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

Warrington Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Warrington township's limits (York County, PA): the township adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance.

  • The posted text is a redline with later amendments noted in it (4-11-24, 2-13-25, 7/10/25), so effective_at is left null.
  • Search results showed a 2026 township resolution (2026-15) about a moratorium and a data-center curative amendment; it was not opened and is not reflected in this claim.

  “zoning ordinance for warrington township york county, pa enacted: january 20, 2010 amended: march 16, 2022”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Warrington township's limits.

  • Zones listed in the ordinance: Conservation (C), Rural Agricultural (RA), Residential (R), Village Residential (VR), Village Commercial (VC), Commercial Recreation (CR), airport hazard overlay (AH), agricultural preservation overlay (AP).
  • The zoning map is referenced in the ordinance but was not opened.

  “the township of warrington is divided into zones enumerated below and shown on the map entitled”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family detached dwelling lot in the Residential (R) zone inside Warrington township, where the public-sewer row applies.

  • When on-lot sewer facilities are used, the township sewage enforcement officer or PA DEP may increase the minimum lot size for health and sanitation reasons.
  • The rows for public water and for no public utilities in the same table were not extracted.

  minimum lot area: >= 20000 sq ft (single-family detached dwellings with public sewer) · minimum lot width: >= 100 ft (single-family detached dwellings with public sewer)

  “single family detached dwellings with public sewer 20,000 100 ft. 40 ft. 10 ft. each 25 ft. 35 ft.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — New principal use in the Rural Agricultural (RA) zone inside Warrington township.

    “1. minimum lot area – 60,000 sq. ft. 2. minimum lot width – one hundred fifty (150) feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Principal and accessory uses in the Rural Agricultural (RA) zone inside Warrington township.

  • Setbacks for the R zone were not extracted (the R table is only partly captured).

  front setback: >= 35 ft (principal and accessory uses) · side setback: >= 25 ft (principal uses; accessory uses 10 ft) · rear setback: >= 40 ft (principal uses; accessory uses 10 ft)

  “f) setbacks: each lot shall provide front, side and rear setbacks not less than the following: 1. front setback – thirty-five (35) feet for principal and accessory uses. 2. side setback – twenty-five (25) feet on each side for principal uses, ten (10) feet on each side for accessory uses. 3. rear setback – forty (40) feet for principal uses, ten (10) feet for accessory uses.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Residential (R) zone inside Warrington township (closing lot-coverage paragraph of Section 305).

  • Stated as the R-zone lot-coverage paragraph; the ordinance's ASES text separately excludes certain solar-related equipment from lot coverage.

  maximum impervious lot coverage: <= 35 percent of lot area

  “f) lot coverage: not more than thirty-five percent (35%) of the lot area may be covered with an impervious surface.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Principal building or structure in the Rural Agricultural (RA) zone inside Warrington township.

  • Farm buildings or structures have no height limitation under the same paragraph.

  maximum principal building height: <= 35 ft (farm buildings or structures: no height limitation)

  “g) height: the height limit for a principal building or structure shall be thirty-five (35) feet, except in the case of farm buildings or structures in which case there shall be no height limitation.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Tenant farmhouse on a farm inside Warrington township (end of the Rural Agricultural section); not general accessory dwellings.

  • Tenant house is an accessory structure on a farm.
  • Other accessory-dwelling rules were not extracted.

  minimum net lot area for first tenant house: >= 25 acres (25 to 50 acres: 1 tenant house; thereafter 1 per each 50 acres)

  “tenant farmhouses are permitted as accessory structures on a farm as follows: 25 acres to 50 acres of net lot area, 1 tenant house; thereafter, 1 tenant house per each 50 acres of net lot area.”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Short-term rental use in the Residential (R) zone inside Warrington township.

  • Listed as a use by right in the R zone with an asterisk, which points to additional regulations in Article V (supplementary regulations); those were not opened.

  “13. short term rentals* 14. accessory uses customarily incidental to the above permitted uses including but not limited to noimpact homebased businesses and certain solar energy systems and wireless communications facilities*, as defined herein. * additional regulations for these uses are set forth in article v, supplementary regulations.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Warrington township.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for building work inside Warrington township.
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption inside Warrington township.
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Warrington township.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Warrington 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.