On August 13, 2025, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reaffirmed that local municipalities and courts have an obligation to incorporate the Environmental Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Pennsylvania Constitution, Article I, Section 27, into their deliberations. As the Court stated in In Re: Preservation of FDR Park (No. 545 C.D. 2024, August 13, 2025), “the Environmental Rights Amendment affects the work of all three branches of state government.”
The ERA establishes the state government as the trustee for Pennsylvania’s public natural resources and guarantees residents the right to a clean environment. Pennsylvania courts have been clear that the term “state government” includes local municipalities. Although the ERA has been used to challenge permitting actions by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), it is also increasingly cited in challenges to local government actions.
Specifically, the FDR Park case involved neighbors of FDR Park’s allegations that the City of Philadelphia’s plan to convert a portion of the Park’s meadowlands into artificial turf athletic fields and parking lots would radically change the current uses of the Park and diverge from its original dedication as public parkland. The neighbors contend that the City’s actions would violate not only the ERA, but also Pennsylvania’s Donated Property Act and Inalienable Property Act, which restrict a municipality’s right to modify the use of land that has been dedicated for a public purpose and to sell, mortgage or lease real property with inalienable legal title, without court approval, respectively. After review of the parties’ claims on appeal, the Commonwealth Court remanded the case to the lower court for it to reconsider its dismissal of the neighbors’ case. The lower court must now consider whether the City of Philadelphia’s development plan for FDR Park violates the ERA and the requirements of the Donated Property or Inalienable Property Acts.
There is a continuing debate regarding how and to what extent the ERA applies to municipal actions. In the FDR Park case, the Court reaffirmed the notion that local governments are obligated to serve as trustees of public natural resources within their jurisdiction. Therefore, these entities have an obligation to act “with prudence, loyalty, and impartiality” in any decision that will affect these resources.
In addition to municipalities, developers should anticipate that the ERA could be another tool in the arsenal of parties seeking to block specific development projects, which typically require a variety of state and local approvals.
Barley Snyder’s Environment & Energy Industry Group is available to assist developers in obtaining governmental approvals in a timely manner and to help ensure those approvals withstand any potential challenges. If you have any questions, please reach out to attorneys Martin R. Siegel, Alice Solomon or any member of Barley Snyder’s Environment & Energy Industry Group.
