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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Robert Freeman |
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Governor signs Freeman measure to grant extension
to municipalities setting ordinances to protect the Appalachian Trail
HARRISBURG, July 17 – State Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Northampton, announced today that the governor has signed his legislation that would help ensure the continued preservation of the Appalachian Trail.
Under the new law Freeman authored, municipalities now have an additional year in which to enact zoning ordinances that provide a buffer corridor on land adjacent to the trail to protect the trail from inappropriate development. Previously, the state's trailside municipalities were required to enact zoning for the buffer corridor by August 2009. Freeman said it became clear in the course of the year that municipalities needed a little more time in order to enact the kind of quality and effective ordinances necessary to ensure the protection of the trail. This extension gives municipalities another year to do so.
Freeman authored the original law (Act 24 of 2008) that requires municipalities along the trail to establish zoning ordinances to protect and preserve the land around the Appalachian Trail. A 1978 law preserved the trail, but did not require the zoning to protect the trail from inappropriate development that Freeman's law mandates.
"There are 54 townships situated along the Appalachian Trail, and of the 11 that did not have protections in place regarding the trail area, only four were able to enact them within the year," Freeman said. "This extension gives the remaining seven ample opportunity to consider and implement the ordinances regarding zoning near the trail.
"The Appalachian Trail is one of Pennsylvania's greatest natural assets. The municipalities that surround the trail are fortunate to have a connection to this scenic treasure. They benefit from the tourism the trail attracts and its economic benefits, but with that comes a responsibility to protect the trail for current and future generations from inappropriate development," Freeman said.
The law requires the ordinances to be established, and allows each municipality to determine how best to protect the area around the trail.
The Appalachian Trail runs approximately 2,175 miles stretching from Maine to Georgia. About 230 miles of the trail run through Pennsylvania.
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