Pennsylvania has 2,560 local municipalities, each with their own local ordinances and zoning code.
While Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are required to produce and update their comprehensive plans every ten years, local municipalities are not held to a specific timeline to update their zoning code. Local governing bodies and zoning boards are often made up of elected officials or volunteers with varying backgrounds who may have little familiarity with developing a comprehensive plan or a zoning code.
Often, municipal officials are without the knowledge and/or resources to facilitate a large-scale update of their zoning code on a frequent or routine basis. Municipalities who do not have the resources to perform a complete update, may piece together updated provisions as they come up as if they are building Frankenstein’s monster – which can result in gruesome and inconsistent zoning code. As a result, zoning applicants sometimes find themselves trying to shoehorn an Airbnb into a zoning code that was written just as an in-home VCR was becoming popular. The result can be costly and maddening to the applicant.
For a developer, building under an outdated zoning code can present significant hurdles that inflate costs, delay projects, or prevent projects from moving forward entirely. Outdated codes often lack definitions for modern uses, which if not expressly permitted, is generally considered prohibited, forcing the developer to seek approval or zoning relief. Older ordinances frequently demand excessive setbacks or massive parking minimums, which were envisioned in a society for which the purpose of these requirements no longer exists or is economically viable. Outdated codes also create ambiguity which can potentially feed into the concerns of potential objectors.
For a residential homeowner looking to remodel their home, outdated zoning codes may be inflexible and mandate only one- or two-story structures. Frequently, relatively common accessory uses or structures, such as an in-law suite or dedicated home office are not included in older codes. As a result, you may be forced to delay your project while you seek zoning relief, face increased costs, and/or be denied relief altogether. Statistics show that unrepresented applicants succeed less than 30% of the time due to errors in the application or incomplete arguments.
A knowledgeable attorney can frame your argument legally to demonstrate that it is the outdated code – not your application – that is creating the problem. While navigating an outdated zoning code can appear daunting, the outdated nature of the code can create favorable opportunities for developers. A skilled land use attorney can identify vulnerabilities in the code and may be able to leverage the approval of a project that would normally have been restricted.
Are you hesitant to start a development or renovation project because of trouble navigating an older zoning code? If you have questions about how to get started or other zoning and land use matters, you may contact Natalie Young at nyoung@macelree.com, or by phone at (610) 840-0233.
This article provides a general overview of the law. It is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal advice for any particular factual situation.
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