Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Borough of Martinsburg, Pennsylvania

Borough of Martinsburg’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Martinsburg Borough, Blair County, PA

  • Administered by a zoning officer and zoning hearing board under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code
  • Ordinance text on the borough site is titled 2015 but states amendments through Ord. 547 of 2004

  “this ordinance shall be known as the "martinsburg borough zoning ordinance".”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Martinsburg Borough

  • District boundaries are shown on the 'zoning map - borough of martinsburg' linked from the borough zoning page

  districts: R-S, R-U, T-C, M-C, I-P

  “the borough of martinsburg is hereby divided into districts which shall be designated as follows: r-s r-u t-c m-c i-p residential-suburban district residential-urban district town center district manufacturing-commercial district industrial park district”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Any dwelling unit hereafter established in all zoning districts inside Martinsburg Borough

  • No bedroom or sleeping area under 70 sq ft excluding closets
  • At least half of each habitable room's floor area must have 7 ft ceiling height
  • Every kitchen at least 50 sq ft gross floor area

  minimum habitable floor area, one bedroom or sleeping area: >= 250 sq ft · additional habitable floor area per additional bedroom: >= 200 sq ft

  “the minimum habitable floor area of any dwelling unit hereafter established shall be two hundred fifty (250) square feet for a unit with one bedroom or sleeping area plus two hundred (200) square feet for each additional bedroom or sleeping area contained therein.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-S Residential-Suburban District (single-family dwelling) inside Martinsburg Borough

  • Width at building line 80 ft for lots 10,000 to under 20,000 sq ft; 100 ft for 20,000 sq ft or more
  • Different areas apply with public water or sewer but not both, or neither

  single-family lot area with public water and sewer: >= 10000 sq ft · single-family lot area with public water or sewer but not both: >= 15000 sq ft · lot area per dwelling unit with neither public water nor sewer: >= 20000 sq ft

  “with public water and sewer: (1) single-family dwelling - the lot area shall be not less than ten thousand (10,000) square feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-U Residential-Urban District inside Martinsburg Borough

    “single-family - 4,500 square feet per dwelling unit. 2. two-family - 6,000 total square feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-S Residential-Suburban District inside Martinsburg Borough

  • Animal-keeping activities set back at least 100 ft from any non-farm dwelling
  • Rear yard exception in section 523c
  • Accessory structures: not in front yard; at least 10 ft from rear line (section 501)

  front yard: >= 30 ft · side yards (each of two): >= 15 ft · rear yard: >= 30 ft (see section 523c rear yard exception)

  “1. front yard - depth, thirty (30) feet. 2. side yards (2) - width, fifteen (15) feet each. 3. rear yard - depth, thirty (30) feet (see section 523c - rear yard exception)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-U Residential-Urban District inside Martinsburg Borough

    “1. front yard - depth, twenty-five (25) feet. 2. side yards (2) - width, ten (10) feet each. 3. rear yard - depth, twenty (20) feet (see section 523c - rear yard exception)”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  R-S Residential-Suburban District inside Martinsburg Borough

  • No more than one dwelling per lot

  maximum lot coverage by buildings and structures: <= 30 percent

  “the lot coverage by all buildings and structures shall not be greater than thirty (30) percent.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-U Residential-Urban District inside Martinsburg Borough

    “the lot coverage by all building and structures shall not be greater than forty (40) percent.”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-S Residential-Suburban District inside Martinsburg Borough

  • Agricultural and public service structures excluded
  • Height may increase one foot for each additional foot that each side yard exceeds the minimum

  maximum building height: <= 35 ft (may be increased 1 ft per extra foot of side yard width)

  “no building, excluding agricultural and public service structures, shall be erected to a height in excess of thirty-five (35) feet;”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-U Residential-Urban District inside Martinsburg Borough

    “no building, excluding public service related structures and multi-family dwellings as a special exception shall be extended to a height in excess of thirty-five (35) feet.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes inside Martinsburg Borough; the ordinance definitions treat a mobile home as a single-family dwelling, and mobile home parks are listed as a permitted use in the R-S district

  • Mobile home parks must meet the general regulations and applicable state rules
  • Rules for individual mobile homes on lots outside parks were not separately read

  “in districts where permitted or permitted as a special exception, mobile home parks shall be subject to all applicable regulations of the municipality and the commonwealth of pennsylvania.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Accessory structures used as dwellings inside Martinsburg Borough, all districts

  • Accessory structure may not be used for dwelling purposes unless the zoning hearing board expressly authorizes it
  • Conversion apartments within existing dwellings are a separate permitted use in some districts (e.g., R-S where public water and sewer, up to 3 units per structure)

  “no accessory structure shall be used for dwelling purposes unless expressly authorized by the zoning hearing board.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits inside Martinsburg Borough
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Martinsburg Borough
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Martinsburg Borough
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Martinsburg Borough
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy inside Martinsburg 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.