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

Anthony Township’s own rules

• Who permits septicLocal (with conditions)

  On-lot sewage systems for new homes inside Anthony township, through the township sewage enforcement officer.

  • The township page says the requirements include PA Department of Environmental Protection planning approvals for the site.
  • Township on-lot sewage program text is a 2024 draft copy (see septic_inspection claim).

  “this permit is obtained from the township sewage enforcement officer (seo).”

• Septic permitRequired

  New homes inside Anthony township served by an on-lot sewage system.

  • The sewage permit must be obtained first, before the driveway and zoning permits and before building permits.
  • The site must be tested and found acceptable for an on-lot system and have an approved design, per the township page.

  “if you are building a new home, the first permit you should obtain is the sewage permit.”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  Owners of buildings served by on-lot sewage systems inside Anthony township.

  • The township news notice says the septic pumping program was changed from three years to five years at an April 3, 2024 meeting.
  • The inspection requirement is quoted from a PDF marked 'DRAFT' (Revised 2024); the final adopted text was not confirmed.
  • The draft provides that a waiver from pumping and basic inspection may be granted by the certified SEO in some cases.

  pumping and inspection interval: 5 years (per township resolution schedule and draft section 408; initial pumping within three years of effective date in draft)

  “anthony township has a mandatory septic pumping ordinance for all residents. at our april 3, 2024 meeting we revised it to be changed from a three (3) year program to a five (5) year program.”

• Driveway accessRequired

  New driveway access from private property to a road inside Anthony township.

  • For a driveway that accesses a state road, the township page directs the owner to PennDOT for a highway occupancy permit.
  • Driveway permit must be obtained before construction.

  “if you plan on creating any new access from your property to the road, a driveway permit must be obtained prior to construction.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Permit sequence for new homes and structures inside Anthony township.

  • Sequence on the township page: sewage permit, then driveway permit, then zoning permit (after erosion and sedimentation plan review by Montour County Conservation District), then building permits through Central Keystone COG.
  • Projects must begin within 6 months of permit issue and be completed within 2 years, per the township page.

  project start deadline: <= 6 months (from date of zoning permit issue) · project completion deadline: <= 2 years (from date of zoning permit issue)

  “projects must begin within 6 months from the date of issue and be completed within 2 years of issue date.”

Rules another office applies inside Anthony Township

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

• Building permitRequired

  New home construction, additions and major alterations inside Anthony township; building permits are processed by Central Keystone COG (Lewisburg) per the township permit page.

  • The township page says the zoning officer will advise whether building permits may be required for other construction; those are reviewed case by case.
  • Construction may begin only after all required permits are obtained.

  “new home construction, additions, major alterations will definitely require building permits.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Anthony township (Montour County, PA) is zoned under the Montour County Zoning Ordinance; the county zoning office issues zoning permits for Anthony township. No Anthony township-adopted zoning ordinance was found.

  • The county office states it issues zoning permits for Anthony Township; the township's own permit page says zoning permits are reviewed by the zoning officer for compliance with township/county subdivision/land development/zoning ordinances.
  • The Anthony township water conservation overlay is stated to be for use in conjunction with the Montour County Zoning Ordinance of 1972, adopted March 23, 2010.
  • Whether Anthony township has adopted any zoning ordinance of its own was not confirmed by an official statement; this claim relies on the county as the zoning administrator.

  “the montour county zoning office issues zoning permits for the following montour county municipalities: anthony township, liberty township, mayberry township and the borough of washingtonville.”

• Zoning districtsPartial

  Zoning districts that apply inside Anthony township under the Montour County Zoning Ordinance (only some are named in the sources read).

  • The fee schedule lists district names with section references (sections 302 to 309); the ordinance text for those sections was not read.
  • The water conservation overlay refers to the Agricultural-Conservation district (Article VI-B, A-C) of the county zoning ordinance for underlying uses.

  “zoning district rural residential suburban residential village center commercial industrial public / semi public agriculture woodland minimum lot size 1 acres – see section 302 7,5k – 30k square feet per – section 303”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Suburban residential district under the Montour County Zoning Ordinance, applying in Anthony township (main single-family residential district by name).

  • Source is the county zoning fee schedule's summary table, which cites section 303; the ordinance text itself was not read.
  • The schedule writes the range as 7,5k – 30k square feet; the lower bound is read as 7,500 square feet.

  minimum lot size: 7.5k-30k square feet (per section 303 of the Montour County Zoning Ordinance (as summarized in fee schedule))

  “zoning district rural residential suburban residential village center commercial industrial public / semi public agriculture woodland minimum lot size 1 acres – see section 302 7,5k – 30k square feet per – section 303”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural residential district under the Montour County Zoning Ordinance, applying in Anthony township.

    “zoning district rural residential suburban residential village center commercial industrial public / semi public agriculture woodland minimum lot size 1 acres – see section 302 7,5k – 30k square feet per – section 303”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Suburban residential district under the Montour County Zoning Ordinance, applying in Anthony township.

  • Maximum coverage is taken from the county fee schedule's summary table, aligned by column order; verify against the ordinance text.
  • The schedule states that when calculating lot coverage there are 43,560 square feet per acre and gives a worked example.

  maximum lot coverage: 30 percent (as summarized in county fee schedule)

  “2-5 acres – see section 309 questions concerning fee application should be directed to the zoning officer. max coverage 30% 30% 40% 50% 60% 20% 20% 15%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural residential district under the Montour County Zoning Ordinance, applying in Anthony township.

    “2-5 acres – see section 309 questions concerning fee application should be directed to the zoning officer. max coverage 30% 30% 40% 50% 60% 20% 20% 15%”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning permit fees for work inside Anthony township, administered by the Montour County Zoning Office.

  • The schedule is dated 'october 28, 2025' on its face; the PDF file name says 6-2022, and no effective date was confirmed.
  • Table layout is ambiguous in text extraction; the fee amounts were not split into per-category values and must be read from the PDF.
  • Schedule notes that no single action fee (private or commercial) will exceed $10,000.00 and that multiple actions on one permit each carry the full fee.

  “no single action fee (private or commercial) will exceed $10,000.00.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for permits inside Anthony township.
• Building code adopted — Which building code is adopted for construction inside Anthony township.
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Anthony township.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Anthony township.
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Anthony 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.