Zoning, building permits and septic rules in the Borough of Cheswick, Pennsylvania

At a glance

Zoning

Yes, borough ordinance with R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential districts¹⁴

Who runs zoning

Zoning officer appointed by borough council; zoning hearing board hears appeals¹

Building permit

Required under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code before work starts²

Occupancy permit

Required; issued by the zoning officer⁵

Septic permits

Allegheny County Health Department, under Act 537³

Minimum lot (single-family)

7,200 sq ft in R-1; 6,000 in R-2; 5,000 in R-3⁶⁷⁸

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Does Cheswick have zoning, and what does it mean for lot size and setbacks?

Yes. The Borough of Cheswick adopts and enforces its own zoning ordinance, with a zoning officer and a zoning hearing board for appeals¹. The borough is divided into residential districts R-1, R-2 and R-3, plus commercial, industrial, conservation and special development districts and a riverfront overlay⁴.

The rules differ by district. A single-family lot needs at least 7,200 square feet in R-1⁶, 6,000 in R-2⁷ and 5,000 in R-3⁸. Where a lot relies on on-lot sewage, the ordinance requires at least half an acre⁶.

In R-1, a single-family house needs a 25-foot front yard, 10-foot side yards and a 20-foot rear yard⁹. In R-2 the front yard is 20 feet and the rear yard 15 feet¹⁰. Principal structures in R-1 top out at 35 feet, and accessory structures at 15 feet¹¹.

Whether you may live in an RV or tiny home on a lot in Cheswick we could not confirm; ask the borough zoning officer before you plan around it.

Do you need a building permit in Cheswick, and who issues it?

Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code requires the owner of a residential building to apply for and obtain a building permit before constructing, enlarging, altering or moving it². The code is enforced locally by municipalities that opt in, and by certified third-party agencies where a municipality opts out¹².

Which of those arrangements applies inside Cheswick, and what the borough charges, we could not confirm. Ask the borough office who takes building permit applications.

Separately, the borough's zoning officer receives applications for zoning permits and occupancy permits¹³, and no building altered or changed in use may be occupied without an occupancy permit from the zoning officer⁵. Allegheny County does not issue municipal building permits; owners file them in the municipality where the work happens¹⁴.

How do septic permits work in Cheswick?

On-lot sewage permits in Allegheny County are issued by the county Health Department's Sewage Enforcement Officers under Pennsylvania's Act 537³. Where any type of on-lot disposal is proposed, a permit from the Department is required before any construction¹⁵. Septic permits are not a borough function in the zoning ordinance we reviewed, so the Health Department Plumbing Program is the office to call¹⁶.

Before planning a septic system, check for public sewer. Allegheny County's sewage rules make continued use of an individual system unlawful when any part of the building is within 150 feet of an available public sewer¹⁷. Whether a given Cheswick lot has public sewer available we could not confirm; ask the borough office.

Building a home in Cheswick: the steps, in order

1. Confirm the lot's zoning district with the borough zoning officer, and check lot size, setbacks and height for that district⁴.
2. Ask the borough office how Uniform Construction Code building permits are handled in Cheswick, and apply before work starts².
3. If the lot is not on public sewer, apply to the Allegheny County Health Department for the on-lot sewage permit¹⁵.
4. Apply to the zoning officer for the zoning permit¹³.
5. If the driveway meets a state highway, a PennDOT highway occupancy permit is required¹⁸.
6. Pass the required inspections, then get the occupancy permit before moving in⁵.

What stays with Allegheny County, and what to check before you buy in Cheswick

Septic permits, plumbing permits and the sewage connection rules come from the county Health Department, not the borough³. For land outside the borough, see the Allegheny County page.

A driveway onto a state highway needs a PennDOT permit¹⁸. If the lot is in a floodplain, building permit documentation must be prepared and sealed by a registered design professional¹⁹. Every lot must have access to a public street, and a driveway must be at least 12 feet wide²⁰.

Allegheny County's effective property tax rate is 1.6%²¹, and the median property tax bill is $3,399 a year²². These figures are countywide, not specific to Cheswick.

Watch-outs

• Who issues Uniform Construction Code building permits inside Cheswick, and the permit fees, are not confirmed; ask the borough office before you budget¹².
• Borough zoning rules can limit what an owner may do with a lot beyond the district tables, so ask the zoning officer about RV living, tiny homes and accessory dwellings, none of which we could confirm¹.
• The lot sizes and setbacks above are for specific districts (R-1, R-2, R-3); a lot in a commercial or special development district follows different rules⁴.

Sources

1. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
2. Part XIV, Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 Administration (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
3. Water Pollution Control, quoted and re-checked
4. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
5. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article VIII Administration and Enforcement (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
6. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
7. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
8. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
9. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
10. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
11. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
12. Uniform Construction Code (UCC) (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
13. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article VIII Administration and Enforcement (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
14. Allegheny County - Building Permits (2026 county census)
15. Water Pollution Control, quoted and re-checked
16. Allegheny County Health Department, Plumbing Program (alleghenycounty.us)
17. Article XIV Sewage Management, quoted and re-checked
18. Apply for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
19. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
20. Cheswick Code Ch. 158 Zoning, Article III Schedule of District Regulations (Borough of Cheswick), quoted and re-checked
21. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
22. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 14, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.