Pennsylvania Bill to Protect A.T. Passes House Vote

January 2008—Pennsylvania House Bill 1281 successfully passed that chamber.  This clears the way for the bill to move to the Pennsylvania Senate, where we expect a more vigorous challenge.

Sponsored by State Representative Bob Freeman, along with the support of 34 bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill requires municipalities that border the Appalachian Trail to enact zoning and other land use ordinances as part of their responsibility to protect the A.T., even if the remainder of the township is not zoned.  Furthermore, it provides support from both the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

Get Involved:

• If you live in Pennsylvania, contact your state legislators to voice your opinion on this bill. 
• If you live outside of Pennsylvania, consider contacting your local legislators to discuss a bill like this in your state. 

• Make a donation to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to support its important work to protect the A.T. in Pennsylvania.

“The legislature enacted legislation back in 1978 calling upon municipalities that border the Appalachian Trail to preserve the natural scenic, historic and esthetic values of the trail, but there was no requirement for them to pass land-use ordinances to enforce that,” Rep. Freeman said. “My legislation will have these bordering municipalities put in place zoning and other land-use measures necessary to preserve those values.”

Rep. Freeman said the legislation was suggested by Easton environmental attorney Charles “Chot” Elliott. It resulted following the loss of ATC’s appeal to the state appellate court of a lower court ruling in Monroe County where a developer proposed constructing a private automobile racing club, known as the Alpine Rose.

Chot worked with law student James Y. Miles at Temple University to discern the weaknesses in the lawsuit brought by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Blue Mountain Preservation Association under the Commonwealth’s 1978 Appalachian Trail Act (P.L. 87 No. 41).  In an unpublished J.D. thesis, Miles found that townships have split loyalties between economic development and environmental protection even as the latter is required by the Commonwealth’s constitution. “The question remains regarding whether those entities charged with the public trust have been loyal, or are capable of being loyal, to the express policy of the Trail Act.” The study holds promise for all progressive states with constitutions guaranteeing citizen rights to clean water, air and natural environments.  The proposed amendment, underlined at House Bill 1281, will hopefully ensure adequate land-use zoning among the fifty-plus townships crossed by the A.T. in Pennsylvania.