http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb221-support-historic-preservation-in-pa Dear http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb221-support-historic-preservation-in-pa Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:19:59 -0500 http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/oppose-sb1127-and-hb32ss-to-protect-state-forestlands October 23, 2007 Dear Legislator, On behalf of PennEnvironment and our citizen members, we write to ask you to oppose (SB1127/special session HB32) which threatens Pennsylvania’s state forests and parklands, and makes it virtually impossible for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to protect these areas from any oil or gas drilling proposal. Pennsylvania’s state forests and parks are essential for ensuring clean waterways and providing safe drinking water for communities downstream, preserving undisturbed wildlife habitat, and offering recreational opportunities for millions of Pennsylvanians and Americans. As lands in the public trust, we should not allow our state forests and parks to be sacrificed for short-sighted private gain. Unfortunately, many of the Commonwealth’s wild places are faced with the growing threat of extractive and degrading industries. Already, oil and gas drilling is at record levels throughout much of the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania’s landscape is already scarred with more than 45,000 gas wells and over 16,000 oil wells. In the Commonwealth’s only national forest, the Allegheny National Forest, more than 10,000 wells already exist. Oil and gas companies have ample access to public and private lands across the Commonwealth for drilling--the remaining tracts of public lands that aren’t already available for private gain from timber, mining and oil and gas companies should be protected. Keeping our state forestlands pristine is also integral to the success of Pennsylvania’s economy, as outlined in the Pennsylvania Wilds Initiative. Recreation in Pennsylvania’s forests has become more and more popular over time as people participate in activities from bicycling and hiking to fishing and hunting. In 2006, 4.2 million Pennsylvania residents took part in hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching; that same year, wildlife-related recreation contributed $4 billion to the state economy. Destroying the places in which people want to recreate will threaten one of Pennsylvania’s largest industrial sectors—Recreation and Tourism. Sadly, legislation has recently been introduced that will make it virtually impossible for DCNR to preserve any tract of land in our state forests from oil and gas drilling. Senate Bill 1127 and special session House Bill 32 would mandate that DCNR auction the oil and gas leasing rights for any parcel of land for which two or more separate lease requests have been submitted. In a recent Associated Press story on this issue, DCNR spokeswoman Chris Novak noted that if passed, this legislation would, “subvert our ability to manage the forests sustainably.” For these reasons, PennEnvironment asks you oppose Senate Bill 1127 and special session House Bill 32. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns about this legislation, or any other environmental issues. We look forward to continuing to work together to protect Pennsylvania’s environment and natural heritage. Sincerely, David Masur, PennEnvironment Director http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/oppose-sb1127-and-hb32ss-to-protect-state-forestlands Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:08:33 -0600 http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb1281-to-preserve-the-appalachian-trail June 7, 2007 Support HB 1281 – Protect the Appalachian Trail Dear Representative, On behalf of PennEnvironment, I am writing to ask you to support HB 1281 sponsored by Rep. Bob Freeman to protect Pennsylvania's portion of the Appalachian Trail. HB1281 amends the Appalachian Trail Act (Act 41, 1978) requiring those municipalities through which the trail runs to adopt and implement zoning and land development ordinances in harmony with protecting the Appalachian trail. I hope that you will join PennEnvironment in calling for the passage of this legislation as soon as possible. Amending the Appalachian Trail Act is essential to protecting the sections of the Trail that run through the Commonwealth. The Trail is an important part of Pennsylvanian and American heritage, and the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic qualities it possesses must be preserved. HB 1281 will ensure that the Commonwealth continues to take steps to preserve the Appalachian Trail segment found within Pennsylvania's borders, and for which we are stewards. While the Appalachian Trail Act protects the physical trail and nearby surrounding areas, it must go farther to protect the neighboring tracks of lands and viewscapes along the Trails' corridor. Unfortunately, a recent decision by the Commonwealth Court gave municipalities the choice of remaining un-zoned if they so desired. This decision could directly affect the Appalachian Trail, allowing for irresponsible development near the Trail. The idea of the trail was originally created by Benton MacKaye. He envisioned the trail to be a place in which city dwellers could escape to a majestic and beautiful wilderness. If the trail is not protected properly from encroaching development, Benton MacKaye’s original idea would be lost. Thank you in advance for your consideration. As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any question you may have about this or other environmental issues. I look forward to continuing our work together to protect Pennsylvania’s environment. Sincerely, David Masur PennEnvironment Director http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb1281-to-preserve-the-appalachian-trail Thu, 25 Oct 2007 09:48:07 -0500 http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb1787-to-strengthen-land-use-laws-and-protect-open-spaces August 29, 2007 Dear Representative, On behalf of PennEnvironment’s citizen members I am writing in support of House Bill 1787 which will amend Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code to give residents and township officials a legal remedy in response to unfavorable court decisions against their zoning ordinances. To date, HB1787 has received bi-partisan support, with forty-eight members of the state House cosponsoring this legislation. Specifically, HB1787 reforms the curative amendment process in Pennsylvania to set up a new procedure that municipalities may follow when an Appellate Court determines a municipal zoning ordinance is invalid. This legislation takes important and much-needed steps to promote smart and sustainable land use decisions in the Commonwealth and in our communities, and to ensure that local land use decisions allow for the highest level of public participation and citizen involvement possible. HB1787 will help give municipal officials the ability to appropriately respond to these challenges and address flaws in their zoning ordinances in order to ensure that any proposed development mirrors their land use plans. I hope that you will support HB1787, and if you are not currently a cosponsor to this legislation become a cosponsor in the near future. As always, don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions that you have regarding this legislation or other environmental issues. I look forward to continuing our work together to protect Pennsylvania’s environment. Sincerely, David Masur, PennEnvironment Director http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb1787-to-strengthen-land-use-laws-and-protect-open-spaces Thu, 25 Oct 2007 09:32:36 -0500 http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb904--temporary-moratorium-on-development June 7, 2007 Dear Representative, On behalf of PennEnvironment, I am writing to ask you to support House Bill 904. This legislation allows municipalities to implement a temporary moratorium on new development by enacting an ordinance that would temporarily suspend development while the municipality revises or enacts a comprehensive plan, subdivision and land development ordinance, or a zoning ordinance. Please join PennEnvironment in calling for the passage of this legislation as soon as possible. HB904 is being sponsored by state representatives Robert Freeman and Bernie O'Neill. HB904 provides Pennsylvania’s municipalities and their residents with the opportunity to create or make changes to their comprehensive plan, subdivision and land development ordinance, or zoning ordinance without interference from outside development proposals. This legislation gives municipalities the option to implement a temporary development moratorium, which prohibits applications for new development efforts (with some exceptions) for a certain period of time. The moratorium would allow municipalities to take a proactive approach to smart planning as opposed to the reactive approach of “putting out fires” and attempting to tackle unsustainable development proposals. With development chewing up thousands of acres of Pennsylvania’s open space each year, HB904 will prove to be an essential tool for municipalities and their residents. It will also help to guarantee that future development efforts are consistent with the land use plans that local citizens and elected officials have envisioned for their community. Effective land use planning is a critical component of a healthy and productive community. If unplanned development is allowed to continue to spread throughout the Commonwealth, our important open spaces and family farms will be replaced by strip malls, big box mega-stores and cookie-cutter housing developments. Along with the ability to create or revise the new or altered land use plan, HB 904 will also require governing bodies of municipalities to hold a public hearing to discuss new or altered proposals. This allows residents of a municipality to become involved in the planning process and includes their input to ensure that land use plans are consistent with the community’s needs and wants. The Municipalities Planning Code was established in 1968 to provide residents of a municipality with the opportunity to become more involved in the planning process within their community. This legislation however, did not foresee the rapid overdevelopment that is now occurring in Pennsylvania. For this reason, it is important to update The Municipalities Planning Code through HB904 in order to cope with the overdevelopment issues currently facing the Commonwealth--as well as those that may occur in the future. Thank you in advance for your consideration. As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any question you may have about this or other environmental issues. I look forward to continuing our work together to protect Pennsylvania’s environment. Sincerely, David Masur, PennEnvironment Director http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb904--temporary-moratorium-on-development Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:11:39 -0500 http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb1329-and-1330-to-strengthen-land-use-laws-and-protect-open-spaces February 5, 2008Dear Members of the Senate Local Government Committee, On behalf of PennEnvironment’s, I’m writing to ask you to support the passage of house bills 1329 and 1330 out of tomorrow’s Senate Local Government committee. Introduced by state Representative David Kessler (Berks County), these two pieces of legislation would help township officials uphold their local zoning ordinances and protect from procedural challenges brought years after adoption of the ordinance. Sadly, it has become more and more common for defects to be sought out in longstanding local ordinances—and then for parties to bring forth a legal challenge based upon procedural defects that may be found within the ordinance. Procedural defects can include such minor omissions as posting public notice signs every 310 feet instead of every 300 feet, for example. To make matters worse, under current state law and recent court decisions, such challenges can be brought at any time after an ordinance is enacted—even when the municipalities have followed the letter of the law and the challenges are frivolous. HB1329 and 1330 would make it more difficult for parties to challenge ordinances based upon procedural defects two years or more after adoption of the ordinance. Furthermore, the legislation would provide that proof of public reliance on an ordinance creates an irrefutable presumption that the ordinance was enacted properly. Implementing local land use laws, ordinance, zoning and comprehensive plans can be quite complicated and time consuming. At the same time, local government officials are often volunteers or do this important civil service as secondary employment. They should know that the steps they take to implement land use decisions will be protected and withstand frivolous challenges due to simple mistakes and human error. By passing HB1329 and 1330, we can help ensure that land use decisions made by local officials and residents will be upheld, and townships can be saved from expensive and ongoing litigation that arises from this type of procedural challenge based upon minor defects found in their local ordinances. Thank you in advance for your consideration. As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any question you may have about this or other environmental issues either by phone (215-732-5897 or on my cell at 267-303-8292) or by email (DMasur@PennEnvironment.org). I look forward to continuing our work together to protect Pennsylvania’s environment. Sincerely, David Masur, Director PennEnvironment http://www.pennenvironment.org/legislature/testimony/preservation/our-natural-heritage/support-hb1329-and-1330-to-strengthen-land-use-laws-and-protect-open-spaces Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:44:13 -0600