Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania Building Permit Guide

In Silver Spring Township, the Community Development Department at the township building, 8 Flowers Drive, Mechanicsburg (717-766-0178), issues building and zoning permits, and Building & Codes Manager John Wascavage is the township’s Building Code Official. All permit applications must be filed online through BS&A, and reviews run in a set order with their own time limits. Under the township’s 2026 fee schedule (Resolution 2026-01), decks, pools and alterations at a house cost $90 for the first $1,000 of cost and $20 for each $1,000 after.

What requires a building permit in Silver Spring Township?

The township’s General Permit Information sheet separates building permits, needed to make sure a structure is built safely, from zoning permits, needed to place a building or structure on a lot. Many projects need both.

Some work is exempt from a building permit but still has to be reported: residential repairs and alterations without structural or egress changes, non-structural re-shingling, same-size windows, siding, fascia and gutters, kitchen and bath replacements in the same locations, a basement finished without a bedroom, roof solar with no structural change, and a fence replaced at the same height and place. For these the owner completes the township’s exemption form and emails it to sstwppermits@sstwp.org. Demolition of any structure of 500 square feet or more needs its own application.

What Silver Spring decides and what the state holds

The township opted in to the UCC on July 1, 2004 and keeps local amendments, according to L&I’s list. The Board of Supervisors sets fees and the zoning ordinance (last updated January 28, 2026, with a further draft amendment posted for comment), the subdivision ordinance (March 2022 version) and the stormwater ordinance. Proposed Ordinance 2026-01, allowing data centers as a conditional use in the General Industrial (I-2) district, had a public hearing on the February 25, 2026 agenda; the May 13, 2026 special meeting agenda then proposed re-advertising it with a new hearing on a date to be set, and no later hearing or adoption vote appears on the agendas posted through October 28, 2026. An agricultural building exemption form is available for farm structures.

Silver Spring Township building department: who handles permitting

The Community Development Department plans, reviews plans, inspects sites and issues permits. Its staff directory lists the Building & Codes Manager and Building Code Official, two building inspectors, a building and codes assistant who handles inspection requests, a permit clerk, the zoning officer and assistants, and the Community Development Director, Dearan Quigley. The fee resolution also allows consultants to review revised plans, billed at their cost.

Silver Spring Township permit types

Applications go through the township’s BS&A Online page, which also handles payments and a building department record search. Homeowners and business owners apply under their own name, and contractors, engineers and architects create their own account; the township also posts an authorized agent affidavit. The township posts fillable worksheets to complete before applying: zoning, sign, change of use or occupancy, demolition, impervious coverage, road cut and driveway, new-home driveway packet, major stormwater and a sanitary sewer questionnaire for building fit-outs.

Residential permits

• New houses, additions and accessory buildings are charged from the ICC building valuation table; a builder may pay $400 more for an expedited five-day review when plans are sealed by a design professional, and the township posts an example sprinkler offer letter for new homes.
• Decks, pools, hot tubs, covered porches, awnings and alterations are charged by job cost.
• Septic pumping needs a $50 pumping permit, applied for online in BS&A under Sewer/Septic or on paper with a check.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit expediting, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial projects start with a commercial project contact form. Tenant fit-outs, alterations, racking, cell towers and equipment are charged at 1.27% of the construction cost, with a $500 minimum on commercial permits, $300 for a temporary structure and $1,000 more when a permit is phased. A fit-out or expansion that changes sewage flow also needs the Sewer Authority’s questionnaire, and the fire plan review is billed at $65 an hour. Resurfacing a parking lot costs $300, and mobile home parks hold an annual township license ($750 for up to 50 lots, $1,000 for 51 to 100, and $1,200 above that).

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit applications through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Driveways and road cuts. A driveway application is needed to move a driveway from where the recorded plan shows it or to work in a township road right-of-way; review takes up to 15 business days under the township code (section 356-5). Permitted road work must be finished within six months.
• Stormwater. A minor permit covers 1,000 to 4,999 square feet of new impervious area, or grading between 5,000 square feet and one acre, and needs erosion controls on the site plan, a recorded operation and maintenance agreement with original signatures for any BMP, and financial security calculated after review and board approval. Anything larger is a major permit with engineered plans reviewed by the Township Engineer, which the township says can take months.
• Zoning. Zoning review is allotted 90 calendar days. The Zoning Hearing Board hears variances and special exceptions ($650 for residential or agricultural cases, $750 for others).
• Floodplain. Work in a flood area needs a floodplain permit ($170 plus a $500 escrow).
• Sewer or septic. Public sewer is run by the township Sewer Authority at 5 Willow Mill Park Road (717-591-1370); on-lot systems go through the township-appointed Sewage Enforcement Officer (717-319-1301).

Silver Spring Township permit costs and fees

Fees come from Resolution 2026-01, the township’s 2026 fee schedule, which was on the Board of Supervisors’ January 5, 2026 reorganization agenda (the signed copy’s adoption line reads January 6, 2025). Starting work without a permit doubles the permit fee, up to $1,000 extra.

Worked example: a $10,000 deck at a house costs $90 for the first $1,000 plus 9 × $20, or $270, plus $4.50. Reviewing changed plans in-house costs $90 an hour, and if a residential project is cancelled before it starts the township refunds 75% of the permit fee (not the state fee). New development can also owe a traffic impact fee of $2,097 per peak p.m. hour trip under the township’s transportation capital improvements plan and $1,650 per dwelling unit in lieu of land dedication, and residential stormwater billing is $9 a month per 4,000-square-foot unit.

Public works permits are priced separately from the building permit: a single-family driveway costs a $30 application fee plus a $250 inspection fee ($100 and $400 for other properties), and a surface opening in the right-of-way $50 plus per-yard inspection charges. Permanent signs cost $300, or $400 with electricity; a zoning determination request is $600; and a missed zoning inspection is $85.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical work regulated by the UCC is permitted through the same BS&A building application, and inspection requests go to the building and codes office. The township’s pages and fee schedule show no local license for electricians, plumbers or HVAC contractors; applicants supply workers’ compensation proof or the township’s exemption affidavit, and home improvement contractors register with the Attorney General under HICPA.

• Septage haulers are the one trade the township registers: pumping must be done by a hauler on the township’s registered list, and hauler licensing costs $25.
• Sewer laterals and connections are handled with the township Sewer Authority, not the building department.
• Fire protection: sprinkler tests ($150), standpipes, private hydrants and fire alarm floors ($85 each) are priced in the public safety part of the schedule.

How to apply for a Silver Spring building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Incomplete applications are denied, and no review starts until every document is in. Because the reviews are consecutive, a project needing a major stormwater permit waits for the Township Engineer before zoning and building review begin. The building review itself is allotted 15 business days for residential and 30 for commercial work, matching the state deadlines. A permit that needs more time is extended on the township’s permit extension request form.

Inspections in Silver Spring Township

Inspections are requested through the building and codes assistant at 717-766-0178, ext. 3321. Inspections beyond the standard set cost $90 at a house and $120 at a commercial site, and the township may charge the same amount after two consecutive failed inspections, or two missed or cancelled ones without 24 hours’ notice. Site visits are billed at $90 an hour for houses.

Houses on septic systems carry a continuing duty: under Ordinance 2018-06 every on-lot system must be pumped and inspected at least once every five years by a registered hauler, with a $50 township pumping permit, and owners may be asked for proof. The SEO also inspects new and repaired systems; a full new-system application with one soil test costs $600, or $850 with two, an alternate or major repair application $350, and a minor repair or alteration permit $175, each bundling the tests, permit and inspections the schedule lists for it.

Pennsylvania building code in Silver Spring Township

Silver Spring enforces the UCC with its own Building Code Official and inspectors under its 2004 opt-in, with local amendments. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Silver Spring Township (community 420370) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective September 7, 2023.

Pennsylvania has one Uniform Construction Code for the whole state, based on the 2021 International Codes since January 1, 2026. Most municipalities enforce it themselves or through a certified third-party agency; where a municipality has opted out, the Department of Labor and Industry handles commercial work and home owners hire a certified agency. Counties do not issue building permits. Pennsylvania rules

Silver Spring permit search and official resources

BS&A Online includes a building department record search for permits on a property. Older or fuller records are requested from the Township Secretary, who is the Open Records Officer; the township answers within five business days or gives notice of an extension of up to 30 calendar days, and its page counts 149 requests so far in 2026. The Community Development page also has an interactive zoning map that shows the district for any address.

• BS&A Online: apply, pay and search permits
• Permit forms and applications
• General permit information
• 2026 fee schedule, Resolution 2026-01
• BS&A instructions for homeowners
• Floodplain permit application
• Community Development
• Current planning and zoning ordinance
• On-lot septic system maintenance
• Sewer Authority (public sewer)
• Right-to-Know requests
• Pennsylvania L&I municipal UCC elections list
• FEMA Community Status Book, Pennsylvania

Silver Spring Township building permit FAQs

Can I apply for a permit in person in Silver Spring Township?

The township says all permit applications must be submitted online through BS&A; staff can help by phone first.

How much is a permit for a deck?

$90 for the first $1,000 of cost and $20 for each additional $1,000, plus $4.50; a $10,000 deck is $274.50 in all.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

A shed under 500 square feet needs a zoning permit; one of 500 square feet or more needs a building permit.

Do I need a permit to replace my roof?

Not for non-structural re-shingling, which uses the exemption form; replacing roof decking needs a building permit.

How long does review take?

Building review is allotted 15 business days for houses and 30 for commercial work, after any driveway, stormwater and zoning reviews.

How often must I pump my septic tank?

At least every five years under Ordinance 2018-06, using a registered hauler and a $50 township pumping permit.

Who do I call to schedule an inspection?

The building and codes office at 717-766-0178, ext. 3321.

Simplify Silver Spring Township permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Pennsylvania. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Silver Spring Township permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.