The PA Land Trust Association Tuesday urged the Senate to reject a bill-- House bill 2224 (Cutler-R-Lancaster) that will allow county and local governments to sell community parks for easy cash.

            The bill is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee on September 24.

“This bill puts well-loved public land at risk of being sold for quick and easy cash,” said Andrew M. Loza, executive director of Pennsylvania Land Trust Association. “It tosses out longstanding rules that ensure government cannot sell parks and other greenspaces if the lands provide a public benefit.”

The House unanimously passed the bill in the spring and the Senate Local Government Committee reported out the bill in June without opposition.  Only in recent days did friends of parks and conservation discover the concerns with the bill, according to PLTA.

In addition to putting parks and greenspaces at risk, the bill:

-- Violates the trust and good faith of landowners who donated property for a dollar or sold property to the government at a bargain price with assurances that the land would be used for a public purpose. 

-- Forces generous landowners to second guess whether they should sell their land at a bargain price for a good cause-- a new park-- because it shows that government is not to be trusted with such gifts.

-- Compromises farmland preservation protections provided to family farms.

-- Discards the fair and balanced process local governments have used since 1959 to determine whether public land can be sold.

“Parks shouldn’t be undone on a political whim. If enacted, this bill will do tremendous harm to our parks and greenspaces,” said Loza. “It will also put a chill in landowners who are considering conservation. The PA Land Trust Association urges the Senate to protect our parks and greenspaces by rejecting House Bill 2224.”

According to Rep. Cutler, the author of the bill, a 2010 court case-- In Re: Erie Golf Course-- the Pennsylvania Supreme Court expressed uncertainty about the legislative intent of the Donated and Dedicated Property Act, and it negated the exemption for public assets acquired through purchase if the public assets were dedicated to public use by a subsequent municipal action even if there was a lack of records showing a formal acceptance.

House Bill 2224 would amend the Donated and Dedicated Property Act to clarify that public assets acquired through purchase by a political subdivision do not need Orphans’ Court approval prior to reconveyance if the lands or buildings are unencumbered by recorded restrictions or covenants requiring them to be used for public use.

The bill also clarifies that, if a political subdivision reconveys lands or buildings acquired through condemnation, the assets shall be sold or disposed of as permitted by the Eminent Domain Code. 

9/24/2012