Pennsylvania

Buying Land in Berks County, Pennsylvania

County seat and largest city Reading. Berks County has preserved over 80,000 acres of farmland through its Agricultural Land Preservation Program since 1989 -- a genuinely large, ongoing conservation effort -- but zoning here is strictly a municipal function; the county's own planning commission tells buyers to check with the specific borough, township, or city where a parcel sits. Here's what that split, plus township-by-township septic enforcement, means before you buy.

Zoning Is a Municipal Question -- the County Says So Directly

Case-by-case / verify locally

The Berks County Planning Commission provides an area-wide land-use and infrastructure blueprint, but the county's own guidance is explicit: for zoning questions on a specific parcel, contact the borough, township, or city where it's located, not the county. There is no general county zoning authority to assume applies.

Over 80,000 Acres of Farmland Permanently Preserved

Generally favorable

Berks County's Agricultural Land Preservation Board has purchased conservation easements on more than 80,000 acres since 1989 (as of a June 2025 milestone announcement). A farm parcel you're evaluating may already carry one of these permanent easements -- check the deed and the Recorder of Deeds before assuming unrestricted development potential.

Septic Is Handled Township by Township

Generally favorable

Berks County has no county health department, so onlot sewage permitting runs through individual municipal Sewage Enforcement Officers. Several townships have also adopted their own Act 537 sewage-management-program ordinances, sometimes including periodic septic-tank pump-out requirements -- confirm the specific township's rules directly.

Zoning: the county's own planning commission points you to the municipality

Berks County has not adopted a countywide zoning ordinance covering its many boroughs and townships. The Berks County Planning Commission serves as an area-wide planning organization -- producing a regional blueprint for land use, transportation, public infrastructure, and parks and trails -- but the county's own guidance is direct on the point that matters most to a buyer: for zoning questions about a specific parcel, contact the borough, township, or city where that parcel is located. Reading itself, as the county's largest city, runs its own Zoning and Planning function through the city government rather than the county. With dozens of individual municipalities across the county -- Muhlenberg, Oley, Exeter, and Richmond Townships among many others -- each administering its own zoning ordinance (or, in a rural township, potentially none at all, consistent with Pennsylvania's statewide optional-zoning pattern), confirming the specific municipality's current zoning status and district rules directly is a genuinely necessary first step rather than a formality.

A large, active farmland-preservation program -- check for an existing easement

Berks County runs one of Pennsylvania's more substantial agricultural land preservation efforts. The Berks County Agricultural Land Preservation Board (BCALPB) has purchased agricultural conservation easements from willing farm owners every year since 1989, and as of a June 2025 milestone announcement, the program has surpassed 80,000 acres of permanently preserved farmland countywide. These easements limit a property to agricultural use and run with the deed in perpetuity. For a buyer, the practical upshot is straightforward: a large, open agricultural parcel that looks like a blank slate for future subdivision may already carry one of these permanent easements, so check the deed and the Recorder of Deeds directly before counting on future development rights.

Septic: township by township, with some local pump-out rules

Berks County does not operate its own county health department, so onlot sewage disposal (septic) permitting here follows Pennsylvania's default pattern: each township or borough employs or contracts its own certified Sewage Enforcement Officer to handle soil testing, perc testing, and permit approval. Beyond basic permitting, several Berks County townships -- Union and Amity among them -- have gone further and adopted their own Act 537 sewage-management-program ordinances, which can include requirements like periodic septic-tank pumping on a set schedule. Reported pump-out intervals vary by source and by township, so rather than assuming one countywide rule (a figure of 'every three years' shows up in some secondary sources but isn't traceable to a single authoritative countywide ordinance), confirm the specific requirement directly with the municipality where a parcel sits.

Records, GIS, and other departments to know

The Berks County Recorder of Deeds ((610) 478-3380) holds recorded deeds, agricultural conservation easements, and plats, with an online quick-search tool for records. The Assessment Office ((610) 478-6262) handles property valuation and tax records, and the county's Mapping/GIS office ((610) 478-3360), along with the county's Parcel Viewer and open-data hub, provides parcel boundaries, aerial imagery, and property-records search tools online. Given the county's active farmland-preservation program, checking a specific parcel against the Recorder's easement records before assuming development potential is a genuinely important step here.

What we could and couldn't confirm

Berks County's FIPS code (42011) follows the alphabetical PA FIPS sequence directly confirmed for Adams, Bucks, and Cambria in this batch but was not independently spot-checked against a second source. The 80,000-acre farmland-preservation figure is drawn from the county's own program page and its June 2025 milestone announcement; more acreage has likely been preserved since. The claim that Berks County has a single, uniform three-year septic pump-out requirement, repeated on at least one real-estate-adjacent blog, was not traced to one authoritative countywide source in this research pass -- what this page did confirm directly is that individual townships (Union, Amity, and others) have adopted their own Act 537 sewage-management-program ordinances, some including periodic pump-out requirements, which may vary township by township rather than apply uniformly countywide. Direct WebFetch to berkspa.gov was not attempted.

Verify directly with: the specific borough, township, or the City of Reading for zoning jurisdiction and current ordinance text, the serving Sewage Enforcement Officer for septic permitting and any local sewage-management-program pump-out requirement, and the Berks County Recorder of Deeds for any existing agricultural conservation easement on a specific parcel

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Berks County

Direct WebFetch access to berkspa.gov was not attempted in this research pass, so several details reflect search-indexed content rather than a full verbatim read -- confirm current staff, hours, and fees directly, and confirm zoning rules with the specific municipality before relying on this page.

Planning & Zoning

Berks County Planning Commission

Countywide land-use planning and infrastructure blueprint; for zoning on a specific parcel, contact the borough, township, or city directly.

Official website →

Building & Permitting

Berks County (municipality-specific)

Building permits -- contact the specific borough, township, or the City of Reading directly.

Official website →

Septic / Onsite Wastewater

Local Sewage Enforcement Officer (municipality-specific)

Onlot sewage (septic) permits, soil probes, and perc testing -- contact the specific township or borough office to identify the serving SEO.

Official website →

GIS / Parcel Records

Berks County Mapping/GIS

Parcel boundaries, aerial imagery, and the county Parcel Viewer.

Phone: (610) 478-3360Official website →

Assessor / Property Tax

Berks County Assessment

Property assessment and tax records.

Phone: (610) 478-6262Email: assessment@berkspa.govOfficial website →

Recorder / Clerk / Land Records

Berks County Recorder of Deeds

Recorded deeds, agricultural conservation easements, and plats for a specific parcel.

Phone: (610) 478-3380Official website →

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Tell us what you're looking at and we'll connect you with a local land specialist who can help you sanity-check it before you go further.

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Topics Specific to Berks County

Agricultural Conservation Easements in Berks County →

Sources

Commissioners — Berks County, PA (accessed 2026-09)
Planning Commission — Berks County, PA (accessed 2026-09)
Agricultural Land Preservation (ALP) Board — Berks County, PA (accessed 2026-09)
Agricultural Land Preservation — Berks County, PA (accessed 2026-09)
Berks County farm among 25 preserved statewide through $7.1 million investment — Berks Weekly (accessed 2026-09)
County-Municipal Health Depts — Pennsylvania Department of Health (accessed 2026-09)
Article IV: On-Lot Sewage Disposal System Management -- Township of Union, PA — Union Township, Berks County, PA (eCode360) (accessed 2026-09)
ON-LOT SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS -- Township of Amity, PA — Amity Township, Berks County, PA (eCode360) (accessed 2026-09)
Recorder of Deeds -- Official Record Search — Berks County, PA (accessed 2026-09)

Last reviewed 2026-09