Because the Municipal Planning Code allows township boards of commissioners to discuss the merits of conditional use applications before the close of hearings, communications exchanged by board members and staff prior to the official start of deliberations are exempt from disclosure under the state’s Right-to-Know Law, the Commonwealth Court has ruled.
The decision, reached by a unanimous three-judge panel in Kaplin v. Lower Merion Township , held that, so long as a quorum is not present, communication between board members during the “predecisional deliberation” period is not considered public record. Further, the panel ruled, communication between a township’s staff and board members is also protected from disclosure.
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