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

Salisbury Township’s own rules

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Buildings and structures regulated by the Township construction code inside Salisbury Township.

  • The adopted code is 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time.

  “The Uniform Construction Code contained in 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference as the Municipal Building Code or Construction Code of Salisbury Township.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

  • Development and uses remain subject to Chapter 340 and its amendments.

  “[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Salisbury 11-20-1990 by Ord. No. 11-20-1990, as amended through 7-21-2015 by Ord. No. 7-21-15-1 (Ch. 27 of the 1999 Code of Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts inside Salisbury Township.

  • The published chapter identifies Agricultural, Rural Residential, R-1, R-2, commercial, industrial, rural enterprise, quarry, open-space, and floodplain zones.

  “§ 340-12 Agricultural Zone (A). [...] § 340-22 Floodplain Zone (FP).”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision and land development inside Salisbury Township.

  • Chapter 310 contains pre-application, preliminary-plan, final-plan, and waiver procedures.

  “Chapter 310 Subdivision and Land Development”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Construction-code administration and enforcement in Salisbury Township.

  • Fees are established by Township governing-body resolution from time to time.

  “Fees assessable by Salisbury Township for the administration and enforcement undertaken pursuant to this ordinance and the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act shall be established by the governing body by resolution from time to time.”

• Permit processPartial

  Uniform Construction Code permits in Salisbury Township.

  • Applicants must pay administrative fees, plan-review costs, and inspection costs before release of issued permits; additional fees must be paid before a certificate of use and occupancy is issued.

  “Applicants for permits under this section shall pay to the Township, prior to the release of issued permits, all administrative fees, costs incurred for the review of an application and construction documents as well as for all inspections required during construction.”

Rules another office applies inside Salisbury Township

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

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Residential lot subdivision in the Agricultural Zone (A) from a parent tract of less than 10 acres held in single and separate ownership on July 27, 2009.

  • The lot must be created in accordance with §§ 340-12E and 340-110.1.

  minimum lot area: >= 1 acre (Applies to the stated less-than-10-acre parent-tract category.) · maximum lot area: <= 2 acres (Applies to the stated less-than-10-acre parent-tract category.)

  “For a parent tract of less than 10 acres held in single and separate ownership on July 27, 2009, subdivision of lots with a minimum lot area of one acre and a maximum lot area of two acres in accordance with §§ 340-12E and 340-110.1.”

• Driveway accessRequired

  Single-family dwelling driveways in the Agricultural Zone (A).

  • Driveways must comply with § 340-32; access drives for other uses must comply with § 340-33.

  “All driveways serving single-family dwellings shall be in accordance with § 340-32 of this chapter. All access drives serving other uses shall be in accordance with § 340-33 of this chapter.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Residential building work inside Salisbury Township.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built dwellings inside Salisbury Township.
• Inspections — Residential construction inside Salisbury Township.
• Certificate of occupancy — Residential occupancy inside Salisbury Township.
• Minimum dwelling size — Single-family dwellings inside Salisbury 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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Salisbury Township means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

These are affiliate links — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Bolthole Index earns from qualifying purchases.