Pennsylvania Scenic Rivers Act — State-Designated River Corridors (PA)

Tracked preemption from the Pennsylvania overlay bundle.

Overview

Effective
1972-12-05
Sunset
Authority
state
Scope
state:PA

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

AND
  • city.is_in_scenic_river_corridor == True
  • parcel.scenic_river_classification {wild, scenic, pastoral, recreational, modified_recreational}

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
review_typerequiredcnr_scenic_rivers_management_plan_consistencyMunicipalities along PA Scenic Rivers System segments must implement management plans developed by PA DCNR Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. Plans set permitted uses, structure-density caps, and scenic-protection setbacks within designated river corridors.
base_districts[*].max_height_ftsubject_to_corridor_planscenic_protection_height_capWithin river corridor (typically 1/4 to 1/2 mile of ordinary high water mark), height and setback are governed by the segment management plan.

Citation

Authority source
Pennsylvania Scenic Rivers Act, Act of Dec. 5, 1972, P.L. 1277, No. 283, 32 P.S. §§820.21–820.29
§ 32 P.S. §§820.22 (designations), 820.24 (management plans)
https://law.justia.com/codes/pennsylvania/2022/title-32-p-s/chapter-15c/

Research notes

Federal conflict check enabled because several PA scenic rivers (Upper Delaware, Middle Delaware, Lower Delaware, Allegheny, Clarion) are concurrently designated under the federal Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. §1271 et seq.) administered by the National Park Service. Federal designation establishes additional setback and use limits on federal lands and adjacent corridors.