On October 7, 2015, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Act 42, which impacts every Pennsylvania municipal planning commission. Act 42 amends the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code to permit municipalities to appoint alternate members of the planning commission.

Pursuant to Act 42, the municipal governing body may now appoint, by resolution, up to three residents of the municipality to serve as alternate members of the planning commission. These alternate members may not serve as a member of the zoning hearing board or as a zoning officer.

The chairman of the planning commission may then designate these alternate members of the planning commissioner to substitute for any absent member of the planning commission. Where a quorum is not reached due to the absence of members, the chairman of the planning commission shall designate as many alternate members as needed to reach a quorum.

When alternate members are appointed to the planning commission, they shall continue to serve in all proceedings involving the matter which they were initially appointed, until the commission has made a final decision on the matter. After being designated as an alternate member of the planning commissioner, an alternate is entitled to participate and vote to the full extent a regular voting member is.

The chairman will designate alternate members of the commission by rotating through the appointed alternates on a case-by-case basis, according to declining seniority among all alternates. In other words, the first designated alternative would be the alternate with the greatest seniority, the second would the next greatest seniority, and so on.

Act 42 will have a significant impact on Pennsylvania’s municipalities, as it will permit new and additional individuals to review and decide important planning matters. Municipal governing bodies are advised to seek legal advice in implementing a resolution pursuant to Act 42.

For more information contact Lamb McErlane PC attorney Max O’Keefe. 610-430-8000