CAMP HILL, Pa. — Note: The video is from May 10.
The Camp Hill Borough Council is stopping its fight to protect a 2021 ordinance designed to limit the number of political signs its residents can have on their lawns and properties.
The Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to waive its right to appeal a Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last month affirming a lower court's decision to strike down the ordinance.
The Council also directed its legal counsel to negotiate a settlement agreement, citing the need to reduce costs, avoid uncertainty and bring the legal battle to an end, according to a press release issued Thursday.
The plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed to overturn the ordinance in 2022 are seeking more $400,000 in legal fees incurred during the battle.
"The Borough is disappointed in the Third Circuit's decision and is concerned with the potential sprawling impact it may have on the ability of the Borough and other municipalities to meaningfully regulate signs in pursuit of traffic safety and aesthetics," the Council said in a press release. "This is a particular problem in a uniquely dense community like the Borough.
"Moreover, the Borough is disheartened by the precedential impact the ruling will have in boroughs and local governments across the commonwealth."
In regard to the more than $400,000 in legal fees incurred by the plaintiffs' attorneys, the Council said its own legal fees are significantly less.
"Given the concerns shared between Borough Council and the plaintiffs about fiscal impact of the litigation, we are hopeful the plaintiffs will act in the best interest of taxpayers and work with us toward reaching an agreement," Borough Council president Jennifer Hoover said in a statement.
The borough's 2021 ordinance stated that residents could only display two political signs in their yards within 60 days of an election. Anyone caught violating the ordinance faced a $1,000 fine.
Two residents, along with the Camp Hill Republican Association, joined a lawsuit against the borough to challenge the ordinance in 2022, arguing it placed limits on free speech.
A state judge granted a temporary injunction to the ordinance in October 2022, allowing people to place as many signs out as they like without worrying about getting fined.
In April 2023, a federal judge sided with the plaintiffs in the case, a decision appealed by the Borough Council.
The judge's decision was upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals last month.