What’s the 422?

Many politically aware residents of Trappe Borough are familiar with the borough’s ordinances on the posting of political campaign signs, which specify that such signs may be posted no more than 30 days before an election and must be removed no more than seven days following an election.

There’s just one small problem: In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court found that ordinances regulating when a property owner may post political signage violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects such signs as a form of political speech.

“I think that any regulation on time is unenforceable,” Borough Solicitor Dave Onorato told the Trappe Borough council at its May 5 meeting.

“When we give our oath [of office], we agree to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States. We’ve just been told that these rules are unconstitutional. So let’s get rid of them,” Council Member Nevin Scholl said.

Council Member Matthew Watson argued that the borough’s ordinances should be left intact, even if they can’t be enforced, because they help persuade some property owners to abide by the borough’s wishes.

Scholl argued that would create an “uneven playing field” where some residents felt compelled to honor the ordinance, thus having their political speech curtailed, while residents who knew the ordinance was unenforceable would be at an unfair advantage.

Following the discussion, the council voted unanimously to remove the time limits from the applicable zoning ordinance. A $25 sign escrow fee associated with the ordinance will be removed from the borough’s fee schedule.