How do I find the zoning for an address in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania?

Bethlehem's Department of Community and Economic Development maintains the official zoning map and can confirm the zoning district for a specific address.

What happened to the former Bethlehem Steel site?

The former Bethlehem Steel site has been redeveloped into mixed-use, entertainment, and industrial-heritage space, and it has been the city's largest recent zoning and planning focus.

What's the process to request a zoning variance in Bethlehem?

Variance requests go through Bethlehem's Zoning Hearing Board after review by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania · city zoning districts · 13 districts

Bethlehem, PA zoning map & districts

Bethlehem zones land under the Bethlehem Zoning Ordinance, administered by the city's Department of Community and Economic Development. The redevelopment of the former Bethlehem Steel site — now home to mixed-use, entertainment, and industrial-heritage development — has been the single largest recent zoning and planning focus in the city, layered on top of Bethlehem's standard residential, commercial, and industrial base districts.

The code Bethlehem Zoning Ordinance

Bethlehem zoning map

Bethlehem's zoning map and ordinance are maintained by the Department of Community and Economic Development, which handles zoning verification requests for specific parcels.

There is no link to the official map here yet — confirm current district boundaries directly with the Bethlehem planning or zoning department.

A published summary is never the authority. The adopted ordinance and the city's official zoning map govern, and both change — verify the district and every standard on your parcel before you rely on it.

How zoning works in Bethlehem

Developers should note that Bethlehem spans both Northampton and Lehigh counties, and that large parcels of the former Steel site may carry site-specific redevelopment or overlay standards distinct from the citywide base zoning.

Bethlehem zoning districts by family

The 13 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in Bethlehem, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.

Key districts in the Bethlehem Zoning Ordinance — a curated reference, not the exhaustive list. Confirm against the current adopted code.
Code	District	What it is for
Residential 4 districts
RR	Rural Residential District	Bethlehem's lowest-density residential district (city uses no hyphen: RR, not R-R).
RS	Single Family Residential District	Medium-density single-family district.
RG	Medium Density Residential District	Transition zone opening up to two-family and attached housing.
RT	High Density Residential District	High-density housing variety: semis, duplexes, attached units.
Mixed-use 1 district
CMU	Mixed Use Commercial District	Blended commercial and residential district; previously absent from this dataset.
Commercial 3 districts
CG	General Commercial District	Broad general-purpose commercial corridor zone.
CL	Limited Commercial District	Day-to-day neighborhood commercial, non-residential uses capped at 2,500 sq ft.
CS	Shopping Center District	Planned shopping-center developments reviewed as a single architectural scheme.
Downtown / core 1 district
CB	Central Business District	Bethlehem's downtown district; previously mislabeled 'Commercial Business'.
Industrial 2 districts
LI	Light Industrial District	Lower-impact industrial and warehousing uses.
PI	Planned Industrial District	Park-style industrial development held to architectural-harmony standards.
Special purpose 2 districts
I	Institutional District	Large hospital, university, and school campus land.
CM	Office-Research Center District	Large-scale integrally planned office, lab, and testing campuses.

Bethlehem zoning — common questions

How do I find the zoning for an address in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania?: Bethlehem's Department of Community and Economic Development maintains the official zoning map and can confirm the zoning district for a specific address.
What happened to the former Bethlehem Steel site?: The former Bethlehem Steel site has been redeveloped into mixed-use, entertainment, and industrial-heritage space, and it has been the city's largest recent zoning and planning focus.
What's the process to request a zoning variance in Bethlehem?: Variance requests go through Bethlehem's Zoning Hearing Board after review by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Working in Pennsylvania? Get on the list.

The parcel layer lands in the order demand does. Illinois went first because that's where the deals were; the next state is decided by who tells us what they're trying to underwrite. Tell us where you're building and what you wanted to run — you'll hear from us when Pennsylvania opens, and sooner if we need a test parcel.

Keep reading

← Pennsylvania zoning — who holds the zoning power in Pennsylvania, under which enabling statute, and the reforms that override local rules.

Other Pennsylvania cities

The zoning reference → — every state, plus city-level district guides like this one.

Bethlehem zoning summaries on this page are provided for information, not legal advice. Confirm every project against the current adopted code for the jurisdiction.