Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Borough of Bear Creek Village, Pennsylvania

Borough of Bear Creek Village’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Bear Creek Village borough (Luzerne County)

  • Zoning ordinance amended in 2010; the full text is posted under the borough's Ordinances page, not opened here.
  • Administered by an appointed zoning officer with a zoning hearing board for variances.

  “the borough of bear creek village zoning ordinance and the borough of bear creek village subdivision and land development ordinance (saldo) were first adopted in 1995/6 and amended in 2010.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision and lot-line changes inside Bear Creek Village borough

  • Planning commission reviews, then council approves or denies.
  • Approved plans must go to the Luzerne County Planning Commission and the Recorder of Deeds.
  • Major subdivision: four or more parcels or changes to borough infrastructure; minor: lot line changes, combining, or splitting into two or three parcels.

  minor subdivision application fee: 400 USD (plus borough engineer fees if review required)

  “a subdivision permit application is required whenever a property owner wants to divide a large parcel into several smaller parcels for development, to alter lot lines or to combine parcels.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning permits inside Bear Creek Village borough

  • Zoning permit only confirms compliance with the zoning ordinance; other permits (UCC, sewage, stormwater) may be required.
  • Variances go to the zoning hearing board.
  • Building, sewage and stormwater pages returned 404 at guessed URLs and were not read.

  “the property owner or his/her agent must obtain a zoning permit before: erecting a new structure (including but not limited to residences, garages, sheds, barns, fences and swimming pools)”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Borough of Bear Creek Village or Luzerne County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits inside Bear Creek Village borough
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Bear Creek Village borough
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Bear Creek Village borough
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Bear Creek Village borough
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Bear Creek Village borough

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.