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DN Editorial: Landmark law

DESPITE the growing green mania, these are tough times for the environment. Between natural disasters and regulatory rollbacks, our air, water, and land are under siege.

DESPITE the growing green mania, these are tough times for the environment. Between natural disasters and regulatory rollbacks, our air, water, and land are under siege.

And Pennsylvania's cuts to Department of Environmental Protection and the loosening of regulations related to gas drilling puts our commonwealth front and center of this troubling trend.

Fortunately, here in the city, there's good news; Mayor Nutter traveled to Belmont Plateau Friday to sign a landmark ordinance designed to protect public land.

The Open Lands Protection ordinance sets conditions for any transfer of park and recreation land. It establishes requirements, such as public posting of proposed transfers, public hearings, and commission approval.

Plus, any land transferred out of the park-recreation system must be accompanied by substitute land. (The ordinance is at www.fairmountpark.org)

The realignment of the city's park system and merger with the Recreation Department raised the worry that our park land would be open to the highest bidder.

This law should dispel that worry.