Delaware County, PA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Section 195-805 of the Delaware County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 2016 governs driveway construction anywhere the ordinance applies, which under § 195-2 is every city, borough or township in the county that has no subdivision and land development ordinance of its own in effect. Subsection A(4) requires a hard-surface material approved by the municipality on the first 30 feet of every driveway measured from the edge of the street cartway; the remainder of the driveway can use erosion-resistant material approved by the municipality, but dirt surfacing is prohibited outright, with no exception written into the text.

Grading is controlled separately under § 195-805A(3): every driveway needs at least a 1% grade for drainage, the portion inside a street right-of-way cannot exceed 4%, the portion on private land is capped at 15%, and any stretch next to a garage cannot exceed 7%. Shared driveways get their own rules under § 195-805A(5) and (6): a shared driveway can serve no more than two dwellings, must sit on a single lot with an easement recorded for the other lot's right of passage, and needs a recorded maintenance agreement for the shared portion.

Width minimums appear in § 195-805B(3): a driveway serving one lot must be at least nine feet wide in the cartway, and one serving two lots must be at least 16 feet wide; driveways serving more than two single-family dwellings are banned. Sight-distance rules in § 195-805A(8) require 200 feet of clear sight in both directions at local-street driveway intersections and 300 feet at collector streets, measured 15 feet back from the curb line. Review runs through the municipal engineer and planning commission during subdivision plan approval, not through a countywide building inspector.