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

Borough of Millerstown’s own rules

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Occupancy or use of vacant land and new, substantially altered or changed-use structures inside Millerstown borough (zoning 'certificate of use')

  • Issued by the zoning officer; applied for together with the building or zoning permit.
  • Issued or denied within 15 days of a final inspection by the zoning officer.

  issuance deadline after final inspection: <= 15 days

  “no vacant land shall be occupied or used, and no structure or part of a structure hereafter erected, substantially altered or changed in use shall be occupied or use until a certificate of use shall have been issued by the zoning officer.”

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Millerstown borough (Perry County, PA)

  • Copy on the borough's own site is marked 'final draft'; amendments after 1985 were not checked.
  • Administered by a zoning officer; a zoning hearing board hears appeals.

  “this chapter shall be known as the "millerstown borough zoning ordinance."”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Millerstown borough

  • Districts per the table of contents: C-Conservation, RS Residential Suburban, RT Residential Town, VM Village Mixed Use, C-Commercial, I-Industrial; zoning map itself not reviewed.

  “part 5 rs-residential suburban district §27-501. intended purpose.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Dwelling units hereafter erected in all districts inside Millerstown borough

  • Apartments: at least 300 sq ft habitable floor area each; 150 sq ft if designed for and occupied exclusively by one person.

  minimum habitable floor area, dwelling unit: >= 600 square feet (apartments 300 sq ft; one-person apartments 150 sq ft)

  “the minimum habitable floor area of a dwelling unit hereafter erected shall be 600 square feet.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Residential Suburban (RS) district inside Millerstown borough

  • Cluster option: development minimum 5 acres at two dwelling units per acre.
  • Lot width at front building line at least 75 feet on interior lot (§27-505).

  lot area per dwelling unit, no public sewer: >= 1 acre · lot area per dwelling unit, public sewer: >= 15000 square feet (cluster option)

  “where no public sewer exists, the lot area shall be 1 acre per dwelling unit. where public sewer exists, the lot area per dwelling unit shall be not less than 15,000 square feet except under the cluster option.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Town (RT) district inside Millerstown borough, single-family detached

    “single-family detached 4,500 25 25 35% single-family semidetached 2,500 25 25 35%”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Residential Suburban (RS) district inside Millerstown borough

  • Corner lot side yard abutting street at least 25 feet.
  • Clustered housing: zero side yard allowed on one side, other side at least 15 feet.
  • RT district yard rules (§27-605) not reviewed.

  front yard: >= 25 feet · side yard, single-family detached interior lot, each: >= 15 feet · rear yard: >= 25 feet

  “a. front yard depth-25 feet. b. side yards (2) width for single-family detached, 15 feet each interior lot.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Residential Suburban (RS) district inside Millerstown borough

  • Residential Town (RT) district: 35 percent for single-family detached, 40 percent for attached and multifamily (§27-604).

  maximum coverage: <= 30 percent

  “the coverage shall be no more than 30 percent.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Residential Suburban (RS) district inside Millerstown borough

  • RT district: principal building 30 feet, may exceed by 1 foot per foot of additional yard width (§27-603).

  principal building height: <= 35 feet · accessory building height: <= 20 feet

  “the height of a principal building shall be not greater than 35 feet; and no accessory building shall exceed 20 feet in height.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits inside Millerstown borough
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Millerstown borough
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Millerstown borough
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Millerstown borough
• Living in an RV — RV occupancy inside Millerstown 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.