Ferguson Township Ordinances and Penn State Administrative Directives – UPDATED

Cited in the June 28, 2017 letter to PSU’s David Gray from Ferguson Township Zoning Administrator Jeff Ressler and/or in Kurt Kissinger’s email to NVWC’s Kelli Hoover and David Hughes, and/or possibly relevant.

Of great interest:

Is Penn State-owned land public land, free for use by the general public as citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or is it private land, subject to enforcement of trespassing laws against individuals through the police power of the state on behalf of the landowner?

I couldn’t find the Ferguson Township ordinance regarding permission of landowner required for signage placed on a property, cited in the letter as Ch. 19, Part 1, Section 6, #13, but have reached out to Jeff Ressler for clarification.

UPDATE – Revised ordinance, revised on June 5, 2017 (two days after the protest began on June 3, 2017) sent to me by Jeff Ressler:

1033 Amendment Signs and Billboards CH 19

Relevant phrase is on page 11,

“13. Signs erected without the permission of the property owner, with the exception of those authorized or required by local, state or federal government.”

Which then begs the question, is a peaceful public protest that includes signs “authorized” by Constitutional First Amendment rights?

Posted by Katherine Watt