• Zoning laws in Pennsylvania may only be adjusted by municipal governments.sign pennsylvania road, washington dc image by pmphoto from Fotolia.com
  
  Pennsylvania land laws are designed to allow each local government to set the rules and regulations of how each section of its territory may be laid out. Land laws also denote the specific uses of surface land as well as who owns property underground. The goal is to create responsible land usage that creates commerce and develops lasting communities as centers for living and business.
  
  

Oil and Gas Leases

• Buying a house in Pennsylvania may only guarantee you ownership of the land on the surface. Minerals, oil and gases present below the surface may be owned by a private company through an oil or gas lease. In the event these materials are found or are able to be extracted from the ground, the owner of the land underneath your property has a right to retrieve them and develop the area as resource according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Deeds to property that read "fee simple" indicate you own the surface property and what's below it. Without this clause you are vulnerable to a company potentially setting up an extraction facility around or through your property.
  
  

Zoning Laws

• Pennsylvania law gives municipalities the right to set zoning and ordinance laws as each sees fit. This means that which tracts of land are designated for retail development, residential areas and farm land is at the sole discretion of municipal zoning boards. In determining which areas will be zoned for a particular use, municipalities must consider any bodies of water in the area and how use of the land will impact the water and surrounding wildlife as well as the population density and how frequently the zoned land will be used.
  
  

Uses of Private Land

• Private land owners in Pennsylvania are permitted to sell the development rights to property owned by them. For example, this allows agricultural land owners to sell land rights to developers interested in creating residential communities using farm land. This creates benefits that municipal zoning does not and allows companies to circumvent certain zoning laws for the greater public good without creating the need for a formal act of local government. Ownership of the property does not change hands in the sale of development rights.