$re = '/(%>\R*|\G\R*(?!<%))./m';
$str = 'a<% some important text %> something <% important stuff %>
not impo<%abc%>rtant stuf
f <not important stuff>
<% some
important text
%>
<not important stuff>';
$subst = "$1 ";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php