- Building Permit
- Authorization from a municipality's building or code department to construct, alter, or repair a structure, confirming the work will meet the Uniform Construction Code. Required before the work starts, not after.
- Zoning Permit
- Authorization confirming a structure's location, size, or use complies with the municipality's zoning ordinance, things like setbacks, lot coverage, and permitted use. Separate from a building permit, and sometimes required in addition to one.
- Uniform Construction Code (UCC)
- Pennsylvania's statewide building code, adopted under Act 45 of 1999 and based on the International Building and Residential Codes. Every municipality in the state enforces it at minimum, though a municipality can add its own local requirements on top of it.
- Code Enforcement Officer
- The municipal official responsible for enforcing property maintenance and building codes. Often the right first call for a permit question or a complaint about a neighboring property.
- Building Inspector
- Inspects construction work against the Uniform Construction Code at various stages of a project and signs off before the work is considered complete.
- Zoning Officer
- Reviews applications against the municipality's zoning ordinance and issues zoning permits. Also the official who handles a zoning complaint or refers a request to the Zoning Hearing Board.
- Building Code Official (BCO)
- The state-certified official who administers the Uniform Construction Code for a municipality. In many of Delaware County's smaller municipalities, one person or firm holds this role alongside Building Inspector and Zoning Officer.
- Planning Commission
- An appointed board that reviews subdivision and land development plans and advises the elected governing body on planning matters. Comes into play for larger projects and lot splits more than for a typical homeowner permit.
- Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB)
- A separate appointed board, not the same people as the Planning Commission, that hears variance requests, special exceptions, and appeals of a Zoning Officer's decision.
- Variance
- Permission to deviate from the literal terms of the zoning ordinance, a setback or a lot coverage limit, for example, because strict compliance would create a hardship specific to that property. Granted, if at all, by the Zoning Hearing Board.
- Special Exception
- A use the zoning ordinance already allows in a district, but only after the Zoning Hearing Board reviews it against specific conditions written into the ordinance. Different from a variance, which asks for an exception to the rule itself.
- Certificate of Occupancy / Use & Occupancy (U&O)
- Official sign-off that a building, or a change in how it's used, meets code and is safe to occupy. Many Delaware County municipalities require one when a property changes hands, separate from any permit for the work itself.
- UCC Board of Appeals
- Hears appeals of a Building Code Official's decision on a Uniform Construction Code matter. In many Delaware County municipalities, this function is handled by the Delaware County Office of Housing & Community Development rather than a local board.