Pocono Township - Zoning and Building Codes

Township of Pocono, Pennsylvania (Monroe County)

city

205 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, PA 18372

Required

Required

Pocono Township's Zoning and Building Codes page lists a roof project as needing a building permit. The Township's Zoning and Building Codes page (read October 9, 2026) gives "Project-Type Guidance" to "see which permits and documents are generally required," adding "Final requirements are determined during review." Its entry for "Roof" reads "Zoning: No" and "Building: Yes," with "Documents Needed: A copy of the contract or detailed scope of work narrative, COI for contractor listing Pocono Twp. as holder." The Township's Application for Building Permit lists, under required documents, "Roof repair/replacement" with a "full narrative of work or copy of contract," and says "Any structural repair must submit plan." Chapter 145 of the Township Code adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and names no roof work, and Section 145-6A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code. The Township's fee schedule, Resolution No. 2024-19, has no roofing line: its residential building code fee schedule prices "Alterations and Repairs" at "1.5% of total construction cost (signed contract required)" with a minimum fee of $120.00. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). In practice, expect the Township to require a building permit for a reroof. Section 145-7A says a violation of the chapter carries, "upon conviction in a summary proceeding," a fine "of not exceeding $1,000 per violation." The page describes the process: the Zoning Officer reviews the application, and the approved Zoning Permit goes to the Building Code Official for the building code review. Applications can be submitted online through the Township's website. The Building Codes Officer sees applicants "By appointment only," and the Township office, at 570-629-1922, is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Read for this answer: Chapter 145 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 145-1 to 145-7), in full; Chapter 185, Fee Schedule; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Zoning and Building Codes and Permits and Documents pages; the Application for Building Permit; and the 2024 fee schedule, Resolution No. 2024-19, in full.

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Pocono Township administers the code through a retained agency: Section 145-3 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 145-4B allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of Pocono Township," and the Township's Zoning and Building Codes page says "Pocono Township has contracted with SFM Consulting, LLC. for building code inspections." Building permit applications go to the Township, at 205 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, and SFM Consulting's Permit Applications page lists a Pocono Township building permit. Chapter 145 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. The Township's Zoning and Building Codes page lists "2021 International Residential Code (IRC)" among the "Code Sets Currently in Use"; the residential fee table in its 2024 fee schedule, marked "Rev. January 2022," is headed "Permits Issued Under the 2015 IRC"; this record has not read the 2015 edition's text.

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The State's adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21) contains no hail or impact rule, and it makes no change to the code's roof assemblies chapter, which itself has no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality could add one only by an ordinance that equals or exceeds the Uniform Construction Code under Act 45 section 503, filed with the Department of Labor and Industry; none of the filings on the Department's register of municipal code change ordinances mentions hail or impact resistance. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Pocono Township administers the code through a retained agency: Section 145-3 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 145-4B allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of Pocono Township," and the Township's Zoning and Building Codes page says "Pocono Township has contracted with SFM Consulting, LLC. for building code inspections." Building permit applications go to the Township, at 205 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, and SFM Consulting's Permit Applications page lists a Pocono Township building permit. Chapter 145 of the Township Code, read in full, contains no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings, and the Township's pages name none. The Township's Zoning and Building Codes page lists "2021 International Residential Code (IRC)" among the "Code Sets Currently in Use"; the residential fee table in its 2024 fee schedule, marked "Rev. January 2022," is headed "Permits Issued Under the 2015 IRC".

Pocono Township's Zoning and Building Codes page lists a roof project as needing a building permit. The Township's Zoning and Building Codes page (read October 9, 2026) gives "Project-Type Guidance" to "see which permits and documents are generally required," adding "Final requirements are determined during review." Its entry for "Roof" reads "Zoning: No" and "Building: Yes," with "Documents Needed: A copy of the contract or detailed scope of work narrative, COI for contractor listing Pocono Twp. as holder." The Township's Application for Building Permit lists, under required documents, "Roof repair/replacement" with a "full narrative of work or copy of contract," and says "Any structural repair must submit plan." Chapter 145 of the Township Code adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and names no roof work, and Section 145-6A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code. The Township's fee schedule, Resolution No. 2024-19, has no roofing line: its residential building code fee schedule prices "Alterations and Repairs" at "1.5% of total construction cost (signed contract required)" with a minimum fee of $120.00. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). In practice, expect the Township to require a building permit for a reroof. Section 145-7A says a violation of the chapter carries, "upon conviction in a summary proceeding," a fine "of not exceeding $1,000 per violation." State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Pocono Township administers the code through a retained agency: Section 145-3 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 145-4B allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of Pocono Township," and the Township's Zoning and Building Codes page says "Pocono Township has contracted with SFM Consulting, LLC. for building code inspections." Building permit applications go to the Township, at 205 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, and SFM Consulting's Permit Applications page lists a Pocono Township building permit. No Township text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work; the Township's application asks for a plan for any structural repair.

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Pocono Township administers the code through a retained agency: Section 145-3 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 145-4B allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of Pocono Township," and the Township's Zoning and Building Codes page says "Pocono Township has contracted with SFM Consulting, LLC. for building code inspections." Building permit applications go to the Township, at 205 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, and SFM Consulting's Permit Applications page lists a Pocono Township building permit. Chapter 145 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's pages say nothing on roof layers. The Township's Zoning and Building Codes page lists "2021 International Residential Code (IRC)" among the "Code Sets Currently in Use"; the residential fee table in its 2024 fee schedule, marked "Rev. January 2022," is headed "Permits Issued Under the 2015 IRC"; this record has not read the 2015 edition's reroofing text.

State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels "shall be identified for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches; the Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Pocono Township administers the code through a retained agency: Section 145-3 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 145-4B allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of Pocono Township," and the Township's Zoning and Building Codes page says "Pocono Township has contracted with SFM Consulting, LLC. for building code inspections." Building permit applications go to the Township, at 205 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, and SFM Consulting's Permit Applications page lists a Pocono Township building permit. Chapter 145 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions. The Township's Application for Building Permit says "Any structural repair must submit plan" and draws no separate line for roof sheathing. The Township's Zoning and Building Codes page lists "2021 International Residential Code (IRC)" among the "Code Sets Currently in Use"; the residential fee table in its 2024 fee schedule, marked "Rev. January 2022," is headed "Permits Issued Under the 2015 IRC"; this record has not read the 2015 edition's sheathing text.

6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Pocono Township is in Monroe County. The Township's permit pages and 2024 fee schedule say nothing on sales tax.