Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Ferndale Borough, Pennsylvania

At a glance

Zoning

Yes: borough zoning ordinance with R-1, R-2, commercial, light industrial, floodplain, recreation and conservancy districts¹

Building permit

Required; issued by the borough zoning officer²

Minimum lot, R-1 one-family

4,800 sq ft, 40 ft wide at the building line⁴

Front and side yard, R-1

Front at least 15 ft; each side at least 4 ft⁵

Height, R-1 house

35 feet or 2½ stories⁶

Mobile homes and trailers

Permanent occupancy only in the R-2 district and mobile home parks⁷

Septic permit

Required; issued by the local sewage enforcement agency under Act 537⁸³

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Does Ferndale, PA have zoning, and what does it mean for RVs, tiny homes, lot size and setbacks?

Ferndale Borough has its own zoning ordinance, Chapter 27 of the borough code, administered by a zoning officer and a zoning hearing board¹. The ordinance published on the borough site covers R-1 one-family residential, R-2, commercial, light industrial, floodplain, recreation and conservancy districts¹⁹.

In the R-1 district, a one-family detached dwelling needs a lot of at least 4,800 square feet and a width of at least 40 feet at the building line⁴. The front yard must be at least 15 feet and each side yard at least 4 feet⁵. A one-family dwelling may be 35 feet or 2½ stories tall⁶.

Mobile homes, home trailers and auto trailers may be used for permanent occupancy only in the R-2 district and in mobile home parks¹⁰. We could not confirm separate rules for tiny homes or short-term RV camping, so ask the borough office before parking an RV on a lot.

Do you need a building permit in Ferndale Borough, and who issues it?

Excavating, erecting, constructing or structurally altering anything inside Ferndale Borough requires a permit issued by the zoning officer². The application needs two copies of a scaled site or plot plan, and no permit issues for work that does not conform to the zoning chapter unless the zoning hearing board grants a variance or special exception².

That zoning permit is separate from the state Uniform Construction Code building permit, which Pennsylvania requires before starting construction work¹¹. Who enforces the code inside Ferndale (the borough, a third-party agency or a multi-municipal agency) we could not confirm; ask the borough office. In municipalities that opt out of enforcing it, certified third-party agencies handle residential code enforcement¹². Once a permit is issued, the code official inspects the work and a certificate of occupancy is required before a residential building is occupied¹³.

How do septic permits work in Ferndale Borough?

Pennsylvania requires a permit for an on-lot sewage system, applied for through the local certified Sewage Enforcement Officer, who must approve or deny a complete application within seven days⁸. Local agencies, which may be a municipality, a group of municipalities or a county health department, carry out that permitting³. We could not confirm which agency serves Ferndale; ask the borough office. The Sewage Enforcement Officer must inspect the completed system before it is covered¹⁴.

If the lot has public sewer, that connection is a separate matter we could not confirm for Ferndale.

Building a home in Ferndale Borough: the steps, in order

1. Confirm the lot's zoning district on the borough zone map and ordinance⁹.
2. Check lot width, setbacks and height against that district's rules⁴.
3. Apply to the zoning officer with two scaled site plans².
4. Obtain the state Uniform Construction Code building permit before starting work¹¹.
5. If the lot is not on public sewer, apply for a septic permit through the Sewage Enforcement Officer⁸.
6. Have construction inspected, then obtain the certificate of occupancy before moving in¹⁵¹³.

What stays with Cambria County and the state, and what to check before you buy in Ferndale?

Septic permitting comes from a local sewage enforcement agency under state law, not from the zoning officer³. A driveway that connects to a state highway needs a PennDOT permit¹⁶. Floodplain rules are adopted and enforced by each municipality, and Ferndale's ordinance has floodplain districts¹⁷¹.

The Cambria County Planning Commission reviews subdivision and land-development plans in municipalities with ordinances¹⁸; see Cambria County for land outside the borough. Cambria County's typical home value is about $120,543 and its effective property tax rate is 1.3%¹⁹²⁰.

Watch-outs

• The ordinance text is published, but we could not confirm the borough's zone map, so check which district a specific lot sits in with the borough office before you buy⁹.
• The R-1 numbers above apply only to R-1; R-2 and other districts have different standards that we could not confirm⁴.
• The borough's building-code enforcement, fee schedule and septic agency were not confirmed; ask the borough office and the Cambria County Planning Commission²¹.

Sources

1. Ferndale Borough Code Chapter 27 Zoning (Ord. 385, 1982, as amended) (Borough of Ferndale), quoted and re-checked
2. Ferndale Borough Code Chapter 27 Zoning (Ord. 385, 1982, as amended) (Borough of Ferndale), quoted and re-checked
3. Municipal On Lot Sewage Service Areas, quoted and re-checked
4. Ferndale Borough Code Chapter 27 Zoning (Ord. 385, 1982, as amended) (Borough of Ferndale), quoted and re-checked
5. Ferndale Borough Code Chapter 27 Zoning (Ord. 385, 1982, as amended) (Borough of Ferndale), quoted and re-checked
6. Ferndale Borough Code Chapter 27 Zoning (Ord. 385, 1982, as amended) (Borough of Ferndale), quoted and re-checked
7. Ferndale Borough Code Chapter 27 Zoning (Ord. 385, 1982, as amended) (Borough of Ferndale), quoted and re-checked
8. Onlot Sewage Program (Home Buyer's / Builders Guide), quoted and re-checked
9. Ferndale Borough Code Chapter 27 Zoning (Ord. 385, 1982, as amended) (Borough of Ferndale), quoted and re-checked
10. Ferndale Borough Code Chapter 27 Zoning (Ord. 385, 1982, as amended) (Borough of Ferndale), quoted and re-checked
11. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
12. Uniform Construction Code (UCC) (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
13. Uniform Construction Code regulations, Chapter 403, quoted and re-checked
14. Onlot Sewage Program (Home Buyer's / Builders Guide), quoted and re-checked
15. Uniform Construction Code regulations, Chapter 403, quoted and re-checked
16. Apply for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit, quoted and re-checked
17. Pennsylvania Floodplain Development Guide, quoted and re-checked
18. Planning Commission - Cambria County, PA, quoted and re-checked
19. Typical home value (Zillow): Bolthole Index county data
20. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
21. Cambria County Planning Commission (cambriaplanning.org)

Written October 14, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.