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

At a glance

Zoning

Yes, Girard Township adopted its own zoning chapter²

Zoning permit

Required for nearly every above-ground structure, movable or not¹

Building permit

State UCC permit may also be required; the zoning administrator says at application¹³

A-1 Agricultural lots

1.5 acres minimum lot area, 150 feet minimum lot width⁴

Septic

Permit required under Pennsylvania Act 537; local agency to confirm⁵

Driveway permit

Township driveway permit for township roads; PennDOT permit for state highways¹⁶

Property tax

Erie County effective rate about 1.6%⁷

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 24, 2026.

Does Girard Township have zoning, and what does it mean for lot size and setbacks?

Yes. Girard Township adopted its own zoning chapter, and the Board of Supervisors enforces it². The township keeps an official Zoning Map on file at the township offices, so check the map for your parcel's district before you buy⁸.

Dimensional rules depend on the district. In the A-1 Agricultural District, the minimum lot area is 1.5 acres and the minimum lot width is 150 feet⁴. A-1 setbacks are 35 feet in front, 25 feet on the sides and 50 feet in the rear⁹, and A-1 buildings can cover at most 20 percent of the lot¹⁰ and rise to 40 feet¹¹.

In the R-1 Residential District, a single-family lot needs 25,000 square feet with public sewer or 37,000 square feet with on-lot sewer¹². R-1 coverage is capped at 25 percent¹³.

We did not confirm the township's rules for living in an RV or tiny home on a lot, so ask the zoning administrator before you plan around either.

Do you need a building permit in Girard Township, and who issues it?

Start with a zoning permit from the township. The Girard Township zoning administrator says that anything above ground, whether movable or not, needs one, including fences, decks, carports, sheds and pools¹. Conditional uses go to a hearing before the Board of Supervisors¹⁴.

A building permit is a second step for many projects. Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code requires a building permit before construction work starts³, and the township says the zoning administrator will tell you at the zoning-permit stage whether the UCC applies to your project¹. Certificates of occupancy are also required for UCC-regulated buildings¹⁵.

Pennsylvania lets a property owner work on their own primary home without a general contractor license¹⁶, but that does not waive the permits.

How do septic permits work in Girard Township?

A septic system needs a permit before a building served by it can be built or occupied in Pennsylvania¹⁷. Pennsylvania DEP oversees the program, and local agencies handle on-lot permitting and enforcement¹⁸.

In Erie County that role sits with the Erie County Department of Health under Act 537¹⁹. The official sources we reviewed do not list which agency serves each municipality, so confirm with the Erie County Department of Health, or the township office, before you rely on it¹⁸.

Soils matter here. Erie County's farm and woodland soils rate poorly for conventional drain fields, so expect a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system²⁰. Septic permits are the same for any address in the township, zoned or not.

What about driveways, stormwater and floodplains in Girard Township?

A new driveway on a township road needs a driveway permit from the township office, and the fee is $25.00¹. The township roadmaster decides whether a pipe is needed and checks line of sight. A driveway onto a state highway needs a PennDOT highway occupancy permit instead⁶.

Projects that add impervious surface need a stormwater management application filed with the zoning permit, and the township says gravel counts as impervious¹.

Development inside a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area requires a floodplain development permit²¹.

Building a home in Girard Township: the steps, in order

1. Find the parcel's zoning district on the township's Zoning Map and check the lot-size and setback rules for it⁸.
2. Confirm sewer or septic. If the parcel is on-lot, start the septic permit with the local sewage agency¹⁷.
3. Apply to the township zoning administrator for a zoning permit and file the stormwater application with it¹.
4. Get a UCC building permit if the zoning administrator says your project needs one¹.
5. Get a driveway permit from the township, or from PennDOT on a state highway¹.
6. Pass the required inspections and obtain a certificate of occupancy before moving in¹⁵.

What stays with Erie County, and what to check before you buy

The county does not issue zoning or building permits inside the township; those run through the township office¹. What stays with the county and state is septic, floodplain rules and subdivision review where the county ordinance applies. For land outside Girard Township, see the Erie County page.

Before buying, check the district on the Zoning Map, confirm sewer or septic with the health department, and look at the flood map. Erie County's effective property tax rate is about 1.6 percent⁷, and its median property tax bill is about $2,754 a year²². Those figures cover the whole county, not just Girard Township.

Watch-outs

• The township says nearly every above-ground structure needs a zoning permit, including sheds and fences, so confirm before you build even a small structure¹.
• We could not confirm which agency issues septic permits inside Girard Township; call the Erie County Department of Health at 814-451-6700²³ before you rely on a septic plan.
• We could not confirm any township rule on living in an RV or tiny home on private land; ask the zoning administrator at (814) 774-4738¹.

Sources

1. Girard Township Zoning Administrator (girardtownship.com)
2. Chapter 200: Zoning - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
3. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
4. Article III: District Descriptions - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
5. Municipal On Lot Sewage Service Areas, quoted and re-checked
6. Apply for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit, quoted and re-checked
7. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
8. Article III: District Descriptions - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
9. Article III: District Descriptions - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
10. Article III: District Descriptions - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
11. Article III: District Descriptions - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
12. Article III: District Descriptions - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
13. Article III: District Descriptions - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
14. Article III: District Descriptions - Township of Girard, PA (Girard Township), quoted and re-checked
15. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
16. Contractor Licensing (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
17. 25 Pa. Code § 72.22. Permit issuance (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
18. Erie County Three-Year Plan 2022-2024 — Environmental Health Services, quoted and re-checked
19. Municipal On-Lot Sewage Service Areas, quoted and re-checked
20. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
21. Pennsylvania Floodplain Development Guide, quoted and re-checked
22. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
23. Erie County Department of Health (eriecountypa.gov)

Written October 24, 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.