GLOSSARY OF PLANNINGTERMS
114
Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land
Assessment Act of 1974
Better known as “Clean and Green” or Act
319, this legislation provides a real estate tax
benefit to owners with land in agricultural
use, agricultural reserve, or forest reserve
and are enrolled in the “Clean and Green
Program,” enabling the land to be assessed
according to use rather than its prevailing
market value.
Pennsylvania Historic District Act of 1961
Authorizes municipalities to create historic
districts within their geographic boundaries
providing for the appointment of Boards of
Historical Architectural Review; empowering
governing bodies of political subdivisions to
protect the distinctive historical character
and to regulate the erection, reconstruction,
alteration, restoration, demolition or razing
of buildings within the historic districts.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission
As of 1945, the official history agency of
Pennsylvania, which is responsible for the
collection, conservation, and interpretation
of the state’s historic heritage.
Pennsylvania Land Recycling Program
A 1995 state law known as Act 2, this law
encourages the voluntary cleanup and reuse
of contaminated commercial and industrial
sites by allowing an owner or purchaser
of a brownfield site to choose any one or
combination of cleanup standards to guide
remediation. When one or a combination
of the background standards are met, the
remediator receives liability relief for the
property.
Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537)
A 1966 act which requires municipalities
to develop and implement Official Sewage
Facilities Plans to ensure adequate sewage
service for existing needs and new growth.
Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Act
(Act 167)
Enacted in 1978, this Act requires counties
to prepare and adopt watershed based
stormwater management plans, as well
as municipalities to adopt and implement
ordinances to regulate development
consistent with these plans.
Positive Train Control (PTC)
A system of functional requirements for
monitoring and controlling train movements
to provide increased safety through (1) train
separation or collision avoidance, (2) line
speed enforcement, (3) temporary speed
restrictions, and (4) rail worker wayside
safety.
Pottstown Area Rapid Transit (PART)
A multi-line bus service, owned by
the Borough of Pottstown, that serves
Pottstown and several surrounding
municipalities.
Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008
A federal law enacted to
improve railroad safety.Among its provisions,
the most notable was the mandate
requiring positive train control (PTC)
technology to be installed on most of the US
railroad network by 2015.This was spurred
by the 2008 Chatsworth train collision the
month prior to passage of the act.
Recreation and Parkland Fields
A land use category pertaining only to
outdoor recreational uses, both public
and private, and parkland fields, even if not
currently developed for active recreation,
including parkland fields, golf courses, picnic
areas, camps, fairgrounds, swimming pools,
and zoos.
