Noted wordsmith Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Michael Musmanno articulated the rationale for the "deemed approval" concept in Pennsylvania land use law noting: "Without this kind of coercive determination, a board could effectively prevent the erection of needed structures through the simple process of luxurious lolling while spiders of inattention spin webs of indifference over pending public problems." To avoid luxurious lolling by local governments, the Legislature included mandatory deadlines in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. Section 10101 et seq. (MPC), which governs municipal regulation of zoning, subdivision and land development within the commonwealth. The MPC sets forth strict requirements for when and how municipalities make decisions on land use applications, in addition to how they communicate those decisions to the applicant. A failure to comply with these requirements may result in a deemed approval of the underlying application.

Within days of each other, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued two reported opinions that affirmed the deemed approvals of land use applications. CRG Services Management v. Lowhill Township, No. 1091 C.D. 2023 (Pa. Cmwlth. June 3, 2024) (deemed approval of a land development plan for a warehouse because the township's denial letter was inadequate) and Folk v. Mifflin Township Zoning Hearing Board, 969 C.D. 2023 (Pa. Cmwlth. June 5, 2024) (deemed approval for a variance to operate a wedding venue on a farm because the zoning hearing board did not commence the public hearing within 60 days of application's submission). In light of these cases, this article provides a brief overview of key MPC provisions which could result in a deemed approval of a land use application.