Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Yes — Pennsylvania's statewide Uniform Construction Code (UCC) requires a permit before you start work anywhere in Westmoreland County, but the county government itself doesn't issue it². Emergency repairs or equipment replacements may proceed without a permit if an application reaches the building code official within three business days². Enforcement is entirely municipal: each township or borough chose one of three paths for reviewing your application — in-house staff, a contracted inspection company, or Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry — so the right office depends entirely on which municipality your parcel sits in⁴. One statewide carve-out matters for rural buyers: a qualifying agricultural building with no habitable space — a barn, hay or feed storage, a milk house, or a poultry or livestock building — is excluded from the UCC entirely, though local zoning, fire and electrical rules can still apply to it⁸. A certificate of occupancy must be issued by the building code official before a covered building can be used².

There's no single Westmoreland County building department — permits are issued by your specific township or borough, and the fastest way to find the right one is the county's own municipal directory, which lists building-inspector information for every municipality¹. If you can't identify the right contact, the county's Department of Planning and Development at 40 N Pennsylvania Ave, 5th Floor, Suite 520, Greensburg, PA 15601, 724-830-3600, can point you to it, though it doesn't issue permits itself⁴. The county Roads and Bridges bureau does issue driveway and utility construction permits, but only on county-owned roads; ask the municipality or PennDOT about other roads¹⁰. The county's other real permitting role: it reviews subdivisions and land developments directly, but only for municipalities that haven't adopted their own subdivision ordinance (SALDO); where a municipality has its own, that municipality reviews the plan instead¹. The county updated its own SALDO, effective for applications beginning January 1st, 2026, so check which version applies if your subdivision falls under county review¹.

No — Westmoreland County has no countywide zoning ordinance, and zoning is entirely a municipal decision here^1,4. Some townships and boroughs have adopted their own zoning; others haven't adopted any at all, so "no county zoning" does not mean "no rules" if your specific municipality has one¹. The county's municipal directory is again the tool to use: select your township or borough to see whether it has a zoning ordinance and who administers it¹. Pennsylvania law does let a county zone land in a municipality that has no zoning ordinance of its own, but that county power ends automatically the moment the municipality adopts one, so it's a narrow and temporary backstop, not a general county zoning authority¹¹. Where a municipality has no subdivision ordinance of its own and no zoning, the county SALDO sets a fallback lot standard for new subdivision lots: at least 1 acre and 100 feet of width at the building line with on-lot sewage or water, and side and rear setbacks of 25 feet¹². Where a municipal zoning ordinance exists, its lot and setback rules prevail over the SALDO¹².

Septic systems in Westmoreland County are permitted under Pennsylvania's Act 537 program, and like building and zoning, that authority sits with your municipality's own Sewage Enforcement Officer, not the county; Pennsylvania lets municipalities, joint agencies or county health departments serve as the local agency, so confirm which one covers your parcel^3,4. If you can't identify your municipality's officer, the state DEP's Bureau of Water Quality Management field office covering Westmoreland County can help, at 724-925-5500⁴. Soil is the practical constraint to plan around: only 0.7% of the county's soil is rated free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, so budget for a site evaluation and likely an alternative or engineered system on most parcels⁹. Pennsylvania does carve out one exemption worth knowing for larger tracts: an individual system serving an owner or immediate family member's residence on a contiguous tract of at least 10 acres can qualify for a permit exemption, subject to siting distances and other conditions, though the exemption doesn't apply broadly and needs to be verified case by case⁷.

Westmoreland County has no zoning ordinance, so the county itself sets no rule on RV occupancy, temporary camping, tiny homes, manufactured homes or accessory dwellings on private land⁵. That does not settle the question, because municipal zoning, building, sewage and health rules may apply⁵. We could not confirm a statewide rule on living in an RV outside a campground. Pennsylvania's state park camping rules cap RV stays at 14 consecutive nights in summer or 21 the rest of the year, but that only governs state park campgrounds, not your own property, so it doesn't answer the question here¹³. A manufactured home is a closer statewide comparison: Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code doesn't apply to new, properly labeled manufactured housing installed per the manufacturer's design, but relocating, reselling, or altering one after delivery brings the UCC back into play, and none of this resolves whether your township's zoning allows a manufactured home, tiny home or RV as a residence on your specific parcel¹⁴. Because zoning here is entirely municipal, and many Westmoreland County townships have no zoning ordinance at all, the answer depends on which municipality your land is in — check the county's municipal directory and call that municipality directly before you buy¹.

1. Use the county's municipal directory to identify your township or borough and whether it has adopted zoning and its own subdivision ordinance¹.
2. If your municipality has no subdivision ordinance, your subdivision or land development plan goes to Westmoreland County's Department of Planning and Development instead¹.
3. Contact your municipality's Sewage Enforcement Officer, or the state DEP's Bureau of Water Quality Management field office at 724-925-5500 if you can't identify one, to start the septic siting and permit process before you commit to a building location⁴.
4. Apply for your building permit with your township or borough, using whichever of the three enforcement methods — in-house staff, a contracted inspector, or the state Department of Labor and Industry — that municipality has chosen⁴.
5. If a driveway will connect to a state highway, apply for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit before construction; it's typically issued within about 30 days of a complete application¹⁵.
6. If your parcel is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, get a floodplain development permit from your municipality before starting site work¹⁶.
7. Complete required UCC inspections and get your certificate of occupancy from your municipality before moving in².

Confirm your target township's zoning and permitting setup first, since it varies parcel to parcel across the county's many municipalities, some with zoning and some without^1,4. Soil is the next constraint: with only 0.7% of the county's soil rated free of severe limits for a conventional septic drain field, plan for a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system before you count on a specific building spot⁹. On the upside for a rural buyer, Westmoreland County is heavily wooded and hilly rather than flat farmland — about 68.8% forest cover and 62.6% of land at 15% slope or less — with federal land at just 0.9%, so very little of the county is off-limits to private ownership⁹. Costs run favorably here: a typical home insurance premium around $923 a year and a median property tax bill near $2,473 at an effective rate of about 1.3%⁹. If your parcel fronts a state highway, budget time for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit before you can put in a driveway¹⁵.