PA township hides proposed farm ordinance from its own residents
Spotlight PA••nation
Key Points:
- Berks County residents, led by farmer John Schueller, have spent thousands of dollars seeking access to drafts of a proposed Tulpehocken Township ordinance affecting local farms, which the township has resisted releasing citing state law protections.
- The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records ruled twice that the township must disclose the drafts, but Tulpehocken Township has appealed these decisions in court, prolonging the dispute and incurring additional legal costs on both sides.
- Experts criticize the township’s efforts to withhold the ordinance drafts, emphasizing that the information is essential for public participation and does not involve confidential or proprietary material.
- The ordinance, initially including regulations on agritourism and agritainment, was revised to remove those provisions but
