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

Borough of Norwood’s own rules

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Construction regulated inside Norwood borough limits.

  • The incorporated Uniform Construction Code and regulations are amended from time to time.

  “The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the municipal building code of this municipality.”

• InspectionsLimited

  Rental dwellings and dwelling units located inside Norwood borough limits.

  • Entry is on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at another time necessary in an emergency, or as mutually agreed with the occupant and Housing Officer.

  “The Housing Officer or his agents are hereby authorized and directed to make inspections of the conditions of rental dwellings and dwelling units located in the Borough of Norwood.”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Residential, commercial, and industrial apartments, dwelling units, premises, and structures inside Norwood borough limits.

  • A certificate is required before occupancy, rental, lease, sale, conveyance, transfer, creation, erection, change, alteration, conversion, enlargement, or similar covered action.
  • Eligibility requires compliance with Borough ordinances and applicable Commonwealth laws; violations must be corrected and a reinspection completed before issuance.

  “No person, firm, partnership or corporation shall occupy, rent, lease, let out, permit, sell, convey or otherwise transfer or permit to be occupied or rented any apartment or dwelling unit, premises or structure used for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, hereafter created, located, erected, changed, leased, altered, converted or enlarged, wholly or partly, without first securing a certificate of occupancy therefor from the Borough of Norwood.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Norwood borough limits.

  • Uses and development remain subject to Chapter 300 and its district-specific provisions.

  “Chapter 300 Zoning [HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Norwood as indicated. Amendments noted where applicable.]”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts inside Norwood borough limits.

  • The published Chapter 300 table of contents identifies R-1, R-2, R-3, Town Center, Highway Commercial, Highway Commercial-A, and Open Space districts.

  “Article III R-1 Residential District (§ 300-12 – § 300-19) [...] Article IV R-2 Residential District (§ 300-20 – § 300-26) [...] Article V R-3 Residential District (§ 300-27 – § 300-32) [...] Article VI TC Town Center District (§ 300-33 – § 300-40) [...] Article VII HC Highway Commercial District (§ 300-41 – § 300-46) [...] Article VIII HC-A Highway Commercial-A District (§ 300-47 – § 300-52) [...] Article IX OS Open Space District (§ 300-53 – § 300-59)”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision and land-development applications inside Norwood borough limits.

  • The published schedule concerns review and administrative fees for applications; underlying substantive subdivision standards were not examined.

  “Whenever any application is submitted to the Borough of Norwood for any application for subdivision or consolidation of land or land development pursuant to any provision of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code or any subdivision and land development ordinance of either the County of Delaware or the Borough of Norwood, then, in effect, such application shall be submitted with a payment in the amount of $2,500 to the Borough which shall be placed in escrow to be utilized and drawn from for the payment of fees charged by the Borough's professionals, including but not limited to the Borough Engineer and the Borough Solicitor, for charges related to the review, processing and preparation of reports on such application.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Floodplain development subject to Norwood Borough Chapter 170 inside Norwood borough limits.

  • The Chapter 170 ordinance identifies a Floodplain Administrator and separately includes application procedures, County Conservation District review, and identified-floodplain provisions; the detailed applicability text in § 170-3 was not retrieved.

  “A permit shall be required before any construction or development is undertaken within any area of the Borough of Norwood.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Subdivision, land-use, land-development, and zoning applications inside Norwood borough limits.

  • The schedule was adopted September 26, 2016 by Ordinance No. 2016-03; amendments are noted where applicable.
  • This claim does not establish a current building-permit fee amount.

  “In addition to the review fees, the applicant shall submit a payment to the Borough of Norwood in the amount of $500 as the fee for the administration of the application.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Residential construction inside Norwood borough limits.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built dwellings inside Norwood borough limits.
• Minimum dwelling size — Residential districts inside Norwood borough limits.
• Minimum lot size — Residential districts inside Norwood borough limits.
• Setbacks — Residential districts inside Norwood borough limits.

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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Borough of Norwood means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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