Subdivision And Land Development in Pennsylvania

Article V of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) empowers Pennsylvania municipalities to regulate subdivision and land development by enacting a subdivision and land development ordinance (SALDO). The MPC defines subdivision, but essentially it is the division or redivision of land for any purpose except the lease of land for agricultural purposes. The MPC also defines land development to include the physical improvement of land for any purpose involving a single nonresidential use or two or more residential uses on a lot.  

Not all structures constitute land development. In Upper Southampton Twp. v. Upper Southampton Twp. ZHB, 934 A.2d 1162 (Pa. 2007), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected an overly expansive reading of the definition of land development, holding that construction of billboards on already developed land did not trigger the cumbersome land development approval process. Rather, the court reasoned that land development is the