Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Borough of Montoursville, Pennsylvania

Borough of Montoursville’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Montoursville borough, Lycoming County

  “montoursville borough zoning ordinance ordinance #438 developed in part with a grant from the commonwealth of pennsylvania department of community and economic development”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Montoursville borough

  • Districts: recreation, residential suburban, residential town, residential development, large scale commercial, downtown commercial, broad street commercial, industrial, airport business, neighborhood business.

  “r - recreation rs - residential suburban rt - residential town rd - residential development lsc - large scale commercial dtc - downtown commercial bsc - broad street commercial i - industrial ab - airport business nb - neighborhood business”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Residential Town (RT) district inside Montoursville borough, single family dwelling, Article 6

  • Two-family dwelling and B&B need 13,000 sq ft.

  minimum lot area: >= 9800 sq ft · minimum lot width: >= 55 ft

  “6.4.1 family based group home, single family dwelling 6.4.1.1 minimum lot area: 9,800 ft2 6.4.1.2 minimum lot width: 55 ft.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Suburban (RS) district inside Montoursville borough, Article 5

    “5.4.1 minimum lot area: 5.4.2 minimum lot width: 9,800 ft2 front on interior lot: front on corner lot: 5.4.3 70 ft. 125 ft.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Residential Town (RT) district inside Montoursville borough, single family dwelling

  • Front yard is the average of existing front yards in the block; side yard 8 ft principal / 5 ft accessory; rear and corner-side values per Section 6.4.1.3 (rear 40 ft principal and 5 ft accessory as the text reads).

  side yard principal structure: >= 8 ft

  “6.4.1.3 minimum yards front: side - principal structure: side - accessory structure: average of the existing front yards in the block 8 ft. 5 ft.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Residential Suburban (RS) district inside Montoursville borough

  • Maximum impervious surface 35% of lot area.

  maximum building coverage: <= 25 percent of lot area

  “5.3.1 maximum building coverage: 25% of lot area 5.3.2 maximum impervious surface: 35% of lot area”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Town (RT) district inside Montoursville borough

    “6.3.1 maximum building coverage: 30% of lot area 6.3.2 maximum impervious surface: 40% of lot area”

• Building heightSpecified

  Residential Suburban (RS) district inside Montoursville borough

  • Accessory structures: 20 ft or the height of the on-site principal building, whichever is less.

  maximum principal building height: <= 35 ft

  “5.3.3 maximum building height: principal building: accessory structures: 5.4 35 ft. 20 ft. or the height of the on site principal building, whichever is less”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Town (RT) district inside Montoursville borough

    “6.3.3 maximum building height: principal building: accessory structures: 6.4 35 ft. 20 ft. or the height of the on site principal building, whichever is less”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Recreational vehicles stored on lots in residential districts inside Montoursville borough

  • No parking or storage on the street except as permitted by borough ordinance #407.
  • Vehicles must bear a current license, registration and/or inspection.
  • No RV may be used as a permanent storage facility or accessory structure.

  “16.2.8.2 there shall be no residential occupancy of any recreational vehicles while it is being stored.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes on individual lots and in parks inside Montoursville borough

  • Governed by the applicable building code; if none applies, foundation and other Section 16.7 criteria apply.
  • Mobile home parks are a listed use in the schedule of uses (district-specific).

  “16.7 mobile home placement the erection or replacement of mobile homes shall be governed by any applicable building code (see international residential code for one- and two-family dwellings, 2003, as amended). in the event that no building code applies the following criteria shall be used in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of borough residents.”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Driveways on lots inside Montoursville borough (zoning permit only)

  • Only says no zoning permit is needed; clear-sight triangle rules (Section 16.6) apply; a separate highway occupancy or borough driveway permit was not checked.

  “16.2.6 sidewalks and driveways may be located within any front, rear, and side yards and do not require zoning permits.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Borough of Montoursville or Lycoming County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits inside Montoursville borough
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Montoursville borough
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Montoursville borough
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Montoursville borough
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Montoursville 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.