In Rosner v. Buckingham Township, AP 2020-0623 (“Rosner I”), the request sought Stormwater Management Agreements and Grant of Easement Agreements relating to certain properties within the Township. The Township redacted the names and home addresses from residents and the requester appealed.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that an individual possesses a constitutional right to privacy in certain types of personal information. Pa. State Educ. Ass’n v. Commonwealth, 148 A.3d 142 (Pa. 2016). When a request for records implicates personal information not expressly exempt from disclosure under the RTKL, the OOR must balance the individual’s interest in informational privacy with the public’s interest in disclosure and may release the personal information only when the public benefit outweighs the privacy interest. Id.
Although the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not expressly define the types of “personal information” subject to the balancing test, the Court recognized that certain types of information, including home addresses, by their very nature, implicate privacy concerns and require balancing. To determine whether the constitutional right to privacy precludes disclosure of an individual’s personal information, the OOR must weigh privacy interests and the extent to which they may be invaded, against the public benefit which would result from disclosure.
In Rosner I, the OOR stated:
It is well established that ‘land use matters involve public...
