Act 43 Agricultural Security Area Review

The Pennsylvania Agricultural Security Area Law (Act 43) allows the owners of farmland to enroll their property into an Agricultural Security Area (ASA), which is administered by their municipality.

Landowners whose properties are enrolled within an ASA receive special consideration regarding local ordinances that could restrict normal farming practices and nuisance lawsuits that could negatively impact farming activities.

Individual Parcel Submission Review

Act 43 also mandates that the governing body shall ask the County Planning Commission for recommendations regarding the submissions for inclusion into an ASA prior to municipal approval.

Municipalities are responsible for notifying the County Planning Commission when individual parcels are being considered for ASA enrollment, as well as 7-year reviews, by emailing ccObfuscationplanning@Obfuscationchesco.org with the parcel details. For more information, please see Chester County Department of Open Space ASA Benefits.

Other detailed information can be found here:

7 Year Review of ASA Parcels

Every seven years, the Planning Commission reviews the parcels enrolled within the ASA of a municipality, to ensure that records are up to date. The submission of a 7-year review is the responsibility of the municipality to forward for review to the Planning Commission. Municipalities are asked to submit an Excel spreadsheet of all parcels enrolled in their ASA program to ccObfuscationplanning@Obfuscationchesco.org. According to Act 43, the County Planning Commission has a 45-day window to complete their review.

Still have questions? Contact us at ccObfuscationplanning@Obfuscationchesco.org.