Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Real Estate Law Blog

Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon announced last month that the financially strapped energy company plans to pick itself back up by drilling more wells on Marcellus Shale real estate. According to McClendon, the center of the activity would be the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, as well as regions in Ohio and West Virginia where wells can extract liquid gases like ethane and propane, which are worth higher prices nowadays.

In our previous post, we mentioned that Chesapeake Energy Company will soon be pursuing a new policy of increased natural gas drilling on Marcellus Shale real estate. The Marcellus shale, as our readers may know, is the largest of several shale formations that have become sites for oil and gas production in recent years following upon advanced techniques in hydraulic-fracturing.

Development projects, even those that are years in the making, often face major setbacks. Last month, we wrote about a dispute that arose between Philadelphia Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez and the Norris Square Civic Association over a proposal to allow only single-family housing to be built in one section of the Norris Squire neighborhood.

After finding that a communications company installed on the front of their lawns the beginnings of what will become cell phone poles, a handful of residents in Bucks County are reportedly warning other homeowners around the Philadelphia area and across the state that they may be next. According to sources, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved the installation of 12 metal poles on the properties. The company installing the poles gained the rights to do so from the Public Utility Commission back in 2008.

Our Philadelphia readers may be aware of the advances in zoning and development in Philadelphia over the past 10 years.

Last week, a dispute between Philadelphia Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez and the Norris Square Civic Association reportedly arose when Quinones-Sanchez introduced a measure that would permit only single-family housing to be built in one section of the Norris Squire neighborhood.

Last Thursday, seven Pennsylvania municipalities filed suit against the state of Pennsylvania over the new natural gas law, which effectively removed the ability of city governments to regulate natural gas drilling. The lawsuit alleges that the state unconstitutionally removed the power of towns and landowners to control zoning to suit the need of the oil and gas industry.

In our previous post, we noted that seven municipalities have filed suit against the state of Pennsylvania over a law passed earlier this year which grants drilling companies broad ability to continue with drilling activities. The law, as we said, has been somewhat polarizing between those who say it is necessary to support the growing drilling industry and those who decry the removal of municipalities’ ability to place restrictions on drilling activity.

We have previous written about a bill-now law-that imposes a local impact fee on natural gas drillers across Pennsylvania. The law has caused a lot of controversy over its zoning provision, which effectively stripped the ability of local governments to control zoning of drilling. The law is, as we’ve noted, a response to the growing natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, which many see as in need of revitalization.

Development projects can sometimes run into problems, and on any number of levels, including site plan approvals, special use permits, and environmental and zoning obstacles, as well as contract complications. These can be frustrating issues, and ones that can slow down a project or bring it to a screeching halt.