Plains Township

The township publishes building, zoning, commercial zoning-compliance, sale zoning-compliance, rental zoning-compliance, and stormwater permit forms; a zoning compliance permit is required before occupying existing residential or commercial buildings

Note: Plains Township does not publish a separate local exemption sheet on the zoning page reviewed. Pennsylvania UCC exemptions remain the public baseline, including small fences, low retaining walls without surcharge, shallow prefabricated pools, low uncovered decks, communications wiring, and ordinary repairs that do not affect structure, egress, or relocated utility systems.

Building code

Pennsylvania UCC, with current statewide update effective January 1, 2026

Permit validity

Building permit form contains an 'Expires On' field but the township does not post a separate expiration rule; Pennsylvania UCC default timing governs if no different local rule is applied

Owner-builder

Thin data; permit package captures owner information but no separate owner-builder policy was posted

Contractor requirements

Township publishes a 2026 contractor license application; Pennsylvania HICPA registration still applies for covered residential home improvement work

1. 01
   Contact the zoning office to determine whether zoning approval, zoning compliance, and building permit approval are all required.
2. 02
   Complete the fillable building permit and any required zoning or one-to-one permit application.
3. 03
   Submit supporting approvals shown on the building form as applicable, including driveway, PennDOT, floodplain, sewer, zoning, historical review, and stormwater approvals.
4. 04
   Provide project documents, drawings, calculations, and workers compensation information as required by the BHW permit package.
5. 05
   Pay the township fee.
6. 06
   Schedule inspections directly with the named inspectors by phone or email.

Typical processing time: Not publicly posted

Source: Plains Township Zoning Office, with BHW Construction Consultation Services handling building inspections ↗

Checks or money orders are payable to Plains Township

Fees change periodically. Confirm at the official fee schedule ↗ before budgeting.

• Named BHW inspectors (phone)
• Named BHW inspectors (email)

Inspection hours

Township office hours are not summarized on the zoning page reviewed

Typical sequence: Project-specific; permit package identifies building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and foundation document categories and requires direct scheduling with assigned inspectors