PRINTER'S NO. 4338
No. 3025 Session of 1990
INTRODUCED BY SAURMAN, CESSAR, NOYE AND MERRY, NOVEMBER 19, 1990
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, NOVEMBER 19, 1990
AN ACT
1 Providing for actions in certain cases by owners or users of
2 real property for damages caused by the implementation of
3 regulatory programs.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Private
8 Property Protection Act.
9 Section 2. Inverse condemnation.
10 (a) Reduction in fair market value.--Whenever implementation
11 by the State or any of its political subdivisions of any
12 regulatory program operates to reduce the fair market value of
13 real property to less than 50% of its fair market value for the
14 uses permitted at the time the owner acquired the title, the
15 property shall be deemed to have been taken for the use of the
16 public. Such regulatory programs include, but are not limited
17 to, land-use planning, public environmental protection or zoning
18 programs.
1 (b) Program implementation.--A program is implemented with
2 respect to an owner's or user's property when actually applied
3 to that property unless the enactment of the program by itself
4 operates to reduce the fair market value of real property, or
5 any legally recognized interest therein, to less than 50% of its
6 fair market value for the uses permitted at the time the owner
7 acquired title without further governmental action, and the
8 program contains no provision allowing for relief from the
9 program's operation.
10 (c) Required condemnation.--The owner or user shall have the
11 right to require condemnation by and just compensation from the
12 governmental entity, or entities when more than one governmental
13 entity is involved, imposing the regulation resulting in
14 decreased value, or to receive compensation for the reduction in
15 value caused by government action and in either case to have
16 such compensation determined by a jury. When more than one
17 governmental entity is involved, the court shall determine the
18 proportion each entity shall be required to contribute to the
19 compensation.
20 (d) Compensation.--The compensation shall be for the full
21 value of the interest taken or for the full amount of the
22 decrease in fair market value and shall not be limited to the
23 amount by which the decrease in fair market value exceeds 50%.
24 (e) Waivers.--Governmental entities subject to the
25 provisions of this act shall not make waiver of the provisions
26 of this act a condition for approval of the use of real property
27 or the issuance of any permit or other entitlement. Owners or
28 users may accept an approval of use, permit or other entitlement
29 granted by the governmental entity without compromising their
30 rights under this act if:
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1 (1) a written reservation of rights is made at the time
2 of acceptance of said authorization, permit or other
3 entitlement; or
4 (2) by oral statement made before the governmental
5 entity granting the authorization, permit or other
6 entitlement at a public meeting at which the governmental
7 entity renders its decision.
8 (f) Form of reservation.--An owner or user may make the
9 reservation in either or both forms.
10 Section 3. Exceptions.
11 No compensation shall be required by virtue of this act if
12 the regulatory program is an exercise of the police power to
13 prevent uses noxious in fact or poses demonstrable harm to the
14 health and safety of the public. A use shall be deemed a noxious
15 use if, and only if, it amounts to a public nuisance in fact.
16 Determination by the governmental entity or entities involved
17 that a use is a noxious use or poses a demonstrable harm to
18 public health and safety shall not be binding upon the court.
19 Review of the governmental entity or entities' determination
20 shall be de novo.
21 Section 4. Statute of limitations.
22 (a) Applicable statute.--The statute of limitations for
23 actions brought pursuant to this section shall be the statute of
24 limitations for ordinary actions brought for injuries to real
25 property. The statute of limitations shall begin to run upon the
26 final administrative decision implementing the regulatory
27 program affecting plaintiff's property.
28 (b) Applicability of act.--This act shall apply not only to
29 new regulatory programs, but also to the application of
30 regulatory programs in effect on the effective date of this act
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1 but not in effect at the time the owner acquired title to the
2 property, including, but not limited to, land use, public
3 environmental protection or zoning affecting the owner's
4 property or the use of the property.
5 Section 5. Regulatory rollback.
6 (a) Optional rollback.--If the governmental entity of which
7 inverse condemnation is successfully required under section 2 is
8 unwilling or unable to pay the costs awarded, it may instead
9 roll back the land-use planning, zoning or other regulatory
10 program as it affects the plaintiff's land and all similarly
11 situated land in the jurisdiction in which the regulatory
12 program is in effect to the level of regulation in place as of
13 the time the owner acquired title. In such event the
14 governmental unit shall be liable to the plaintiff landowner or
15 user for the reasonable and necessary costs of the inverse
16 condemnation action, plus any actual and demonstrable economic
17 losses caused the plaintiff by the regulation during the period
18 in which it was in effect.
19 (b) Public hearings.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
20 law, the governmental entity or entities subject to an award of
21 compensation under this act may elect to roll back the land-use
22 planning, zoning or other regulatory program as provided in
23 section 5(a) without further public hearing or proceedings or
24 environmental review. If the governmental entity or entities
25 elect to so roll back the affected regulatory program, the
26 previously effective program shall automatically be in effect as
27 relates to the property subject to this section.
28 (c) Continuation of permits, authorizations or
29 entitlements.-- Any permit, authorization or other entitlement
30 granted under a program which was rolled back pursuant to this
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1 section shall continue to be valid, notwithstanding any
2 provision of law in the program reinstated by the rollback, as
3 relates to all persons not affected by actions conducted
4 pursuant to this section.
5 Section 6. Legal challenges.
6 Nothing in this act shall be construed to preclude property
7 owners from bringing legal challenges to regulatory programs
8 affected by this act in instances where the regulation caused
9 diminution in value of the property or the use thereof which
10 does not exceed 50% of fair market value for the uses permitted
11 at the time the owner acquired title, nor shall it be construed
12 to preclude property owners from bringing legal challenges to
13 regulatory programs affected by this act based on other
14 provisions of law.
15 Section 7. Tax adjustment.
16 Whenever the State or any of its political subdivisions
17 impose, change, or implement any land-use planning, public
18 environmental protection, zoning or other regulatory program in
19 such way as to reduce the previous fair market value of the
20 property, it shall, on or before the ensuing January 1, cause
21 the governmental entity assessing the subject property for the
22 purposes of taxation to reduce the assessed valuation of the
23 property by an amount equal to the difference between the fair
24 market value of the property under the new regulatory program
25 and the previous fair market value.
26 Section 8. Effective date.
27 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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