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
