Northampton County, Pennsylvania Allentown, Bethlehem & the Lehigh Valley

Barndominium Builders in Northampton County, Pennsylvania

Northampton County barndominium land ranges from subdivided lots near Easton and Bethlehem to open farm tracts in the rural townships. Pennsylvania Barndominium Builders designs and builds for that whole spread: steel-frame barndominiums with an attached shop, pole barn homes on rural acreage, and shop houses planned as one new building. Some owners buy a kit and finish it with their own trades, some want drawings made for one parcel, and some hand us the whole job from clearing to move-in. The county has 38 municipalities, and each one issues its own building permits and writes its own zoning ordinance, so the rules on a Moore Township tract are not the rules in Hellertown. Regional planning is shared with Lehigh County through the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, which reviews every subdivision and land development plan in both counties and prepares their stormwater plans watershed by watershed. A large share of the county's farmland is also preserved. Easton and Bethlehem have their own pages. Describe your parcel in the survey and we will check its zoning, sewer service and any easement before design.

Northampton County at a glance

County: Northampton County
Building permit: Each municipality, not the county
Local facts on this page: 5, each linked to its source

Tell us about your land

Before you build in Northampton County

The local answers that shape a build here, each taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so we confirm them again against your parcel before drawing.

Set by each municipality in the countyWho issues the permit

Each of Northampton County's 38 municipalities (township, borough or city), through its own code official or retained agency

Northampton County is not the permit office. The township, borough or city where the land lies issues the residential building permit, with its own staff or a third-party agency, and adopts the zoning ordinance. Subdivision and land development plans also pass an advisory review by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission before municipal approval.

Source: Northampton County Communities, Northampton County (norcopa.gov)

Regional plan review: The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission reviews every subdivision and land development plan for all 62 municipalities in Lehigh and Northampton counties, from lot line adjustments up, and sends each municipality a review letter on consistency with the regional plan, FutureLV (LVPC page, read 26 Sep 2026).
Boroughs under the county ordinance: Where a community has no subdivision and land development ordinance of its own, the LVPC reviews plans against the county ordinance. In Northampton County, proposals in Chapman, Glendon and West Easton Boroughs follow the Northampton County ordinance with a separate application (LVPC page, read 26 Sep 2026).
Watershed stormwater plans: The LVPC prepares the Act 167 stormwater management plans for Lehigh and Northampton counties, and municipalities adopt matching ordinance provisions. It is updating them into one plan and model ordinance covering 15 watersheds and all 62 municipalities (LVPC Natural + Water Resources page, read 26 Sep 2026).
Preserved farmland: Northampton County reports that it has preserved over 250 farms and over 19,000 acres through its farmland preservation program, which buys agricultural conservation easements; applications for 2026 were open when read (county Farmland Preservation page, read 26 Sep 2026).
Conservation district: Since December 1, 2024 the Northampton County Conservation District has operated as an independent entity, with its office on Newburg Road in Nazareth, rather than as a county department (county notice, read 26 Sep 2026).

Building on land around Northampton County

Parcels in Northampton County divide roughly into built-up ground around Easton, Bethlehem and the boroughs, and farm and woodland townships beyond them. Lots in and around the cities and boroughs are more likely to have public sewer and water at the road; rural tracts often need a private well and an on-lot sewage system approved by the municipality's Sewage Enforcement Officer before the building permit. Splitting a lot off a larger tract starts a subdivision that the municipality approves after an LVPC review, and a farm under a county easement is off the table for new lots. Stormwater standards come from the township ordinance built on the watershed plan, and ground disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more needs a written erosion and sediment plan. Pole barn homes fit the larger rural tracts.

Where we build in this part of Pennsylvania

Allentown, Bethlehem & the Lehigh Valley

Barndominium Kits and Plans in Northampton County

A kit you finish with your own crew, a custom plan, or a turnkey build. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so we price against your land rather than a rate card.

Barndominium Kits

Barndominium kits for sale in Pennsylvania: steel and pole barn packages sized to your municipality's snow and wind values, delivered and put up.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium plans for Pennsylvania land: floor plans and house plans fitted to your slope, your sewage area and your municipality's code.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominiums in Pennsylvania: land checks, plans, permits, site work, shell and finishes under one contract, from raw land to move-in.

See every service

Pole Barn Homes near Northampton County

A pole barn home puts the living space inside a wood-framed building set on posts, the same bones as a farm building, finished as a house. Whether it suits a parcel near Northampton County depends on the local answers above: who reviews the plans, what the zoning allows, and how the lot handles sewage.

Pole Barn Homes

Have land in or around Northampton County? Tell us about the parcel and what you want to build, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

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Building in Northampton County: questions

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How much does it cost to build a barndominium near Northampton County towns?

Location inside the county matters: a lot with public sewer and water keeps site costs down, while a rural tract may need a well, an on-lot sewage system, a longer driveway and a subdivision plan. The barndominium cost guide gives sourced per-square-foot ranges by size and finish, and we price your build once the survey tells us where the land is.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Northampton County?

Yes. The permit comes from whichever of the county's 38 townships, boroughs and cities contains the parcel, through its code official or a third-party agency it has retained. The same municipality applies its zoning and stormwater ordinances, and any lot split also gets a Lehigh Valley Planning Commission review.

Can I split a building lot off a farm in Northampton County?

Possibly, if the farm is not under a preservation easement and the township's zoning allows the lot size. The split is a subdivision: the municipality approves it after the LVPC's advisory review, or under the county ordinance in the few boroughs without their own. We check this before drawing custom plans.

Do you offer barndominium kits in Northampton County?

Yes. Our barndominium kits are for owners who will finish the building with their own crew or trades; the permit application still goes to the municipality where you build.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Northampton County allows.

Cost to Build a Barndominium in Pennsylvania

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Can You Build a Barndominium in Pennsylvania?

Zoning, sewage and who inspects, before you buy the land.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Northampton County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Other places we build around Northampton County

Across a municipal or county line the permit office, zoning and sewage agency can change, so each place has its own page.

Easton

Northampton County, Pennsylvania

Bethlehem

Northampton County, Pennsylvania

Lehigh County

Pennsylvania county

Monroe County

Pennsylvania county

Building in Northampton County?

Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which office permits it, what it will allow, and a plan to fit.

Start the survey