PRINTER'S NO. 1596
No. 1446 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY DALEY, STISH, SCHULER, GIGLIOTTI AND BATTISTO,
APRIL 27, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, APRIL 27, 1993
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 1, 1945 (P.L.1242, No.428), entitled
2 "An act relating to roads, streets, highways and bridges;
3 amending, revising, consolidating and changing the laws
4 administered by the Secretary of Highways and by the
5 Department of Highways relating thereto," providing for
6 alignment preservation, for vacation of easements and for
7 legal width of certain State highways.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Sections 206, 207 and 208 of the act of June 1,
11 1945 (P.L.1242, No.428), known as the State Highway Law, are
12 amended to read:
13 Section 206. [Ultimate Widths and Lines; Establishment;
14 Recording] Alignment Preservation.--The secretary shall have
15 power, with the approval of the Governor, to [establish the
16 ultimate width and lines of any State highway for future
17 construction before or after the construction, reconstruction,
18 or improvement of the same, not, however, exceeding the maximum
19 width fixed by law for public roads. The establishment of such
20 ultimate width and lines for future construction shall be by a
1 plan, showing the center line of said highway and the
2 established ultimate width thereof for future construction,
3 bearing the acknowledgment of the secretary. Such plan and
4 acknowledgment shall be recorded in the office of the recorder
5 of deeds of the proper county, in a separate book kept for such
6 purpose, which shall be furnished to the recorder of deeds by
7 the county commissioners at the expense of the county. All costs
8 of the recording shall be paid by the county.] make alignment
9 preservation maps designating the future location and width of
10 any proposed or existing transportation facility. Filing such a
11 map shall not, in and of itself, constitute the opening or
12 establishment of any transportation facility nor the taking or
13 acceptance of any land; nor shall it obligate the department to
14 construct, improve or maintain any such transportation facility.
15 Alignment preservation maps shall show the center line of any
16 proposed transportation facility and the anticipated right of
17 way lines on both sides of any proposed or existing
18 transportation facility, as can best be anticipated based on the
19 planning and engineering completed at the date of preparation of
20 the map. Maps shall contain the names of the owners or reputed
21 owners of land through which the preserved right of way extends
22 and such other information as the department shall deem
23 appropriate. Maps need not be based on metes and bounds
24 descriptions but may be based on property records, aerial
25 photography, photogrammetric mapping or any other method
26 sufficient for identification purposes. Upon execution by the
27 secretary, the map shall be filed in the office of the recorder
28 of deeds of the county in which the land is located in a book
29 kept for such purposes. The fee for recording and indexing the
30 map shall be paid by the department and shall be in the amount
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1 prescribed by law for the recording and indexing of plans in
2 connection with notices of condemnation. Amendments to a map can
3 be made in the same manner as the adoption of the initial map.
4 Prior to filing an alignment preservation map, the department
5 shall cause a copy to be forwarded to the governing body and
6 planning agency of all municipalities through which the
7 preserved area passes. Copies shall also be forwarded to the
8 governing body and planning agency of adjacent municipalities to
9 which any transportation facility involved in the map directly
10 leads. Any municipal body or planning agency notified under this
11 section shall have one hundred twenty (120) days from receipt to
12 comment and make recommendations on the proposed map. If deemed
13 appropriate by the department based on the comments received,
14 the department may hold a public hearing on the proposed map
15 pursuant to public notice. Copies of all recorded maps and
16 amendments thereto shall be forwarded by the department to the
17 governing bodies and planning agencies of all municipalities in
18 which the preserved areas are located.
19 Current and future owners and occupiers of land shown within
20 the rights of way preserved on recorded alignment maps may not
21 erect any buildings or make any improvements within those areas
22 without permission of the department. In the event any buildings
23 or improvements are located within such an area without
24 permission of the department, no person may recover any damages
25 for the taking for public use of any such building or other
26 improvement; and any such improvement shall be removed at the
27 expense of the owner.
28 If an owner or occupier of land within a preserved area makes
29 application to a governing body of a municipality for approval
30 to erect a building or other improvement within the area, the
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1 local body shall notify the department of the request at the
2 appropriate department district engineering office. Within one
3 hundred twenty (120) days of receipt of such notice, the
4 department shall notify the municipality and the applicant
5 whether the department intends to acquire the land or will
6 permit construction of the proposed improvements. If it intends
7 to acquire the land, the department shall have two years from
8 the date it so notifies the landowner to acquire the land. If
9 the two-year period expires without acquisition, the
10 restrictions imposed by the alignment map as set forth in this
11 section shall cease to apply to the land. Any statute providing
12 for the deemed approval of local land use permits shall be
13 tolled for all periods of time during which the department is
14 reviewing the matter or preparing for acquisition as set forth
15 in this section.
16 If there is no local permit procedure for erecting buildings
17 and other improvements on land, the owner or occupier of land
18 located within a preserved area shall make application for
19 permission to build within the area directly to the appropriate
20 department engineering district office, which shall have one
21 hundred twenty (120) days from receipt to notify the owner
22 whether the land will be acquired or permission to build will be
23 allowed. If it intends to acquire the land, the department shall
24 have two years from the date it notifies the landowner to
25 acquire the land. If the two-year period expires without
26 acquisition, the restrictions imposed by the map as set forth in
27 this section shall cease to apply to the land.
28 Any person aggrieved by the department's determination to
29 acquire any preserved land within the two-year period may
30 request an administrative hearing pursuant to 2 Pa.C.S. § 504
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1 (relating to hearing and record). The department shall grant
2 permission to build within the preserved area if the owner shows
3 that the preserved land, along with adjacent holdings of the
4 owner, cannot yield a reasonable return without permission to
5 build within the preserved area.
6 Section 207. [Change of Plans for Ultimate Width.--The
7 secretary shall have power, with the approval of the Governor,
8 to change any plan establishing the ultimate width and lines of
9 any State highway by reducing the width of such State highway or
10 section thereof, established as hereinbefore provided, by
11 causing a new plan thereof to be made, showing the center line
12 of said highway and the new established width thereof, and shall
13 attach thereto his acknowledgment. When any such change has been
14 made, such plan, and acknowledgment shall be recorded in the
15 office of the recorder of deeds of the proper county, as
16 hereinbefore provided, and a notation shall be made on the prior
17 plan that the same has been replaced by a later plan.] Vacation
18 of Easements.--Any other provision of this or any other act to
19 the contrary notwithstanding, the department may vacate an
20 easement held by the department if the secretary determines that
21 the easement is not needed for present or future transportation
22 purposes.
23 Vacations under this section shall be effected by the filing
24 of a plan in the office of the recorder of deeds for the county
25 in which the easement is located. The plan shall be executed by
26 the secretary and shall contain the names of the owners or
27 reputed owners of the fee title underlying the easement or
28 easements vacated, and such other information as the department
29 shall deem necessary. The plan need not be based on metes and
30 bounds descriptions, but may be based on property records,
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1 aerial photography, photogrammetric mapping or any other method
2 sufficient for identification purposes. The fee for recording
3 and indexing the map shall be paid by the department and shall
4 be in the amount prescribed by law for the recording and
5 indexing of plans in connection with notices of condemnation.
6 Nothing contained in this clause shall prevent the department
7 from acquiring the fee underlying an easement previously
8 acquired by the department under subclause (iii) of clause (2)
9 of subsection (e) of section 2003 of "The Administrative Code of
10 1929," if deemed appropriate by the department.
11 Section 208. [Limitations on Damages for Taking.--No person
12 shall be entitled to recover any damages for any buildings or
13 improvements of any kind which shall or may be placed or
14 constructed upon or within the ultimate widths and lines of any
15 State highway after the same shall have been established for
16 future construction and recorded as aforesaid.
17 No person shall be entitled to damages by reason of such
18 establishment of the ultimate width and lines of a State highway
19 for future construction; and, where the Commonwealth, by its
20 proper authorities, has improved or constructed or shall
21 hereafter improve or construct such State highway and, in so
22 doing, has taken or shall take a part only of the lands lying
23 within the lines shown by such plan, damages shall be allowed
24 for and to the extent of such actual taking only. Such taking
25 shall be deemed to occur only when right of way plans or
26 construction drawings, prepared by the department, showing
27 thereon the right of way required for highway purposes and for
28 slopes, shall have been approved by the secretary and the
29 Governor and filed as a public record in the office of the
30 department.] Width of Certain State Highways.--Every State
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1 highway the legal width of which is not of record and which has
2 been used for public travel and maintained and kept in repair by
3 the expenditure of public funds for a period of at least twenty-
4 one years and upwards shall be deemed to have a width of thirty-
5 three feet notwithstanding the fact that there is no public
6 record of the laying out of such road or a dedication thereof
7 for public use. In all such cases the lawful laying out and
8 opening or dedication of such roads of the width hereinbefore
9 specified shall be conclusively presumed.
10 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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