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Policies

Accessibility Policy

DVRPC is committed to the principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is DVRPC's policy to provide equal access for individuals with disabilities, which includes this website. The DVRPC website is designed to comply with two different standards for website accessibility: compliance with the Priority Level One standards recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and compliance with the legal requirements of Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Popular screen readers can be used effectively by the visually impaired on this website.

Unfortunately, in the day-to-day update and maintenance of our site, we realize that errors may occur and that there may be individual pages that do not meet these criteria. If you encounter a webpage that does not meet our accessibility standards, please let us know so that we may resolve the problem. Also, some advanced tools on our website (such as Online Mapping) may not be fully useful to those using screen reading software, but we feel strongly that this information should be made available to the many visitors who are able to access it.

For more information about DVRPC's Website, please visit the About our Site webpage.

Digital Data Disclaimer

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) excludes any and all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any digital file obtained from the Commission. No guarantees are expressed or implied as to the use or application of the digital information supplied. DVRPC assumes no responsibility to maintain them in any manner or form.

DVRPC will not be liable for and the user agrees to hold DVRPC harmless from and against any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the material supplied, or arising out of any inaccuracy or defect in the digital information supplied.

Recipients of DVRPC digital files are not entitled to any file revisions, updates, corrections or new releases.

Recipients of DVRPC digital files are encouraged to credit DVRPC as the source of the data when producing maps, graphics, or other documents that utilize DVRPC files.

Any questions regarding digital files may be directed to the Office of GIS.

This website contains links to websites that are not maintained by DVRPC. These links are provided for the benefit of our website visitors to provide related information outside of DVRPC sponsored programs. The majority of these links are to member governments, federal government resources, and planning partners in the nonprofit and private sectors. Link suggestions and requests should be directed to the DVRPC Webmaster, who will make the final determiniation if a link is appropriate for our website.

Please be aware that DVRPC is not responsible for the content and/or privacy practices of such other sites. In order to clarify this, all links to non-DVRPC materials should open in a new browser window. This policy only applies to the www.dvrpc.org website.

Title VI Statement

DVRPC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. Publications and other public documents can be made available in alternative languages or formats, if requested. For more information, please call (215) 238-2871.

Public Records Policy

Public Disclosure Request Form [0.1 MB .pdf]
NJ Open Public Records Act (OPRA) - Denial Instructions [0.1 MB .pdf]

Introduction

The State of New Jersey has enacted PL 2001 c. 404, an Open Public Records Act, as of January 8, 2002. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has enacted the Right-To-Know-Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission ("DVRPC") has adopted and prominently posted a policy for the release of "Public Records".

DVRPC serves both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and will attempt to treat all requests for disclosure of public records as uniformly as possible. However, nothing in the DVRPC Disclosure of Public Records Policy is intended to subject DVRPC to any statute or regulation which otherwise would not apply. Requestors are asked to identify which law they are relying upon in making their Request.

This policy clarifies DVRPC's existing practices in an effort to inform the public how to obtain DVRPC records. The policies and procedures outlined in this guidance are intended to assist individuals who may be seeking records from DVRPC. Nothing in these polices or procedures shall alter any applicable regulatory requirements. DVRPC reserves the discretion to deviate from these policies and procedures if required by applicable law or regulation.

Procedure

To request a public record from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the requester must:

Complete the attached Public Records Request Form and mail or fax it to:

Candace Snyder
Director, Office of Public Affairs and Communications
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
The American College of Physicians Building - 8th Floor
190 North Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106-1520
Tel: (215) 238-2875
Fax: (215) 592-9125

Copies of the respective request forms are available on the DVRPC website via the above links at the top of this page or from the Director of Public Affairs.

Requests must be sufficiently specific to enable DVRPC to ascertain which records are being requested.

If the request is to be provided in a medium other than hard copy, the requester must specify such medium, including, in the case of electronic transmittal, the appropriate format. DVRPC will endeavor to comply with non-hard copy requests.

Upon receipt of a request, the Public Affairs Director will review the request for: (a) completeness, (b) the Commission's obligation to fill the request in accordance with the definition of a public record under the applicable law and, (c) the ability to fulfill the request in the medium selected.

The Public Affairs Director will then recommend to the Executive Director that the request be fulfilled or denied.

IF THE REQUEST IS MADE PURSUANT TO THE NEW JERSEY OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS ACT:

If the request is to be fulfilled, the Public Affairs Director will notify the requester, in writing, by mail by facsimile, or by email that the request is being fulfilled, that the records are available for delivery, and of any applicable fees as defined below, within seven (7) business days of the receipt of the request.

If the Executive Director deems it appropriate to deny the request, the Public Affairs Director will notify the requester, in writing, by mail, by facsimile, or by email, that the request is being denied, along with the reason for denial, and if applicable, providing a Vaughn Index of any documents that are exempt under the terms of the Open Public Records Act, within seven (7) business days of the receipt of the request. Such notification of denial will also indicate the appeals procedure, available to the requester as set forth below and include a copy of the "NJ Open Public Records Act (OPRA) - Denial Instructions".

IF THE REQUEST IS MADE PURSUANT TO THE PENNSYLVANIA RIGHT-TO-KNOW LAW:

If the request is to be fulfilled, the Public Affairs Director will notify the requester, in writing, by mail, by facsimile, or by email that the request is being fulfilled, and of any applicable fees as defined below, within five (5) business days of the receipt of the request.

The regular business hours of the DVRPC are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Any request for records received by DVRPC after the close of regular business hours shall be deemed to have been received on the following business day. For purposes of determining the end of the five business day period, the day that a request is received is not counted. The first day of the five business day period is DVRPC's next business day.

Denial of Requests

If the Executive Director deems it appropriate to deny the request, the Public Affairs Director will notify the requester, in writing, by mail, by facsimile, or by email, that the request is being denied, along with the reason for denial, and the name, business address, business telephone number and signature of the person making the denial, within the time period required by law Such notification of denial will also indicate the appeals procedure, as defined below, available to the requester.

Appeals Procedure

Nothing in the following internal appeals procedure shall deny, or abridge the requester's rights under the State of New Jersey Open Public Records Act, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Right-To-Know Law or any other applicable statute. With respect to requests made pursuant to the Pennsylvania Right-To-Know Law, the requester may file an appeal with the Office of Open Records (Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, 4th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225) within 15 business days of the mailing date of DVRPC's response. Likewise, with respect to requests made pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, the requester may file an appeal with the Government Records Council (101 South Broad Street, Trenton, NJ 08608-2401) or with Superior Court, in accord with the "NJ Open Public Records Act (OPRA) - Denial Instructions" (link provided above).

Whenever a request for a DVRPC public record is denied, the requester may appeal that decision to the Board of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. To do so the requester must:

Address the appeal, in writing, by mail, or by facsimile, to the:

Chairman of the Board
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
The American College of Physicians Building – 8th Floor
190 North Independence Mall West, 8th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106-1520
Fax (215) 592-9125

The appeal must include all information, including copies of the original request and all DVRPC responses, as well as any other information deemed appropriate for DVRPC Board review.

Upon receipt of an appeal to a denial issued under this policy, the appeal will be placed on the next available Board meeting agenda for review and action.

If the Board finds that the Executive Director correctly denied the request, a written explanation of the Board's affirmation of the denial will be provided to the requester.

If the finding of the Board is that the request should be fulfilled, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission will begin immediately to fulfill the request in accordance with the provisions of this policy.

Fees

For reproduction of existing hard copy information, DVRPC will charge a reproduction fee per page in accord with the applicable New Jersey or Pennsylvania. All reproduction in other formats shall be at the actual cost of the format for reproduction.

If the cost estimate of fulfilling the request is less than $100.00, the fee is due at the time the request is completed. Should the cost estimate of fulfilling the request exceed $100.00, the fee must be paid before fulfillment is begun and the applicable timeline for response shall begin upon receipt of the fee.

If the requester refuses to pay the applicable fee, the request will be deemed denied and subject to the applicable appeal procedures outlined above.

Note: The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission will waive all fees that total Ten Dollars ($10.00) or less.