County planners, Lancaster Chamber will host regional consortiums this month to discuss development, growth management

The Lancaster County Planning Department and the Lancaster Chamber will launch a series of four regional consortiums next week to discuss places2040, the county’s comprehensive plan.

Held at locations in the county’s northeast, northwest, center and south, they will give planners a chance to explain their goals and hear from business and community leaders in each area.

“These are good things for businesses to know,” Molly Crouser, the chamber’s director of events and partnerships, told One United Lancaster. “We see a lot of projects happening around the county.”

The chamber, she said, routinely holds regional consortiums on different topics throughout the year.

Coordinating countywide, local planning

Part of the impetus for the consortiums involves looking at how places2040 can coordinate with regional and municipal plans.

Officials have identified main themes, such as planning for additional development in the county and channeling development into defined “urban growth areas,” or UGAs.

Housing is a big focus, said Kip Van Blarcom, the planning department’s director for implementation.

“Anybody who deals with housing knows that we have a crisis,” he said.

Like its predecessor plan, places2040 calls for achieving average residential density of 7.5 units per acre in Lancaster County’s UGAs. Places2040 classifies UGAs into three tiers, with density targets of 5.5, 6.5 and 9+ units per acre, respectively.

The goal of 7.5 units per acre isn’t being achieved anywhere, Van Blarcom said. He cited the preponderance of single-family housing and the scarcity of alternatives.

“It (single-family home housing) doesn’t work for a lot of people,” he said. “We have to change that.”

The solution, Van Blarcom said, is compact development that focuses on affordable housing and proximity to jobs.

“The city is already very dense, and a popular place for people to live,” he said.

Planning for development, he said, should encourage human interaction, not just “driving around.” “Somehow we forget that when we look at suburban communities.”

At a county work session in December, Planning Department Executive Director Scott Standish said the department would be reviewing the UGAs and conducting some “edge analysis.” That could lead to expanding their boundaries “in limited ways” to accommodate development needs, he said.

Partners for Place

Places2040 was adopted in 2018. Van Blarcom said the department sought input from all sectors of the community, nonprofits included.

“We wanted to work with any organizations that touch on our work in any way,” he said.

That kind of work is ongoing. Through its Partners for Place initiative, the department works with associations and nonprofits to build awareness of and engagement with places2040.  

The state, Van Blarcom said, requires county and local plans to be consistent in some ways, but “they don’t spell out what that really means.” That leaves local officials filling in some blanks.

A growing county

Lancaster County’s population grew by 33,500 between 2010 and 2020 to reach 553,000, according to the U.S. Census. On a percentage basis, it was the 7th fastest growing of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. (A majority of state counties, 44 of them, lost population over the decade.)

The majority of Lancaster County’s population growth is organic, Van Blarcom said: That is, it it comes from residents here having children and raising families, rather than from in-migration. It’s a misconception, in other words, to think that migration is driving the need for affordable housing.

Van Blarcom explained the distinction between “infill” and “redevelopment”: “infill” refers to smaller projects reusing individual lots or smaller spaces, while “redevelopment” represents the big projects, like the reuse of a Kmart store or other large commercial structure.

“People seem to be okay with redeveloping land that has already been developed,” Van Blarcom said, calling for more flexible zoning to allow for these types of projects.

“Nobody is suggesting that nuisances should be allowed, but (in going through the zoning process) timing is everything for a business.”

Looking at farms

A key aspect of the county’s planning has to do with farm preservation.

Lancaster County is a national leader in preserving agricultural acreage, with roughly one-fifth of the its land area protected. But although farms are being preserved, farmers are having a hard time making a profit from traditional production agriculture, such as row cropping and dairy.

That, Van Blarcom said, creates a fine balance: Planners want to encourage farms that look traditional and don’t compromise the character of the farmland, but also allow for farmers to make a profit.

“The goal of farm preservation was pretty clear in the 1970 and 1980s,” he said. “Now, it looks a little different.”

The Lancaster Farmland Trust nonprofit has central to the effort to preserve county agricultural land and is one of the planning department’s “Partners for Place.” CEO Jeff Swinehart said the organization commends the Planning Department and chamber for seeking public input on Places2040.

“These meetings allow the public to understand the county’s various land, infrastructure, and economic issues,” he said in a statement. “It is an excellent opportunity for the public to reinforce their vision for the future of Lancaster County. …

“When it comes to farmland preservation, ensuring it can accommodate a dynamic and changing landscape of agriculture is essential. We know that flexibility is vital to permit various uses on farms that are consistent with the values and goals of the farmland preservation movement.”