Penn Township supervisors made the correct move by tabling two ordinances Tuesday, April 8, after hundreds of people expressed opposition.

The stated purpose of both ordinances seem reasonable, but there were serious issues with how they were written, leading to serious public opposition. Dozens of residents showed up to a meeting Tuesday to speak out against the proposals, and more than 450 people signed a petition asking the supervisors to vote down the ordinances.

Resident Matthew Salina, who is running for a seat on the board, summed up people’s objections.

“While the main intent to maintain a clear and clean and safe community is commendable, this ordinance could lead to unintended negative consequences that may outweigh its benefits,” Salina said. “We are going to run local families and local businesses out of this township if we adopt these ordinances.”

One major concern with both ordinances was the wording about enforcement officers having access to people’s property, and another was the vagueness about what is considered a nuisance property or an unsafe structure. A third criticism was that the ordinances punished offenses but the township didn’t consider other ways to mitigate the problems.

It’s to the supervisors’ credit that it voted to table the ordinances in the face of strong public opposition. It’s an example of our system working how it was intended.

Moving forward, we hope the board and the community can work together to create ordinances that better reflect what residents want.

— JK