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

Cherry Township’s own rules

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Uniform Construction Code administration inside Cherry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania.

  • The state list identifies Cherry Township as an OPT-IN municipality and states NO AMENDMENTS in the pre-July 1, 1999 amendments column.

  UCC opt-in effective date: 7/5/2004

  “BUTLER | CHERRY | TOWNSHIP | OPT-IN | 7/5/2004 | NO AMENDMENTS”

Rules another office applies inside Cherry Township

Cherry Township does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  Subdivision or land-development sanitary sewer service inside Cherry Township, which Butler County lists as falling under the County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.

  • Applies where connection to public sewer will not be provided under the ordinance.
  • Individual on-lot systems require approval by the municipality, its sewage enforcement officer, and PA DEP.
  • Private sewer systems require consistency with the municipal Act 537 plan and PA DEP approval and permitting.

  “"C" Denotes the Township or Borough Falls Under the County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Subdivision and land-development sanitation inside Cherry Township, where public sewer service is not provided under the County ordinance.

  • Applies only to subdivisions and land developments covered by the County ordinance.
  • Individual on-lot systems require approval by the municipality, sewage enforcement officer, and PA DEP.
  • Private sewer systems must be consistent with the municipal Act 537 plan and approved and permitted by PA DEP.

  “individual on-lot sewage disposal systems”

• Mandatory utility hookupWater and sewer (with conditions)

  New subdivisions and land developments inside Cherry Township, which Butler County lists as falling under the County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.

  • Connection is required only where an existing public system is reasonably available and has adequate capacity.
  • A system is reasonably available if the development is within a designated future service area or within the stated distance threshold.
  • For sewer, the distance is measured from the most feasible connection point to the nearest available public sewer line of sufficient size following a feasible route.
  • For water, the distance is measured from the most feasible connection point to the nearest available public water line of sufficient size following a feasible route.

  public sewer availability distance for 1-4 building lots or EDUs: 200 feet · public sewer availability distance for 5-14 building lots or EDUs: 500 feet · public sewer availability distance for 15+ building lots or EDUs: 1000 feet · public water availability distance for 1-4 building lots or EDUs: 200 feet · public water availability distance for 5-14 building lots or EDUs: 500 feet · public water availability distance for 15+ building lots or EDUs: 1000 feet

  “shall connect to the public water system”

• Agricultural exemptionConditional

  Accessory farm buildings subordinate to an existing farm in land-development review inside Cherry Township.

  • This is an exception from the County ordinance's land-development standards, not a general exemption from all land-use, construction, sewage, or other rules.
  • The building must be an accessory farm building housing livestock, sheltering farm equipment, or storing silage, subordinate to an existing farm as defined in the ordinance.

  “Construction or expansion of accessory farm buildings (housing of livestock, shelter for farm equipment, storage of silage, etc.) on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing farm as defined in this Ordinance.”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Access driveways serving proposed land developments inside Cherry Township under the County ordinance.

  • Applies to access driveways serving proposed land developments, not necessarily an individual driveway outside a land development.
  • Driveways must comply with state-highway occupancy permits on state streets and highways and municipal driveway permits where required for municipal streets and roads.
  • Driveways must enter at safe locations at least 50 linear feet from intersecting-roadway centerlines and never within the curb radius.

  minimum distance from intersecting-roadway centerlines: >= 50 feet (Driveways also may not be within the curb radius.)

  “Access driveways serving proposed land developments shall be designed according to the specifications prescribed in the accompanying Table of Driveway Specifications, plus the provisions in this Section. Access driveways must also comply with requirements for Highway Occupancy Permits on state streets and highways and municipal driveway permits where required for municipal streets and roads.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  County subdivision and land-development applications inside Cherry Township.

  • Applies to County subdivision and land-development applications, not all residential permits.
  • The County ordinance states that fees are established and adopted by Board of Commissioners resolution and are nonrefundable.
  • A denied application's resubmission or revision is a new application and must pay the current County fee.

  “Butler County Subdivision and Land Development Fee Schedule (PDF)”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Residential building work inside Cherry Township.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction inside Cherry Township.
• Inspections — Residential construction inside Cherry Township.
• Certificate of occupancy — Residential occupancy inside Cherry Township.
• Local zoning — Land inside Cherry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania.

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.