WHAT IS A LAND DEVELOPMENT?

The question of when does an improvement become a land development subjecting it to a subdivision and land development ordinance was answered in Smith et al. v. Ivy Lee Real Estate, LLC et al., (Pa Cmwlth. Ct., 299 CD 2021, November 7, 2024).

The Smiths filed a lawsuit to stop the adjacent property owner from converting a residential use into a pizza shop and an apartment unless the owner complied with the township’s subdivision and land development ordinance [“SALDO”]. The lower court rejected the Smiths’ claim and they appealed to the Commonwealth Court.  The Commonwealth Court affirmed the lower court.

In 2015, Ivy Lee Real Estate began work to convert a single-family residence into a pizza shop on the first floor and an apartment on the second floor.  The township did  not have a zoning ordinance, but it did have a SALDO. The Smiths were informed by the township’s solicitor that a land development plan was not required because the conversion done by Ivy Lee Real Estate was not a land development as defined in the SALDO.  The solicitor and lower court found that the improvements to the property were internal to the building, and that there was no division or allocation of land or space among two or more existing occupants (both the pizza shop and apartment were rented by the son of the LLC’s owner).

The Commonwealth Court agreed with this analysis. Quoting the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Court determined that not every improvement is a land development.  The case law typically involves a division of a tract of land into smaller parcels for the construction of either residential or commercial buildings that impact government concerns such as sanitary sewer, water, storm water management, parking, streets and curbs and sidewalks.  For example, land development does not include constructing: a roof over a patio; a swimming pool; a cell tower; or, a billboard. The fact that Ivy Lee Real Estate improved its existing residential building to include a pizza shop and an apartment does not qualify as land development and, therefore, it did not have to comply with the Township’s SALDO.  

Our experienced municipal attorneys can help you navigate the complicated world of land development in Pennsylvania.