Why Wasn’t I Invited to the Party?- Establishing Standing

Written by Dean Reynosa

Standing is an issue developers must always address when pursuing projects on land not yet owned or leased.  Options to lease that grant a propriety interest in the land provide standing to developers to pursue land development applications, conditional use applications and special exception applications as applicants.  Section 107 of the MPC defines an applicant as “a landowner or developer….who has filed an application for development[.]” 

In Tioga Preservation Group v. Tioga County Planning Com’n, 970 A.2d 1200 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2009), a panel of the Commonwealth Court held that an option to lease that provided the developer a right to perform due diligence investigations and seek approval permits was sufficient to grant standing on the developer to purse as an applicant a Land Development Application.  In SBA Towers IX, LLC v. Unity Township ZHB, 179 A.3d 652 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2018) another panel of the Commonwealth Court held that a developer had standing as an applicant to pursue a special exception application where it held an option to lease with similar provisions.   

Since every land development matter is unique, it is important to reach out to a skilled attorney to seek advice about your situation.  MPL Law Firm has represented renewable clients in land development and zoning matters in over 30 counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.