Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Borough of Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania

Borough of Castle Shannon’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Commercial and residential construction inside Castle Shannon borough

  • Applies to most construction; applications must include plans.
  • Some construction requires the third-party agency Building Inspection Underwriters (BIU), which has its own permit applications.

  “a building (zoning) permit is required for most construction performed, both commercial and residential.”

• InspectionsRequired

  Residential construction permits inside Castle Shannon borough

  • Some inspections are performed by third-party agency Building Inspection Underwriters (BIU).

  “some construction requires our third party agency, building inspection underwriters (biu) to perform the inspections.”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Persons moving into a commercial or residential dwelling in Castle Shannon borough

  • Contact Planning & Codes at 412-885-9200 ext. 105.

  “in castle shannon, persons moving into a commercial or residential dwelling must obtain a certificate of occupancy.”

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Castle Shannon borough, Allegheny County

  • Ordinance dated July 2013 (Ordinance 891); amendments since then were not reviewed.

  “this chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "official zoning ordinance of castle shannon borough, allegheny county, pennsylvania."”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Castle Shannon borough

  • Districts include R-1, R-2, R-3, R-P, TOD, C-1, C-2 and a planned residential district.

  “r-1:single-family residential district. in addition to the general goals listed in the general intent and zoning district objectives”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  R-1 single-family residential district in Castle Shannon borough

  • Table columns are garbled in the extracted text; the 7,500 sf figure is read as the R-1 column (first column) and other districts (R-2 6,250 sf per du, etc.) differ.

  minimum lot area R-1: >= 7500 sq ft

  “r-1 minimum lot area 7,500 sf r-2 6,250 sf per du minimum lot width”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Recreational vehicles and campers parked in residential districts in Castle Shannon borough

  • Only temporary parking is permitted; no human occupancy while parked.
  • Must be parked behind the front building line, and where possible only in the rear of dwellings.

  “parking of recreational vehicles, "campers," boats, similar types of mobile vehicles may be temporarily permitted in residential districts provided: a) that such vehicles may not be used for human occupancy while parked; b) that such vehicles must be parked only behind the front building line and; c) where possible, only in the rear of dwellings.”

• Permit processPublished

  Building/zoning permits in Castle Shannon borough

  • Payment by cash, check or money order only.

  “all permit applications must be submitted with plans for the project.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Borough of Castle Shannon or Allegheny County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Castle Shannon borough
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Castle Shannon borough
• Minimum dwelling size — R-1 district
• Building height — R-1 district
• Camping on your land — Camping in Castle Shannon borough

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.