Thursday, June 16, 2011

Senate Bill Threatens Local Government Zoning Decisions

Call Your Legislators Now and Ask that SB 1100 Be Amended!
Tuesday was Flag Day. Rather than being free to honor our flag and reflect on the democracy it represents, local government is faced with the most severe attack on local democracy in years: Statewide zoning!

Imagine zoning decisions and rules being made in Harrisburg. Imagine DEP deciding to site a low-level radioactive nuclear waste dump in your neighborhood. Think about DPW choosing your street for a halfway house for drug abusers. How about the PUC deciding where a natural gas drilling rig can be set up?! That is what we are facing! WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW!

Just this week, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee passed a bill out of committee that will give the PUC the power to craft a model zoning ordinance for unconventional natural gas wells (Marcellus Shale).

Local government – zoning hearing boards and township supervisors – are the last line of defense in protecting the quality of life for our residents. You have the judgment, ability, and know-how to protect your community. You know that state law requires you to provide for every use and that overly restrictive zoning can be struck down in court. You were elected by your neighbors to protect them, and you have the common sense to do it smartly.

Please call your senator and representative and tell them that local zoning decisions should be left in the hands of local community leaders and not a one-size-fits-all bureaucracy from Harrisburg!   
Take 10 minutes and make some calls to them and ask that statewide zoning be amended out of SB 1100!

Shared from PSATS