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

Borough of California’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, modification, driveways, sidewalks and patios inside California borough

  • Zoning officer must authorize the permit; where the Uniform Construction Code does not require a building permit, the zoning permit serves as the building permit.

  “until the zoning officer has authorized the issuance of a building permit (for applications not requiring a building permit as defined by the uniform construction code, the zoning permit shall serve as the building permit) no person shall:”

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside California borough, Washington County, PA

  • Ordinance 562 dated March 2019; a later amending ordinance (578) is listed on the borough site but was not opened.

  “an ordinance of california borough, washington county, pennsylvania, to establish zoning regulations for the use of land, watercourses, other bodies of water, and structures”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside California borough (A-1, R-1, R-2, R-3, C-1, C-2, MU, M-1, I-1 to I-4, downtown overlay)

  • Districts listed in the ordinance table of contents, Sections 310-322.

  “it is the intent of the r-1 single-family residential district to provide for the development and maintenance of single-family residential neighborhoods within the borough”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 Low Density Residential District inside California borough

  • Other districts (A-1, R-2, R-3) not extracted.

  minimum lot area R-1: >= 5000 sq ft · minimum lot width R-1: >= 50 ft

  “minimum lot area minimum lot width minimum front yard setback minimum side yard setback minimum rear yard setback maximum structure height maximum lot cover (as % of total area) 5,000 sq. ft. 50 ft. 30 ft. 15 ft. 30 ft. 30 ft. 40%”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 Low Density Residential District inside California borough

  • Side-yard setback requirements do not apply to townhouses, row houses, cluster houses or other connected housing in any district.

  front yard R-1: >= 30 ft · side yard R-1: >= 15 ft · rear yard R-1: >= 30 ft

  “the side-yard setback requirements shall not apply to townhouses, row houses, cluster houses, or any other such connected housing in any district.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  R-1 Low Density Residential District inside California borough

  maximum lot cover R-1: <= 40 percent of total area

  “maximum lot cover (as % of total area) 5,000 sq. ft. 50 ft. 30 ft. 15 ft. 30 ft. 30 ft. 40%”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-1 Low Density Residential District inside California borough

  • Any building in excess of the height standard requires a zoning hearing board variance; in no event may a variance permit a building over 75 feet in any district.

  maximum structure height R-1: <= 30 ft (variance up to 75 ft absolute cap)

  “any building in excess of the height standards set forth herein must be approved by a variance by the zoning hearing board. in no event shall a variance be approved to permit a building in excess of 75 feet in any district for any reason.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — California borough
• Building code adopted — California borough
• Inspections — California borough
• Certificate of occupancy — California borough
• Minimum dwelling size — California 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.