Marvin Planning Consultants, led by Senior Community Planner John Shepard, stated that the purpose of the meetings was to determine, “Where do we want to go and how do we want to get there.”
York County is in the beginning stages of completing a new county-wide comprehensive plan. About 15 York County residents gathered for one of the first of several town hall meetings planned for the next month at the Hatchery in Henderson on Monday evening.
Senior Community Planner John Shepard led the meeting, and his assistant, Spencer Lemon, from Marvin Planning Consultants, was present. Shepard is no stranger to Henderson, where his company has helped the city complete two comp plans in the past.
“A county comp plan is different from a city since it seeks to distinguish the character of each community in the county. This process is all about context, so we can hear from you and help make York County a better place,” said Shepard in his opening statement.
Those gathered were divided into three groups and presented with five questions to discuss amongst themselves and report back to the whole group. Shepard said everything written down by the groups would be transcribed and included in their report.
Question #1: Why do you choose to live or have a business in York County? Top answers included location, job opportunities, and the fact that they were raised in the area.
Question #2: What do you like about York County? Some answers reported were its size, good work ethic, low crime, philanthropy, and agricultural focus.
Question #3: What are the biggest opportunities York County has for the future? All of the groups mentioned easy access to I-80, the completion of Highway 81, agricultural market diversification, and good water and soil quality.
Question #4: What are the biggest challenges York County has right now? Everyone agreed that attracting youth back was an ongoing challenge, and the importance of keeping people involved in their community. Also mentioned was making more medical and mental health services available, providing higher-end and affordable housing, reducing taxes, and ridding the county of blighted properties, such as the condition of the Henderson interchange.
Question #5: How would you describe the ideal York County in 20 years? Again, bringing back youth to live and raise their families was a top answer. Also mentioned were steady growth, but not explosive growth, the absence of solar or wind projects on productive agricultural land, the addition of more recreational areas, high-end restaurants, and a safe environment.
As part of the year-long process for completing the new county-wide comp plan, the county is asking residents to complete a survey. Shepard encouraged everyone to either go online and fill it out or complete the hard copies he brought. Here is the link to fill out the survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YorkCoCompPlan
