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

Reed Township’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New construction and development anywhere inside Reed Township, Dauphin County (building permit from the township's floodplain administrator under Ordinance 2012-1).

  • Minor repairs to existing buildings or structures do not require a permit (section 2.01(b)).
  • Permit is issued by the township engineer acting as floodplain administrator (section 3.00); no permit may issue until other state and federal permits are confirmed (section 3.02(b)).

  “a building permit shall be required before any construction or development is undertaken within any area of reed township.”

• InspectionsRequired

  Construction carried out under a Reed Township floodplain building permit inside Reed Township.

  • Inspections are tied to permitted floodplain work; the text does not state a general inspection schedule for all residential construction.
  • Whether Uniform Construction Code inspections apply to new homes was not established: the 2008-1 building-code agreement PDF returned no readable text.

  “during the construction period, the floodplain administrator or other authorized official shall inspect the premises to determine that the work is progressing in compliance with the information provided on the permit application”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Any construction or development anywhere inside Reed Township, Dauphin County, under the township's own Floodplain Ordinance 2012-1 (permit from the floodplain administrator; section 2.01(a) reaches all township land, and the identified-floodplain technical standards in Article V apply where floodplain areas are identified).

  • Section 2.01(b): a permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures.
  • Section 3.00: the township engineer administers and enforces the ordinance as the floodplain administrator.
  • Section 3.02(b): before issuing a permit the floodplain administrator must confirm other required state and federal permits, including those under the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act 1966-537, as amended), the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, the Clean Streams Act and Clean Water Act section 404.
  • Article V technical provisions and the identified-floodplain area maps were not read in full; the flood-zone design standards are not summarized here.
  • Permit fees are set by a separate fee resolution (2012-6) that was not read.

  “it shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, business or corporation to undertake, or cause to be undertaken, any construction or development anywhere within reed township unless a permit has been obtained from the floodplain administrator.”

• Permit processPartial

  Floodplain/building permit applications for construction or development inside Reed Township.

  • Process is published only for the floodplain permit in Ordinance 2012-1; the 2007-1 non-UCC permit ordinance and the sewage permit ordinances could not be read.
  • Application must include the items listed in section 3.03(a) and, for floodplain areas, the additional information in 3.03(b)-(c).

  “application for such a permit shall be made, in writing, to the floodplain administrator on forms supplied by reed township.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction in Reed Township
• Building code adopted — Uniform Construction Code / building code adoption for Reed Township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy for new homes in Reed Township
• Local zoning — Zoning inside Reed Township, Dauphin County
• Zoning districts — Zoning districts in Reed 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.