Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Durham Township, Pennsylvania

Durham Township’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Township-issued permits for pools, new construction and additions, change in use, garden sheds, electric, plumbing, decks, and similar work in Durham township.

  • The township homepage reminder lists these permit types but is an informational notice, not the adopted ordinance; the full permit regulation was not opened.
  • Construction may proceed only after the permit is issued.
  • Phone contact given on the page: zoning office 610-346-9211.

  “permits are required for all pools, new construction/additions, change in use, garden sheds, electric, plumbing, decks, etc.”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  All new residential construction and all commercial construction in Durham township.

  • The homepage abbreviates the requirement as 'u&o required'; I read this as a use-and-occupancy certificate, which the page does not expand.
  • Issuance criteria and fees were not found.

  “u&o required for all new residential and all commercial.”

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Durham township limits; the township administers its own zoning ordinance (Zoning Ordinance of 2015) and zoning office.

  • Adoption and effective dates were shown in a search snippet of the ordinance cover page but not on a page I opened, so no effective_at is recorded.
  • Overlay districts (fp floodplain, cg carbonate geology, wp wellhead protection) also apply per the same section 301 list.

  “ap - agricultural preservation district rp – resource protection district rr - rural residential district”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside Durham township limits; district list in the township zoning ordinance.

  • The zoning map is incorporated by reference in section 302 of the ordinance; I did not open the map itself.
  • Districts named: AP agricultural preservation, RP resource protection, RR rural residential, VC village center, PC-I planned commercial industrial; overlays FP, CG, WP.

  “ap - agricultural preservation district rp – resource protection district rr - rural residential district”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single-family detached dwellings (uses b-11a and b-11b) in the AP (agricultural preservation) district of Durham township.

  • Sites of 10 or more acres: minimum lot area 1 acre, with maximum density 0.33 dwelling unit per acre of base site area.
  • Other sites: minimum lot area 3 acres.
  • The 10-acre branch's sub-items (1) through (7) did not capture in the text extraction and were not reviewed.
  • The captured subsection label reads '601.f.'; confirm the section number.

  minimum lot area (sites of 10 acres or more): 1 acre (sites with 10 or more acres of site area) · minimum lot area (other sites): 3 acre (sites under 10 acres)

  “minimum lot area = 1 acre maximum impervious surface ratio =.25 minimum lot width at minimum building setback line - 150 feet minimum yards (in feet): 50 front, 15 each side, 35 rear.”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single-family detached dwellings (uses b-11a and b-11b) in the AP district of Durham township.

  • Sites of 10 or more acres: yards 50 ft front, 15 ft each side, 35 ft rear.
  • Other sites: yards 50 ft front, 30 ft each side, 50 ft rear.
  • Yard values are from the captured text; sub-items for the 10-acre branch were not captured.

  front yard: 50 ft (AP single-family detached) · side yard each (10+ acre sites): 15 ft (sites with 10 or more acres) · side yard each (other sites): 30 ft (sites under 10 acres) · rear yard (10+ acre sites): 35 ft (sites with 10 or more acres) · rear yard (other sites): 50 ft (sites under 10 acres)

  “minimum yards (in feet): 50 front, 15 each side, 35 rear.”

• Lot coverageDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single-family detached dwellings (uses b-11a and b-11b) in the AP district of Durham township, measured as maximum impervious surface ratio.

  • Maximum impervious surface ratio 0.25 for sites of 10 or more acres; 0.15 for other sites.
  • This is an impervious-surface limit, not a building-coverage limit; the AP building-coverage figure was not captured for single-family uses.

  maximum impervious surface ratio (10+ acre sites): <= 0.25 ratio (sites with 10 or more acres) · maximum impervious surface ratio (other sites): <= 0.15 ratio (sites under 10 acres)

  “minimum lot area = 1 acre maximum impervious surface ratio =.25 minimum lot width at minimum building setback line - 150 feet minimum yards (in feet): 50 front, 15 each side, 35 rear.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile home parks in the rural residential (RR) district of Durham township, reached through a performance subdivision variation.

  • Applies only to a mobile home park application made as a variation of a performance subdivision in the RR district.
  • Single-wide and double-wide unit lot standards are set out in the same subsection and were only partly captured.

  “where an application for a mobile home park is made as a variation of a performance subdivision in the rr district, the following dimensional requirements shall apply:”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Accessory apartments on land in the AP district of Durham township (use h-1), listed as permitted by right.

  • Listed among AP permitted-by-right uses; the h-1 standards (occupant limits, size, ownership) were not captured and may limit the use.
  • The captured list line is cut off at 'for immediate'.

  “h-1 accessory apartment for immediate family members: one apartment accessory to a single-family detached dwelling shall be permitted provided the following conditions are met.”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  Dwelling units in a single-family detached cluster (use b-12) in Durham township; not the general rule for a single new home.

  • The quoted rule applies only to cluster developments (use b-12) and to units where average density is one dwelling unit per acre or more.
  • The general connection rule for an individual new home was not located in the captured text.

  “each dwelling unit shall be served with township-approved and county-approved central water and central sewage systems, unless the average density is less than one dwelling unit per acre.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land subdivision and land development inside Durham township

  • Subdivision and land development plans are approved by the board of supervisors after planning commission review, per the zoning ordinance text.
  • The 1982 subdivision and land development ordinance was seen only in a search snippet and not opened.

  “unless the applicant submits a revised subdivision or land development plan that is approved by the board of supervisors, after the planning commission has had an opportunity for a review.”

• Permit processPartial

  Permit application and pickup at Durham township office

  • Process is described only as a phone-first intake: call the office to pick up permits or drop off applications and plans.
  • Office hours are monday-friday 8 am-12 pm; zoning office hours are monday and thursday, 8:30 am to 12 pm (per homepage, as captured).

  “please call the office if you need to pick up a permit or drop off permit applications/plans.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Durham Township or Bucks County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builders in Durham township
• Building code adopted — New construction inside Durham township
• Inspections — New construction inside Durham township
• Minimum dwelling size — Single-family dwellings in Durham township
• Building height — Single-family dwellings in AP and RR districts of Durham township

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.