York County Press Release
YORK – Kicking off the process of updating the county’s comprehensive plan, the York County Commissioners and the York County Planning/Zoning Commission held a joint meeting this week, during which they heard from the county’s planner, Marvin Planning Consultants.
A special meeting was held, to talk about the process, as well as to hear information regarding the county’s zoning regulations, including those pertaining to solar energy projects.
“York County has been going through this for a few years now,” said York County Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier in reference to the zoning process. “The zoning board did a great job, and we all went through our steps.”
Representing Marvin Planning Consultants were Keith Marvin and John Shepard.
“There is no reason to push through (zoning regulations and comp plan updates) unless they are exactly what we want,” Obermier said.
“We have been hired to work with the county, to keep what needs to be saved and fix what needs to be fixed,” Marvin said, in reference to the county’s comprehensive plan and zoning regulations. “The first thing is this kick-off meeting, basically Planning 101. We will pull our data, develop a schedule (for updating the comprehensive plan) and then we will dig into the detail work.”
He explained how they will look at the local economy, housing, facilities, recreation areas, public safety, public education, public health sector and much more.
“The data is there, we will help build your future land use plan,” Marvin said, regarding the comprehensive plan. “With that in hand, if you have a zoning request, it will provide the finding of fact as it guides your land use.
“Once we do that, formulate the comprehensive plan and land use plan, we would like to put all that to the side and work on zoning,” Marvin said, “as we want them to be consistent. This entire process will take 16-24 months to complete. How many here are farmers? Well, we won’t meet during planting or harvest; we will take that into account. And we will have a lot of opportunities for the public to comment and the drafts will be placed on your website as we move through the process. We will have town hall meetings and we will also do interviews with key groups. You tell us what you want and how you want to do it.”
“This is the process of updating the comprehensive plan and how it goes together with zoning,” Obermier said.
Shepard addressed zoning regulations, as the company was asked to review the proposed zoning regulations pertaining to solar projects. “We are here as advisors and you have very specific needs. Whatever zoning regulations you create have to be consistent with the comprehensive plan, so these discussions will go back to the comprehensive plan as well.”
Regarding the currently proposed zoning regulations, Shepard said the “first question is whether they fit with your current or future comp plan, we have to be able to back that up. The planning commission has already done a lot of work in this county, as have the commissioners, so we have a start there.”
Shepard said attorneys will be consulted through the process. “We are not attorneys,” Shepard said, “but we have to know the law. We have to look at the restrictions with the law in mind – you have to have equal protections with a rational basis. This is really a business plan for York County. We aren’t telling you what to do – this is the public saying what they want and it has to hold up in court.”
Marvin said there are currently other counties which have “extreme” setbacks and he believes court decisions will determine whether those can stand. “There have to be rational reasons for those setbacks and those regulations. This is why the comprehensive plan is so important.”
“York County is growing, and you are looking at long-range decisions,” Shepard said. “We don’t want you to create regulations you can’t enforce. And don’t just do what other counties have done. If you want to have high standards, have high standards. But you also don’t want to set the bar so high it’s difficult for folks.”
Shepard and Marvin said they weren’t sure the county needed to have four categories of solar projects in the zoning regulations.
“Do what works for your county,” Shepard said. “The goal is to protect property rights on both sides. We want to give you something that will work. A lot of things will come up through this process; take the time you need.”
Audience members asked if adoption of the solar zoning regulations will be postponed until the comprehensive plan update is complete. Obermier said the commissioners will continue to work with the planning and zoning commission and that process will move forward (not being postponed until the completion of the comprehensive plan).
“We have received a lot of good information and now we will move forward,” said Commissioner Daniel Grotz.
Obermier agreed, saying the process has officially begun.
The county’s comprehensive plan is updated every 10 years. And obviously, the zoning process has been ongoing for a considerable amount of time.
