Anyone living in a suburban community in Pennsylvania in the 21st century knows what the phrase “suburban sprawl” means. As the term has entered our lexicon, its manifestations have become more ubiquitous. We see rampant overdevelopment, increased traffic congestion and a severe strain on all sorts of government services, including public schools, police, fire, sewer and stormwater management.

Over the past few years the legislature has tried to ameliorate the situation in a number of ways with varying degrees of success. However, as a member of the House Local Government Committee I recently voted to send to the floor what I believe will be one of the most effective tools we’ve ever considered. House Bill 904, introduced by Rep. Bob Freeman, will allow local municipalities, under certain conditions, to impose a short-term moratorium on development.

The moratorium option is crucial if local communities are to gain any control over the development occurring within their borders. Constant breakneck development allows no opportunity for a town or a borough to catch its breath and plan for the future. New applications are always pouring into the clerk’s office while bulldozers are busy wherever one looks. A moratorium will give elected officials and planners a chance to pause, assess their macro-situation and make intelligent development decisions for the future.

In crafting this legislation, Representative Freeman and we on his committee were mindful that this bill not be (and not be seen to be) an effort to end or unreasonably delay development. We don’t believe that all development is bad and we certainly respect the rights of property owners to develop their land and of communities to move forward and grow. All we ask is that this growth is done intelligently and thought.

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