With the rise of unconventional shale development in many portions of Pennsylvania, there has been a corresponding increase in litigation stemming from local government actions approving and disapproving of a wide variety of oil and gas facilities. In a case with origins predating both Act 13 of 2012 and the ensuing challenge to it in Robinson Township v. Commonwealth, 83 A.3d 901 (Pa 2013), on Sept. 26, the Commonwealth Court rendered a decision in MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources v. Cecil Township Zoning Hearing Board, 2014 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 470 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2014), addressing the scope of a zoning hearing board’s authority when considering an applicant’s request for land use approval related to a natural gas compressor station.
In 2010, MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources applied to the Cecil Township Zoning Hearing Board for a special exception to construct and operate a natural gas compressor station in the township’s I-1 light industrial district, pursuant to a provision in its unified development ordinance (UDO), which authorized “comparable uses which are not specifically listed” in that district, provided any such use: would have an equal or lesser impact than, and is of the same general character as, any of the township’s permitted conditional uses or uses by right; meets the township’s area and bulk requirements; complies with the express standards and criteria specified for the most nearly comparable I-1 use; and is consistent with the intent set forth in the UDO for industrial districts. The board denied MarkWest’s application, finding that it failed to satisfy these criteria, a decision the Washington County Court of Common Pleas affirmed. However, the Commonwealth Court reversed and remanded the case with direction that the special exception be granted, subject to the board’s determination as to whether any conditions are needed to ensure compliance with the UDO.
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