Permits guide
Chadds Ford Township Clearing Permits: What to Ask
We could not read the tree or grading thresholds in Chadds Ford's code, so this page lists what exists and what to ask rather than stating rules we could not verify.
Chadds Ford Township's code has a chapter on stormwater management, grading, soil erosion and sediment control, adopted in 2024. We could not read its thresholds or any tree removal rule, so we state none. Ask the township which permit applies to your acreage, trees and slopes before any machine is scheduled.
Last checked: October 2026
What we could verify
Chadds Ford Township is in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its code is published on eCode360, with chapters 1 through 135. The township's chapter 105 is titled Stormwater Management and its short title is the Chadds Ford Township Stormwater Management, Grading, Soil Erosion, and Sediment Control Ordinance. eCode360 shows it was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on May 1, 2024 as Ordinance No. 175, repealing the former Chapter 105.
The township's ordinance list also includes an ordinance titled Regulating Activity Areas Steep and Very Steep Slopes, which tells us slope disturbance is something the township regulates. A separate chapter, Chapter 126, restricts running bamboo and says an owner of property where running bamboo grows in violation must remove all parts of the plant that are closer than 10 feet from any public right-of-way or property line. That matters on estates where bamboo borders a road.
The township's pages state that building permit applications are not accepted electronically and that incomplete applications will not be accepted, and that an appointment is needed to drop off a grading application. Those are process points from the township's own pages, not thresholds.
What we could not verify, and why we do not state it
The eCode360 pages for the articles inside Chapter 105, and the township's zoning chapter 135, did not load in a form we could read this session. We therefore cannot tell you the square footage or acreage at which a township grading permit is required, whether forestry mulching counts as grading, whether the township has a tree removal permit or a woodland disturbance limit, or what the riparian buffer widths are under the 2024 chapter.
We also do not rely on the 2018 grading ordinance text posted on the township site, because eCode360 says Ordinance No. 175 repealed and replaced the former chapter. Where a rule is not on this page, treat that as unknown, not as absent.
Questions to ask Chadds Ford Township
- Under Chapter 105, at what area of earth disturbance is a grading permit required, and does clearing and mulching trees count if no soil is moved?
- Does the township require its own erosion and sediment control plan, and who reviews it?
- Does Chapter 135, Zoning, or any other chapter regulate tree removal, woodland disturbance, timber harvesting or clearing on a residential or agricultural lot? Is there a permit, a plan or a replacement requirement?
- Do the steep slope or very steep slope provisions apply to my parcel, and what activity do they limit?
- Are there riparian buffer or floodplain limits near a stream or pond on this parcel?
- Does Chapter 126 apply because of running bamboo near a road or property line?
- Is the parcel in a historic district or under an easement that adds review?
- Which office takes the application, and is an appointment needed?
Ask for the answers by email so there is a written record. Township staff can say which chapter applies to a given lot, and the owner keeps the reply with the job file.
State rules still apply
Township rules sit on top of Pennsylvania's Chapter 102, which requires erosion and sediment controls on any earth disturbance, a written plan at 5,000 square feet or more, and a stormwater construction permit at 1 acre or more, with timber harvesting handled separately. Our Pennsylvania erosion and sediment control page lays out those thresholds and where the text goes quiet on forestry mulching.
The district or agency that reviews plans for Delaware County parcels is not something we verified for this page. Ask the township which office reviews a plan for your address.
How we work around approvals
We take estate and farm clearing in the Brandywine Valley, including Chadds Ford, where our own base is. We do not start until the owner has the township and agency answers in hand. When the answer is that a permit is needed, we can describe the work, acreage and access in terms a reviewer can use, and we schedule after approval. When felling is part of the job, we regularly take trees of 100 feet and more, up to 130 feet, most with the mulching equipment itself or large chainsaws and felling, and the township question for large trees is the same: ask first.
Questions about this page
Sources: Chadds Ford Township Code, Chapter 105, Chadds Ford Township Code, Chapter 126, Vegetation, Restricted, Chadds Ford Township, Ordinances list, 25 Pa. Code 102.4, Erosion and sediment control requirements, 25 Pa. Code 102.5, Permit requirements. This is general information, confirm with the township or agency.
Does Chadds Ford Township require a permit to remove trees?
We could not read a tree removal rule in the township's code this session, so we do not state one. Ask the township whether any chapter, including Chapter 105 or the zoning chapter, requires a permit, plan or replacement for your lot.
Is there a grading permit in Chadds Ford Township?
The township's code has Chapter 105, Stormwater Management, Grading, Soil Erosion, and Sediment Control, adopted May 1, 2024. We could not read the threshold for when a grading permit is needed, so ask the township.
Does Chadds Ford regulate bamboo?
Yes. Chapter 126 restricts running bamboo and says an owner whose bamboo grows in violation must remove plants closer than 10 feet from any public right-of-way or property line. Confirm how it applies to your property with the township.
Do state erosion rules apply in Chadds Ford?
Pennsylvania's Chapter 102 applies statewide: controls on any earth disturbance, a written plan at 5,000 square feet or more, and a stormwater construction permit at 1 acre or more, with timber harvesting handled separately.
Call, or send the details.
(484) 486-7272hello@huntlyland.com. Send the town, rough acreage and two or three photographs. We reply with site-walk times, and a written plan follows the walk.
Office hours Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. On call 24/7 for storm and emergency cleanup. If anyone is in danger, call 911 first.