In this appeal from Allegheny County, the Commonwealth Court reaffirmed the principal that under Pennsylvania law, municipalities may not require a party to obtain permits from outside agencies before granting zoning relief. The Court held that in such a scenario, the appropriate procedure is to condition approval of the zoning relief upon the applicant receiving such permits, as opposed to denying the application outright.
Continue readingTag: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
In this appeal from Fayette County, the Superior Court upheld the trial court’s grant of a preliminary injunction in favor of Chevron Appalachia, which prevented James and Mary Porter from denying Chevron access to land owned by the Porters, and development of Chevron’s oil and gas rights.
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This Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) dispute forced the Commonwealth Court to weigh the evidence presented by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that it did not possess specific records. In doing so, the court affirmed the Office of Open Records final determination that DEP did not have the records requested by Smith Butz, LLC.
