In a case titled Appeal of Chester County Outdoor, the trial court, after East Pikeland Township agreed that the Township’s zoning ordinance improperly excluded billboards, rejected Outdoor’s original proposed billboard, but accepted Outdoor’s revised proposed billboard as site-specific relief.

The Township appealed the trial court’s decision arguing that Outdoor’s revised proposed billboard (a) did not comply with the unchallenged zoning restrictions and that such unchallenged provisions were not exclusionary, and (b) was contrary to the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

On appeal, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court found the following in considering the grant of site-specific relief:

• Under the Municipalities Planning Code, the trial court has broad discretionary powers to grant site-specific relief to an aggrieved party.
• The trial court must provide site-specific relief to a successful challenger subject to 2 conditions. First, the trial court’s relief may be limited by the co-existence of legitimate health, safety, and welfare concerns. Second, the relief may be limited by reasonable zoning and land use provisions that may be applicable to a particular use at a particular location.
• A successful challenger’s request for site-specific relief must be granted unless the municipality can establish the materiality of pre-existing and generally applicable zoning provisions and if the proposed billboard is incompatible with such provisions.
• If the trial court denies the requested site-specific relief, then the trial court must consider whether alternate relief can and should be made available (i.e., another opportunity for site-specific relief).
• A trial court must strictly comply with a remand order and cannot consider issues outside of the remand order.

After considering these factors, the Commonwealth Court held that substantial evidence supported the trial court’s holding that the revised proposed billboard posed minimal danger to the public and affirmed the trial court’s decision to grant site-specific relief for the revised proposed billboard.

If you should have any questions regarding the process to file ordinance challenges as to outdoor advertising regulations in Pennsylvania, contact Rob Gundlach at 215.918.3636 or rgundlach@foxrothschild.com.