Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Upper Mifflin Township, Pennsylvania

Upper Mifflin Township’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Building construction inside Upper Mifflin township

  • Permit forms are the township building application plus the code-agency forms; a separate earth disturbance permit form is needed where new earth disturbance occurs.
  • Earth disturbance requirement stated on the same page.

  “permits are needed for building in upper mifflin township.”

• InspectionsRequired

  Building construction inside Upper Mifflin township

  • Inspections are performed by third-party agencies chosen by the applicant; the township says the applicant may choose either agency but should finish with the one they start with.
  • Only the agencies named on the page are identified; their inspection schedules are on their own websites, not reviewed here.

  “the two agencies the township uses to do the actual code inspections are pennsylvania municipal code alliance (pmca) and commonwealth code inspection service (ccis). you may choose either one but it is recommended that you finish with the one you start with.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Elderly cottage housing (ECHO) accessory unit on a lot inside Upper Mifflin township; this does not cover other accessory dwellings

  • Occupant must be an elderly person related by blood, marriage or adoption to an occupant of the principal dwelling.
  • Must be physically connected to the public sewer/water serving the principal dwelling where available; if on-site systems are used, capacity evidence is required.
  • Requires one off-street parking space; not permitted in the required front yard setback; must meet side and rear yard setbacks for principal uses.
  • Must be removed or reestablished within 12 months after no longer occupied by a qualifying person; permit reviewed every 12 months.
  • Enforcement: civil penalties up to $600 per violation; criminal fines up to $1,000 per violation.

  maximum floor area: <= 1250 sq ft · maximum occupants: <= 2 people · off-street parking spaces: >= 1 space

  “echo housing is permitted within the township subject to the following criteria: 1. the echo housing may not exceed 1,250 square feet of floor area.”

• Who permits septicLocal (with conditions)

  On-lot sewage (septic) permits for land inside Upper Mifflin township

  • The township administers on-lot sewage through a sewage enforcement officer; the township's on-lot sewage disposal system ordinance 2006-3 is listed on its ordinances page, but the PDF text could not be read in this research run, so its provisions are not verified here.
  • State sewage law (Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act) also applies; not separately verified in this run.

  “the sewage enforcement officer (seo) is jonathan piper of jwp envoromental.”

• Permit processPartial

  Building permit process for work inside Upper Mifflin township

  • The process is split: the township building application, the chosen code agency's forms and packet, and a separate earth disturbance form where applicable.
  • Agency websites (PMCA, CCIS) hold the detailed packets and fee schedules and were not opened.

  “please fill out the building permit for earth disturbance form if any new earth disturbance will take place with your building project. this is separate from the township building application form and the forms from the different code inspection agencies.”

Rules another office applies inside Upper Mifflin Township

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

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  New construction inside Upper Mifflin township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, under the statewide Uniform Construction Code

  • The UCC is the statewide code; the state Department of Labor & Industry states that over 90% of municipalities administer and enforce it locally or through certified third-party agencies, and Upper Mifflin uses third-party agencies (PMCA and CCIS) per the township planning page.
  • The state page says the 2021 accessibility standards were enjoined by the Commonwealth Court and must not be enforced; the 2018 accessibility standards apply.
  • The state page also reports a UCC triennial update with an effective date of January 1, 2026; its contents were not reviewed and the current residential code edition should be confirmed before relying on a specific edition.

  “over 90% of pennsylvania's 2,562 municipalities have elected to administer and enforce the ucc locally, using their own employees or via certified third party agencies (private code enforcement agencies) that they have retained.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption for residential work inside Upper Mifflin township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new dwellings inside Upper Mifflin township
• Local zoning — Whether Upper Mifflin township adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance for land inside the township limits
• Zoning districts — Zoning districts inside Upper Mifflin township
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size for a single-family home inside Upper Mifflin 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.