeding bears and elk statewide, with deer feeding restricted in chronic wasting disease zones.

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, internal drives built as part of a new subdivision or land development must be clearly marked with signs, curbing and painting under…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, standing beside an already-parked curbside vehicle (double parking) is illegal except for loading or unloading, and that exception…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the Board of Supervisors can designate residential permit parking areas where only permit holders may park during posted hours…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the Board of Supervisors can declare a snow and ice emergency, and once declared, parking anywhere on a designated snow emergency…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, parking is banned at all times on the east side of Appleton-Elkton Road from Route 896 to a point 150 feet south of that…

Franklin Township's code bars parking a vehicle other than a passenger car, including buses and motor homes, on streets named in § 15-402.404, but the Township's own table of covered…

Franklin Township regulates driveways down to the foot: permits are required for every new or widened driveway, minimum width is 10 feet, residential driveways cannot exceed 20 feet…

Chester County sets no countywide rule for parking an RV, boat or trailer at your home: that is decided by your borough or township under Pennsylvania's zoning powers. In county parks…

Abandoned vehicles are governed by Pennsylvania state law. A vehicle is presumed abandoned after 48 hours illegally on a highway or public property, or after 24 hours on private…

Chester County has no countywide overnight on-street parking ban: your borough or township decides. Many municipalities restrict overnight parking; West Chester Borough, for example…

A Pennsylvania private parking lot cannot tow you unless it is posted. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3353(b)(2) the trespass-parking rule does not reach a private parking lot at all unless the…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, existing woodland, hedgerows and trees with a trunk diameter of six inches or more, plus any species listed on the Pennsylvania…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, property owners must remove or trim trees and limbs growing in a Township right-of-way whenever they pose a risk of harm to the…

Franklin Township bans lawn watering, pool filling and most other nonessential water uses the moment the Township, DEP or the Delaware River Basin Commission declares a shortage…

In Franklin Township's residential areas, Section 10-102 defines 'excess growth' as any vegetation taller than 12 inches, and Section 10-103 requires every residential lot to have…

Franklin Township's weed ordinance only reaches residential lots. Section 10-101 excludes farmland and land kept in a natural, undeveloped state such as woodland or wetland, and…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, a fence or freestanding wall in a required front yard tops out at 48 inches under § 22-725, unless it is built with an opacity of…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, a retaining wall in a required front yard is capped at four feet, or built in four-foot increments for taller grades, under §…

Under Pennsylvania's 1905 Line Fence Act (29 P.S. § 41), adjoining owners of improved and occupied land must build and maintain equal halves of any boundary or division fence, and…

Sheds and other accessory structures in Franklin Township's Agricultural-Residential District cannot sit in the front yard at all, and must clear 10 feet from the side line and 15 feet…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania only allows an additional dwelling unit on a residential property where the owner actually resides, under Zoning Code § 27-1712.2; a…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania scales how many additional dwelling units a property may add to its lot size under Zoning Code § 27-1712: one unit on parcels up to 10…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania bars any additional dwelling unit from being used as a short-term rental, restricting it to long-term occupation only under Zoning Code…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania allows a state-licensed day-care home to operate as a home occupation under Zoning Code § 27-1709.4.L, provided it meets every other…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania limits a home occupation to 12 client or customer visits per day under Zoning Code § 27-1709.4.I, and requires one additional off-street…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania permits home occupations in agricultural and residential zones under Zoning Code § 27-1709, capping the use at 25% of the dwelling's…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania allows one sign identifying a home occupation, capped at two square feet, under Zoning Code § 27-1709.4.D and the…

Pennsylvania has no classic cottage food law and Chester County does not license home food producers. Instead you register a Limited Food Establishment with the PA Department of…

A residential swimming pool in Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania counts as a structure, so it cannot be built without a zoning-issued building permit under Township Code…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, every swimming pool must sit in the side or rear yard, stay at least 10 feet from any property line, and have the entire pool area…

Short-term rentals in Chester County owe a 5% county Hotel Room Rental Tax under Ordinance #2019-2, on top of Pennsylvania's 6% state hotel occupancy tax, about 11% combined on stays…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, most garbage containers must be fully screened behind a six-foot, 90%-opacity fence and kept at least 20 feet off every lot line…

Franklin Township runs no municipal trash trucks or township-set pickup calendar; private haulers handle collection. Under § 20-103 of the Refuse Ordinance, all refuse collected and…

Franklin Township's Refuse Ordinance regulates how collection is carried out, not who collects it. Section 20-104 requires refuse be transported to prevent hazards and nuisances and…

Dumping trash on roads, another's land, or waters of Pennsylvania is a summary offense under 18 Pa.C.S. Section 6501 (scattering rubbish). A first offense carries a $50 to $300 fine…

Pennsylvania's Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 (Act 101) mandates curbside recycling in municipalities over 10,000 residents and requires statewide…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, every fixture in every zoning district must be effectively shielded, capped at a 30-degree cutoff angle from vertical, limited to 16…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, ambient light spilling from any property may not exceed 0.2 footcandle at an adjacent property line or over vehicular roadways, a…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, limits when a freestanding sign or billboard may be lit and folds that limit into its Township-wide glare rules. Code Section 27-2017…

Franklin Township's park rules flatly ban begging or soliciting anywhere on township park property. Section 16-103.F applies to every township-operated park, playground and recreation…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, skateboarding on any street is illegal except to cross the roadway, and it is also banned on sidewalks in business districts, plus…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, pedestrians must use a crosswalk to cross any roadway in a business district, and on certain other listed street segments, or face a…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, possessing, selling or using alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs is flatly prohibited in every park the township operates, backed…

Franklin Township bars any regulated construction activity from starting until the applicant documents an erosion and sediment control approval. Section 19-303 requires a Conservation…

Franklin Township's Stormwater Management Ordinance, Chapter 19 (Ord. 2023-01, 4/19/2023), regulates new development, redevelopment and earth-disturbance activities township-wide…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the Board of Supervisors adopted its Flood Hazard District under the Pennsylvania Flood Plain Management Act of 1978. Code § 27-1302…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, new construction and substantial improvements in the Flood Hazard District must clear more than base flood elevation. Code § 27-202…

Franklin Township parks operate first-come, first-served unless reserved under § 16-108: annual Board of Supervisors permission, approved school or league games, scheduled municipal…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, anyone organizing a procession or an assemblage that interferes with street traffic must first get a fee-free permit from the Board…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the Township can close any street or part of a street to vehicular traffic, posting barriers or stationing police at each end, while…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, only township-approved storage garages may tow and store vehicles removed for parking violations, and those garages must be bonded…

Pennsylvania regulates electronic cigarettes and vape products under Act 84 of 2016, imposing a 40 percent wholesale tax on e-liquids and devices and requiring tobacco product…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, running bamboo (Phyllostachys and Pseudosasa genera) cannot be planted or allowed to exist within 40 feet of the edge of any public…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, every township-operated park is open sunrise to dusk, seven days a week except major holidays, and anyone found in a park after…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, sidewalk repair inside the Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) District falls to the abutting lot owner, not the Township…

Anyone digging, installing or building in a Franklin Township road right-of-way needs a permit first. Section 21-102 of the Street Opening Ordinance bars any opening, excavation…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the Historical Architectural Review Board is charged with surveying buildings, structures, objects and monuments within the historic…

Franklin Township has no standalone landmark-tree registry, but its zoning code defines a 24-inch-dbh "specimen tree" and bars removing specimen vegetation from any lot under review…

New developments creating public or private roads in Franklin Township must plant shade trees along the full length of the road under Section 22-610.1.D. Trees go one to three feet…

Franklin Township caps buildings and structures at 35 feet in its rural Agricultural-Residential District under § 27-403, the same 35-foot ceiling repeated for the Low-Density…

Franklin Township's Agricultural-Residential District table at § 27-404 sets front yards of 50 to 75 feet, side yards of 10 to 20 feet individually, and rear yards of 25 to 50 feet…

Franklin Township limits building coverage to 8-20% and total lot coverage to 15-35% in the Agricultural-Residential District under § 27-404, with the tightest caps applying to…

Franklin Township's Refuse Ordinance ties trash storage directly to pest control. Section 20-102 requires every property to provide storage facilities for accumulated refuse…

Franklin Township administers building permits through the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code rather than a homegrown building code. Section 5-101 adopts 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401…

Accessory rooftop or ground-mounted solar systems are a by-right use in every Franklin Township zoning district under Section 8-102, but a permit application still must show compliance…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania regulates holiday yard displays through its sign code rather than a stand-alone lawn-ornament rule. Special holiday decorations may go…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, bars any sign that flashes, moves, oscillates or rotates in every zoning district, a general-signs rule in Code § 27-2001 that…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, exempts temporary yard or garage sale signs from a zoning permit under Code § 27-2003, but caps each sign at four square feet and…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, exempts temporary political signs from a zoning permit under Code § 27-2003, capping each sign at six square feet and requiring removal…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, caps window signage at 15% of a building's total front glass area under Code § 27-2005.3. The limit covers all incidental window…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, allows holiday decorations to go up six weeks before a holiday and stay up two weeks after under Code § 27-2015.5. A decoration that…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, defers to state agricultural law rather than its own zoning for normal farm operations. Code § 27-1720 says setbacks, lot coverage and…

Pennsylvania's Right to Farm Act (Act 133 of 1982, 3 P.S. §951 et seq.) protects established agricultural operations from local nuisance lawsuits and overly restrictive municipal…

Backyard smokers are allowed in Chester County as cooking devices; there is no county rule. State air rule 25 Pa Code 129.14 permits fires solely for cooking food, and the…

Backyard grilling is allowed in Chester County; the county sets no rule. Statewide air rules (25 Pa Code 129.14) permit cooking fires, and the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code…

The Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act establishes statewide siting rules for dispensaries, including a 1,000-foot setback from schools and daycares, while allowing reasonable local…

Pennsylvania prohibits home cultivation of cannabis by patients, caregivers, and recreational users. The Medical Marijuana Act limits production to state-permitted growers, and…

Commercial drone operators in Pennsylvania must hold an FAA Part 107 certificate and comply with state crimes under Act 78 of 2018 (18 Pa.C.S. Section 3505). That law preempts local…

Pennsylvania Act 78 of 2018 (18 Pa.C.S. Section 3505) criminalizes drone surveillance of a private place, menacing operation, and contraband delivery, and preempts most local drone…

Pennsylvania is a shall-issue state requiring a License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) issued by the county sheriff for concealed carry or carry in a vehicle, with statewide rules under 18…

Pennsylvania law comprehensively preempts local regulation of firearms under 18 Pa.C.S. §6120. Cities and counties cannot regulate lawful ownership, possession, transfer, or…

Open carry of firearms is generally legal in Pennsylvania for adults 18 or older without a permit outside Philadelphia, but a License to Carry Firearms is required statewide for…

Under 18 Pa.C.S. Section 6106, carrying a firearm in a vehicle anywhere in Pennsylvania generally requires a valid License to Carry Firearms, with limited exceptions for unloaded…

Pennsylvania's Food Code requires all mobile food units to obtain retail food facility licenses through the Department of Agriculture or local health departments.

Pennsylvania caps mini-casinos at ten Category 4 slot machine licenses statewide under 4 Pa.C.S. § 1305.1, each barred from sitting within 25 linear miles of an existing Category 1, 2…

Pennsylvania nonprofits can't run raffles, punchboards, or 50/50 drawings for charity until their own municipality's voters approve it in a referendum. Once approved, the county…

Pennsylvania's gambling code has no social-game or private-residence exception. 18 Pa.C.S. § 5513 makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to let people 'collect and assemble for the…

Pennsylvania channels all sports wagering through Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board certificates, and only an existing slot machine licensee can hold one under 4 Pa.C.S. § 13C11…

Under Pennsylvania's Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315, an association has an automatic lien on a unit for unpaid assessments and fines from the time they become due…

A Pennsylvania association's bylaws must call at least one owners' meeting a year, and notice has to go out not less than ten and not more than 60 days before it, stating the time, the…

Pennsylvania's American, Commonwealth and Military Flag Act overrides any HOA covenant that bans flags. Whatever the declaration says, an association may not stop a unit owner from…

Pennsylvania sets no dollar ceiling on a homeowners association fine. Under the Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5302(a)(11), an association may levy "reasonable fines" for…

A Pennsylvania planned community association gets a lien on a lot the moment an assessment or fine falls due, and 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315(a) lets it foreclose that lien in a like manner as a…

Sobriety checkpoints are lawful in Pennsylvania, and the authority is a single clause in 75 Pa.C.S. § 6308(b) permitting an officer to stop a vehicle whenever he is engaged in a…

Pennsylvania is an all-party consent state, and 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703 grades an intentional interception of an oral communication as a felony of the third degree, one of the harshest…

Pennsylvania has never enacted a general stop-and-identify statute, so a person stopped on the street in this Commonwealth has no statutory duty to state a name or produce…

Pennsylvania does not require an officer to obtain written consent before searching a car, and it does not require a warning that you may refuse. Since 5 December 2025 it does require…

Pennsylvania draws a hard line between a golf cart and a neighborhood electric vehicle. Chapter 77A of the Vehicle Code makes it unlawful to operate a golf cart on any highway at all…

Pennsylvania's Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act allows neighbors and nonprofits statewide to petition courts for conservator appointments.

Under 68 P.S. Section 250.501, a Pennsylvania landlord must serve a written notice to quit before eviction: 10 days for nonpayment of rent, and 15 days (term of one year or less) or 30…

Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Act establishes uniform eviction notice and procedure requirements applicable statewide, governing all residential tenancy terminations universally.

Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent during the first year and one month's rent in the second and later years…

Pennsylvania's general adverse possession period is 21 years under 42 Pa.C.S. Section 5530. A shorter 10-year period applies under 42 Pa.C.S. Section 5527.1 to a parcel of one-half…

Pennsylvania Act 112 of 2019 raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco and e-cigarettes to 21, aligning with the federal Tobacco 21 law (Dec 2019). The state law covers all tobacco…

Pennsylvania does not currently impose a statewide ban on flavored tobacco or menthol cigarettes, though federal FDA marketing rules restrict which flavored vape products and…

Pennsylvania allows a passenger vehicle or light truck exactly one pair of approved auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps, mounted at least 20 inches apart from center to center and no…

Pennsylvania has never written a dash cam allowance into the Vehicle Code. 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524(a) bars nontransparent material on the front windshield that materially obstructs the…

Lane splitting is expressly illegal in Pennsylvania. Section 3523(c) of the Vehicle Code says no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or…

Pennsylvania flatly prohibits a tinted registration plate cover. Section 1332(b)(5) of the Vehicle Code makes it unlawful to display a plate that "has a tinted plate cover," with no…

A radar detector is legal in a private passenger vehicle in Pennsylvania. The full text of Title 75, the Vehicle Code, contains no occurrence of the word "detector" at all, and the…

Studded snow tires are legal in Pennsylvania only between November 1 and April 15 of the following year, and the studs may project no more than two thirty-seconds of an inch beyond the…

Pennsylvania sets no separate front-and-rear tint percentages the way most states do. 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524(e)(1) simply bars driving with any sun screening device that does not permit a…