Sample Steep Slope Ordinances

Amends the steep slope section of the zoning ordinance, eliminates steep slope conservation overlay district, and more.

Guide to steep slopes in Centre County, including regulatory and non-regulatory protection strategies.

Steep slope overlay district for Edgmont Township (Delaware County). Includes series of permitted, conditional, and prohibited uses for areas of "very steep slope" (greater than 25%) and "steep slope" (15–25%).

Section of Kennett Township (Chester County) zoning ordinance that includes supplemental regulations for natural resources such as steep slopes, floodplains, wetlands, woodlands, and riparian buffers.

Zoning ordinance for Lower Milford Township, Lehigh County, which include steep slope ordinances. Lower Milford Township takes a more performance-oriented approach to steep slope regulation; within its four-tiered steep slope area, disturbance (i.e. grading, clearing, construction, etc…) is limited to a percentage of the land area occupied by each tier. Use restrictions – in addition to those imposed by the underlying zoning district – only apply to prohibitive slopes.

Chapters 905 & 906 of Pittsburgh's zoning ordinances, which contain the city's steep slope ordinances. Pittsburgh's scenic hillsides play a major role in defining its visual character. In addition to a traditional steep slope overlay district, Pittsburgh has both a Hillside District, a base zoning district with unique hillside-appropriate site development standards, and a View Protection Overlay District, which enables the City Planning Commission to create supplemental design guidelines for View Protection Districts, which may include hillsides. (Chapter 905 updated in 2010).

Steep slope ordinance enacted by the City of Reading in 2017.

The Munipalities Planning Code allows the use of steep slopes to be regulated through a zoning overlay district, which enables their uniform regulation regardless of each municipality’s base zoning district provisions. Upper Salford Township, Montgomery County, employs this approach, typical of many municipalities across the Commonwealth, and its Overlay District comprises all areas of the Township with slopes greater than 15%. Four categories of slopes are differentially restricted, and a combination of disturbance (i.e., grading and vegetation removal) and lot size and design standards take precedence over the regulations of underlying districts.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission completed a survey of municipal natural resource protection tools in its service area in 2002, which was systematically updated in 2006. Outstanding examples of ordinances related to natural resources, including steep slopes, are posted on this website and are saved as part of this library item.

Municipalities use zoning regulations to limit disturbance of steep slopes in order to prevent erosion, reduce the risk of dangerous landslides, and preserve scenic hillsides. WeConservePA guide. 8 pages.

Ferguson Township, Centre County, PA zoning ordinance, which includes steep slope ordinance. The steep slope ordinance has both “Slope Controls” (page 405), and a “Ridge Overlay District (page 64)” designed to limit disturbance to Colluvial soils

Ordinance regulating stormwater management and steep slopes in Upper Dublin Township (Montgomery County). The minimum lot size requirement increases as the average slope increases.

Section of Upper Providence Township (Delaware County) code about the township's steep slope conservation overlay district.

Steep slope overlay district for Whitemarsh Township (Montgomery County), which sets requirements for average lot area and maximum impervious ground cover based on steep slope ratio.