Bolthole Index

Erie County, Pennsylvania

Zoning, building permits and septic in Washington Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania

Washington Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania has its own zoning ordinance, and no one may build, alter or change the use of land until the Zoning Officer issues a building permit12. The township has opted out of enforcing the state construction code, so building-code inspections work differently here3. Septic permits come from the Erie County Department of Health4.

At a glance

Zoning
Yes, township zoning (Chapter 150) with agricultural, rural, residential, commercial and industrial districts15
Building permit
Zoning building permit from the township Zoning Officer before building, altering or changing land use2
State construction code
Township has opted out of enforcing it3
Septic
Permit from the Erie County Department of Health where public sewer is not available46
Public sewer
Buildings on property accessible to the sewer must connect7
Subdivision
Regulated by the township8
Manufactured homes
State code treatment applies; township siting rules not confirmed9

Who to call

Zoning

Washington Township (Erie County) township office

Zoning building permits and zoning questions; the township zoning map is posted on its site

(814) 734-3117

manager@washington-township.info

11800 Edinboro Road Edinboro, Pa 16412

Septic permits

Erie County Department of Health

On-lot septic permits in Washington Township

814-451-6700

ecdhinfo@eriecountypa.gov

606 West Second Street, Erie, PA 16507

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 24, 2026.

Off-grid gear

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

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Does Washington Township, PA have zoning?

Yes. Washington Township in Erie County has its own zoning ordinance, Chapter 150 of the township code1. The ordinance sets agricultural, rural conservation, rural residential, suburban residential, commercial, business, industrial and floodplain districts, plus a conservation design overlay5.

Lot size, setbacks and what you can put on a parcel depend on the district, so find your parcel on the township zoning map (10) before you buy. We could not confirm the township's rules on RV occupancy, tiny homes, accessory dwellings, short-term rentals or manufactured homes, so ask the township office before planning any of them.

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

Yes. Under the township's zoning ordinance, no one may erect, remodel, alter or convert a structure, or change the use of land, until the Zoning Officer issues a building permit2. The permit lasts one year and must be renewed after that2.

The application needs plans in triplicate showing the lot, the buildings and their intended use, plus a filing fee set each year by Council resolution; where a public sewer connection is required or requested, a written equivalent dwelling unit allocation request is also needed11. We could not confirm the current fee amount, so ask the township office10.

Is the state building code enforced in Washington Township?

Washington Township opted out of enforcing the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act3. Pennsylvania's code still applies statewide, and in towns that opt out, residential code requirements are enforced by certified third-party agencies hired by the property owner or contractor12. A zoning permit from the township is therefore only part of the picture: expect to hire a third-party agency for residential code review and inspections, and confirm the process with the Zoning Officer. Qualifying agricultural buildings are excluded from the code, but zoning and other rules can still apply13.

How do septic permits work in Washington Township?

Where public sewer is not available, no one may install an on-lot sewage system, or occupy or use a building it serves, without a permit from the Erie County Department of Health4. Repairing, replacing or enlarging a tank or absorption area also needs a Health Department permit6.

Statewide, a permit exemption can apply to a home on a contiguous tract of at least 10 acres, subject to conditions the local agency checks14. Call the Erie County Department of Health before relying on it15. County-wide soil data rate conventional drain fields poorly, so expect a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system16.

Do you have to connect to public sewer in Washington Township?

Yes, where sewer is accessible. A building erected on property accessible to the public sewer must connect when it is built, at the owner's expense7. An occupied building that later becomes accessible must connect within 60 days after notice from the township7. The ordinance counts a building within 150 feet of the sewer as occupied for this purpose7.

What stays with Erie County, and what should you check before you buy?

Subdivision and land development inside Washington Township are regulated by the township8. A driveway onto a Pennsylvania state highway needs a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit17. Development inside a mapped flood hazard area needs extra approvals18, and the township has a floodplain district5.

Private wells: the state licenses commercial drillers but not homeowners drilling their own wells19, and we could not confirm a township well rule. For rules on land outside the township, see the Erie County page.

Watch-outs

  • Pennsylvania's limits on state-park campground RV use do not answer whether you may live in an RV on your own land here, and we could not confirm a township rule, so ask the township office first20.
  • Because the township opted out of enforcing the state construction code, a zoning permit alone does not mean the building meets code312.
  • The building permit filing fee is set yearly by Council resolution, so get the current amount from the township office21.

Sources

  1. Chapter 150: Zoning - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  2. Article XI: Administration and Enforcement - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  3. Chapter 50: Construction Codes, Uniform - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  4. Article XI: Administration and Enforcement - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  5. Chapter 150: Zoning - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  6. Article XI: Administration and Enforcement - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  7. Article I: Sewer Connections - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  8. Township of Washington, PA Supplementary Regulations (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  9. Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  10. Washington Township (Erie County) township office (washington-township.info)
  11. Article XI: Administration and Enforcement - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked
  12. Uniform Construction Code (UCC) (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  13. Pennsylvania Construction Code Act — Chapter 1 (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  14. 25 Pa. Code § 72.22. Permit issuance (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  15. Erie County Department of Health (eriecountypa.gov)
  16. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
  17. Apply for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  18. PennsylvaniA Floodplain Development Guide (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  19. Apply for a Water Well Drillers License and Rig Permit (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  20. RV and Tent Campsites (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  21. Article XI: Administration and Enforcement - Township of Washington, PA (Washington Township), quoted and re-checked

Written October 24, 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.

Answers from the rulebook for Washington Township

Washington Township’s own rules

  • Building permitRequired

    Structures, buildings, and land-use changes inside Washington Township subject to Chapter 150.

    • A zoning building permit must be issued by the Zoning Officer before erection, remodeling, alteration, conversion, or land-use alteration.
    • The Zoning Officer must find compliance with Chapter 150 and that required reviews, actions, and approvals have been secured.

    permit duration: 1 year (Must be renewed by applying for a new permit thereafter.)

    “No person shall erect, remodel, alter or convert any structure or building or part thereof, nor alter the use of any land, subsequent to the adoption of this chapter until a building permit has been issued by the Zoning Officer.”
  • Building code adoptedNot adopted (with conditions)

    Enforcement and administration of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act inside Washington Township.

    • The Township opted out through Ordinance No. 1-06 on April 4, 2006.
    “opted out of the enforcement and administration of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act.”
  • Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

    Land inside Washington Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania.

    • Chapter 150 was amended in its entirety on September 4, 1990; subsequent amendments are noted where applicable.
    “[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors (now Township Council) of the Township of Washington 5-8-1969 by Ord. No. 6-69; amended in its entirety by the Township Council of the Township of Washington 9-4-1990 by Ord. No. 4-90. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]”
  • Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

    Zoning districts inside Washington Township.

    • The Chapter 150 index identifies A-1 Agricultural, RC-1 Rural Conservation, R-1 Rural Residential, R-2 and R-3 Suburban Residential, C-1 Commercial, B-1 Business, I-1 Industrial, F-P Floodplain, and CD-1 Conservation Design Overlay districts.
    “A-1 Agricultural District. [...] R-1 Rural Residential District.”
  • Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

    Occupied buildings inside Washington Township on property accessible to the public sewer system.

    • A building erected on property accessible to the sewer must connect at the time of erection at the owner's expense.
    • An occupied building that later becomes accessible must connect within 60 days after Township notice.
    • An occupied building is one erected within 150 feet from the sewer system and intended for periodic or continuous habitation, occupancy, or use.

    connection distance: <= 150 feet (Definition of occupied building for the sewer-connection article.) · post-notice connection period: 60 days (For an occupied building that becomes accessible to the sewer system.)

    “connect such building with the sewer system within 60 days after notice to do so from the township.”
  • Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

    Subdivision and land-development proposals inside Washington Township.

    • The cited official zoning regulation expressly requires compliance with Chapter 119 for communications-antenna and tower proposals.
    “Any subdivision or land development as herein defined and within the boundaries of Washington Township shall conform to this chapter.”
  • Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

    Zoning building-permit applications inside Washington Township.

    • The filing fee is fixed annually by Council resolution; the amount was not stated in the opened ordinance provision.
    “All such applications shall be accompanied by plans, in triplicate, drawn to scale, showing the actual shape and dimensions of the lot or lots to be built upon [...] together with a filing fee in accordance with the schedule annually fixed by resolution of the Council.”
  • Permit processPublished (with conditions)

    Zoning building-permit applications inside Washington Township.

    • Application plans must be in triplicate and contain the listed property, building, use, and occupancy information.
    • A written WREA request is required where a public-sanitary-sewer connection is required or requested.
    • The filing fee follows the annually fixed Council schedule.
    “All such applications shall be accompanied by plans, in triplicate, drawn to scale, showing the actual shape and dimensions of the lot or lots to be built upon; its block and lot number, as recorded; the date of official record of any lot or lots on which the construction is proposed; the exact size and location of any building, sign, parking or loading area or other physical feature existing or proposed on the lot; the existing and intended use of each building or part of a building; the number of families, dwelling units, employees, offices or other appropriate units of occupancy which the building is designed to accommodate; a written request for equivalent dwelling unit allocation (WREA) in accordance with Chapter 119, where connection to the public sanitary sewer system is required or requested; and other such information as may be necessary to determine compliance with this chapter, together with a filing fee in accordance with the schedule annually fixed by resolution of the Council.”

Rules another office applies inside Washington Township

Washington Township does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

  • Who permits septicLocal (with conditions)

    Individual on-lot sewage systems in Washington Township where public sewerage is unavailable.

    • The Township ordinance identifies the Erie County Department of Health as the permitting agency.
    • The exception for water-conservation devices applies only where the existing on-lot system is not altered.
    “In all areas where public sewerage is not available, no person may install or construct an individual on-lot sewage system or start to install, construct, occupy or use a building to be served by that system without first obtaining a permit from the Erie County Department of Health, except as provided in Subsections F(4) and (5).”
  • Septic permitRequired

    Individual on-lot sewage systems serving buildings in Washington Township where public sewerage is unavailable.

    • No permit is required for a recycling, incinerating, composting, or other water-conservation toilet where the existing on-lot system will not be altered.
    • Alterations requiring repair, replacement, or enlargement of a treatment tank, subsurface absorption area, or retention tank require an Erie County Department of Health permit.
    • Business structures without public sewerage must receive a septic permit before a building permit is issued.
    “A permit is required by the Erie County Department of Health for alterations to an existing individual on-lot sewage system when the alteration requires the repair, replacement or enlargement of a treatment tank, subsurface absorption area or retention tank.”

Still unanswered

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

  • Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction inside Washington Township.
  • Living in an RV — Long-term recreational-vehicle occupancy on private land inside Washington Township.
  • Tiny homes — Tiny-home occupancy inside Washington Township.
  • Manufactured homes — Manufactured-home occupancy inside Washington Township.
  • Accessory dwellings — Accessory dwelling units inside Washington Township.
6 more unanswered
  • Septic inspection
  • Well permit
  • Agricultural exemption
  • Driveway access
  • Building in a floodplain
  • Short-term rentals

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.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Washington Township publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Erie County’s page lists the county offices to call.

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