Buying Land in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

A large, geographically diverse county with a genuine county zoning backstop

Lycoming County's sheer size -- 1,228.59 square miles, the largest of any Pennsylvania county -- means it spans genuinely different landscapes and land-use pressures within a single county government: mountainous, heavily forested terrain in its northern reaches, productive agricultural valleys, and the more developed Susquehanna River corridor around Williamsport, the county's only city. With 52 municipalities in total (1 city, 9 boroughs, and 42 townships), it isn't surprising that not every one of them has built out its own zoning administration -- and Lycoming County has responded, unlike many Pennsylvania counties, by adopting its own county-wide zoning ordinance specifically to cover the gap.

The Lycoming County Zoning Ordinance, originally enacted December 31, 1991 and revised multiple times since (at least through 2011, per the county's posted document), applies directly in the 19 of the county's 52 municipalities that have not enacted their own zoning ordinance. Municipalities that have adopted their own zoning -- including the City of Williamsport and a number of townships and boroughs -- are not subject to the county's ordinance; they administer zoning entirely on their own. For a buyer, that means the first real question for any Lycoming County parcel is simply: does this specific municipality have its own zoning, or does the county's 1991 ordinance apply here instead?

Subdivision follows a similar but separately administered pattern

Lycoming County runs a parallel arrangement for subdivision and land development: its own County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO) applies specifically to the 23 municipalities that have not adopted their own SALDO. This is a distinct list from the 19 municipalities under county zoning -- a municipality could conceivably have its own zoning ordinance but still rely on the county's SALDO for subdivision review, or vice versa -- so a buyer planning to split a parcel or create a new lot should check subdivision authority separately from zoning authority rather than assuming they track the same municipality list.

The Lycoming County Planning & Community Development Department (33 West Third Street, Third Floor, Williamsport; mail to 48 West Third Street) administers both the county zoning ordinance and the county SALDO where they apply, and periodically proposes amendments to keep the zoning ordinance consistent with the county's comprehensive plan and to address uses the original 1991 ordinance didn't anticipate. Given the county's large area and genuinely varied terrain, it's worth asking the department directly whether any recent or pending amendment affects the specific district a parcel falls into.

Septic, flood risk, and other departments to know

Lycoming County does not operate its own county health department, so septic permitting for a new onlot sewage disposal system follows the standard statewide Act 537 process through a DEP-certified Sewage Enforcement Officer -- and given the county's size and mix of zoning jurisdictions, confirm with either the specific municipality or the county planning department which SEO currently covers a given parcel. The Lycoming County Register & Recorder's Office (48 West Third Street, Williamsport; 570-327-2263) holds deeds, easements, and plats, and the county Assessment office (same address; 570-327-2301) handles property records.

Because Lycoming County includes substantial forested and mountainous terrain along with river-valley farmland, it's also worth asking the county planning department about any steep-slope or environmental-protection standards built into the county zoning ordinance -- the county's own zoning includes specific regulation of steep-slope disturbance, which can matter for building-site selection on more topographically varied parcels in the county's northern reaches.

One more thing worth checking specifically if you're looking at Williamsport, South Williamsport, Old Lycoming Township, or Loyalsock Township: those four municipalities sit behind the Greater Williamsport Levee, a large 1950s Army Corps of Engineers flood-control system currently partway through a multi-year federal recertification and accreditation process. See our dedicated flood-zones page for Lycoming County for what that means for flood-insurance requirements on land in those specific municipalities.