Resident Package
The following items provide residents with some of the most commonly encountered Township ordinances, procedures and services. These items are organized by area of operation.
- BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
- COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
- POLICE DEPARTMENT
- TRASH / RECYCLING / YARD WASTE / LEAF WASTE COLLECTION
- PROPERTY MAINTENANCE
- PARKS & RECREATION
- PUBLIC WORKS
- SANITARY SEWER
- The Supervisors, generally, conduct public meetings on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Tuesdays of each month at the Municipal Center. The 1st and 3rd meetings are for general business, and the 2nd meeting is a workshop. All meetings begin at 7 pm.
- Business meetings of the Supervisors are televised on Comcast Cable channel 21 and Verizon channel 22. The meetings are rebroadcast on Thursdays at 6 pm and Saturdays at noon.
- The Supervisors voice mail telephone number is 717-373-1599.
- Email the Board of Supervisors
- Past Supervisor meetings can be viewed on the Meeting Videos page.
- Always check with the Community Development Department prior to beginning any construction activity.
- A Zoning Permit (PDF) is required for most lot development activities.
- A Building Permit (PDF) is required for most construction activities.
- A Stormwater Management Permit (PDF) may be required for lot development activities.
- The Township has adopted the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (PA UCC).
- The PA UCC requires fire suppression (sprinkler) systems for certain types of construction.
- Residents are reminded to install mailboxes in accordance with requirements of the U.S. Postal Service.
- The Township enforces a curfew on persons under the age of eighteen, unless they are accompanied by their parents or a responsible adult designated by their parents.
- Dog licenses are required by Dauphin County and are sold at various government and business locations. It is illegal for individuals to have an unlicensed dog that is three months old or older.
- All dogs three months or older must possess a current rabies vaccination.
- All bicycles must be registered with the Township. Registration is from Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm The cost of a registration license is $2.
- The Police Department will perform "house checks" for residents who are on vacation. You can arrange for this service by calling 717-657-5656, Monday through Friday 8 am until 4 pm Please call at least one day prior to leaving.
- Persons needing the assistance of a Police Officer should call the Dauphin County Dispatch Center at the following phone numbers:
- Emergency Calls: 911
- Non-Emergency calls: 717-558-6900
- Persons needing the assistance of the Township Fire Marshall should call the Police Department Office at 717-657-5656. To report a fire call 911.
- Any questions regarding Community Policing programs and activities should be directed to Officer Ralph Palm at 717-657-5656.
- Penn Waste is the authorized residential solid and recyclables collector within the Township. Arrangements for service – as well as any questions, issues or to schedule a bulk item pickup -- may be made by contacting the Township at 717-657-5617 or emailing utilties@lower-paxton-pa.gov For a downloadable information flyer from Penn Waste, please click here
- For more information about the service, including an interactive map that can show when trash, recycling and yard waste is collected at your address, please click here
- As part of the contract with Penn Waste, residents are required to use the waste and recycling bins provided by the company. For information about proper cart placement for collection, please click here
- The Township's leaf waste Compost Facility is located on Conway Road. Residents who purchase a permit may deliver leaves, tree trimmings, and garden waste to the compost facility on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Leaf waste must be deposited loose or in "kraft" recyclable bags. Annual and one-day permits may be purchased in advance at the Municipal Center and Hornung’s Hardware Store, 6005 Blue Bird Avenue. Permits are not sold on-site at the compost facility. Only cash and check payments are accepted. No credit cards are accepted.
- The Township accepts natural Christmas trees for recycling at two drop-off sites - Koons Park and the Public Works Building. Christmas trees may be dropped off during the first three weeks of January each year. Trees must be free of all decorations.
- The Community Development Office is responsible for enforcement of ordinances relating to property maintenance, and on-lot sanitary sewer facilities.
- Domestic animals are not permitted to run loose within the Township. Residents are required to clean up the waste from their pet.
- The Township’s Property Maintenance Code requires that residents cut their grass when it exceeds 10 inches in length.
- Inflatable pools that hold more than 24 inches of water require a code compliant barrier surrounding the perimeter of the pool.
- Township park facilities may be reserved online.
- The Township does not operate any outdoor swimming pools. However, there are three pools in the Township; Devon Manor Swim Club and Penn Colonial Swim Club and Koons Pool.
- For information about the Friendship Senior Center, please click here
- The Township assists in the operation of a senior citizen transportation service. For more information, please call 717-657-5650.
- Parks and Recreation Department programs follow the winter cancellation policies of the Central Dauphin School District.
- The Township is divided into areas for snow removal purposes. Within each area the primary responsibility is snow removal and application of anti-skid material on various state routes and Township collector roads. The second responsibility is to maintain through Township streets within residential neighborhoods. Cul-de-sacs, dead-ends, and alleys are the last roadways in the winter maintenance hierarchy.
- The Township Public Works Department maintains over 200 miles of local roadways and 17 miles of state routes, totaling nearly 400 lane miles, during winter storm events.
- Street sweeping begins as soon as the weather permits in the spring and continues throughout the summer months.
- Fall vacuum leaf collection begins in autumn, as weather permits, and continues until vacuum collection has been completed on all Township streets.
- Property owners are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the curb and sidewalk in the public right-of-way abutting their property.
- Residents are reminded that basketball backboards, landscape and construction materials, and piles of mulch must not be placed on Township roads because they are a safety hazard to the motoring public and an obstacle to maintenance operations.
- The Township's policy on mailboxes damaged during Public Works operations provides a maximum of $100 for repair or replacement when a mailbox is struck by a Township or subcontractor truck, snowplow, or other equipment. The Township is not responsible for the repair or replacement of a mailbox damaged by snow pushed to the edge of the road by a snowplow.
- During heavy rainfalls and high groundwater conditions the Township's sanitary sewers experience infiltration and inflow of clear water. This has resulted in restrictions on the issuance of building permits in the Beaver Creek and Paxton Creek sanitary sewer drainage basins.
- The Sanitary Sewer Department will replace broken sewer clean-out caps, free of charge, if the cap was initially installed by the Township. If the cap was installed by the property owner, then replacement is the owner's responsibility.
- Residents who experience a sewer line blockage should call the Sewer Department at 717-657-5617 before they call a plumber. The Department will check to ensure that the blockage is not located within the public system.
- Sanitary sewer quarterly bills may be paid by direct debit to your bank account. For more information contact the Department at 717-657-5617.
- The Authority’s sanitary sewer system services over 15,000 accounts. Residential accounts are charged a flat quarterly fee. Non-residential uses are billed based upon flow to the sewer system calculated on an equivalent dwelling unit basis. For more information, click here