Comprehensive Plan

Charting the Course to 2035

The County of York Comprehensive Plan (Adopted September 3, 2013)

"What are the plans for my neighborhood?" Citizens call the Planning Division with this question. People see a dead-end street leading to a large undeveloped tract of land near their home and wonder what can be built there, or they may see survey markers that are often the first sign that development is on its way.

About the Plan

The answer to this question and many others can be found in the York County Comprehensive Plan. Titled Charting the Course to 2035, the Comprehensive Plan is the long-range plan for the physical development of the County. It also sets forth the County's future plans for transportation, community facilities, the environment, housing, economic development, and historic resources.

The overall purposes of the Plan are to provide for an appropriate mix of residential, commercial, and industrial development; to guide such development to appropriate areas of the County based on the carrying capacity of the land, the existing development character, and the presence of infrastructure and public facilities; to preserve the County's natural resources and aesthetic quality; and to prevent the overburdening of the County's roads, utilities, facilities, and services.

The Comprehensive Plan is a policy document that provides direction for present and future policy makers in making the laws and setting the policies to guide the County's development. It is implemented by the County's various development ordinances, particularly the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances, as well as the Capital Improvements Program.

Adopted September 3, 2013, by the York County Board of Supervisors, the current Plan is the third update of the original Comprehensive Plan adopted in 1991.