The Traditional Comprehensive Plan and the Implementable Comprehensive Plan
The 2024 Southern York County Region Comprehensive Plan will be an Implementable Comprehensive Plan, while the Region’s 2010 Comprehensive Plan followed the Traditional format.
A traditional comprehensive plan is organized via the traditional subject areas of: goals & objectives, land use, housing, transportation, community facilities, and utilities. Data collection and analysis is then used to identify potential future areas of concern with which to focus the plan’s recommendations. Community outreach is then used to validate goals and objectives and/or to assist in prioritizing strategies.
An implementable comprehensive plan uses public outreach to identify current areas of concern and steers away from predicting future issues. The plan is organized according to the focus areas identified by the public, and data and analysis is used to create a baseline of existing conditions for each topic or issue identified. Recommendations are organized according to the identified issue and the required MPC statements are identified within the focus area discussions.
Both processes use data analysis to support decision making and to set realistic metrics of success. The implementable comprehensive planning process is endorsed by both the PA Department of Community & Economic Development and the York County Planning Commission as a best practice in comprehensive planning.