Local and county governments play a critical role in planning for housing and community development. The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) enables local and county governments to use a number of land use planning tools. The MPC also sets requirements for the usage of those tools. In the case of county governments, it requires each county to adopt a Comprehensive Plan with certain prescribed components. This Plan fulfills York County’s responsibility under the MPC to plan for housing needs of current and future residents, which can include preservation of existing units, rehabilitation of declining housing, and planning for a variety of new housing [Article III, Section 301 (a)(2.1)]. This Plan also fulfills Section 301(a)(4) of the MPC, which requires that comprehensive plans include a plan for community facilities.

The diversity of needs necessitates housing choice and challenges one-size-fits-all approaches to housing and community development planning. Because a range of housing needs are met through the normal operation of the private housing market, this Plan focuses on identifying gaps between housing needs and the supply provided by the private housing market. To this end, this Plan also places housing into the context of community – the neighborhood dynamics, human activities, and built environments that define quality of life.