New Freedom Borough Council voted unanimously on Nov. 10 to reject the Southern York County regional comprehensive plan after residents and planning officials questioned the plan’s assumptions about available land and sewer capacity.

Terry Murphy, chair of the New Freedom Borough Planning Commission, told the council during public comment that New Freedom has operated under a municipal comprehensive plan adopted in 2000 (with a regional update in 2010 that the borough did not participate in). Murphy said borough zoning already permits multifamily and mixed uses in the Central Business District and traditional neighborhood areas and that the planning commission evaluates proposals under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.

Council members and residents pressed on how adopting the regional plan might affect the borough’s wastewater treatment obligations. A resident who questioned the plan noted that the borough operates the only nearby wastewater treatment plant and that both state regulators and Chesapeake Bay-related discharge limits could require more aggressive treatment if additional hookups increase total pounds of nutrient loading. Murphy and others said the plant has limited room to grow and that DEP limits on BOD, suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus mean concentration limits must tighten as total permitted pounds remain constrained.

Opponents also disputed housing counts cited in the plan. Residents and council members said the borough has only a small number of vacant acres—figures discussed during the meeting ranged from a single 39‑acre parcel (disputed by attendees) to a handful of approved subdivisions nearby—and they questioned how the plan arrived at projections that suggested several hundred units of future housing in the borough or adjacent areas.

Council Member (S7) moved to reject the regional plan; another council member seconded the motion and the body recorded a unanimous voice vote to sustain the prior rejection. Council members said the vote reaffirms that New Freedom will not accept the regional plan as written and that the borough should consider its own, New Freedom‑specific planning document in the coming year.

What’s next: Councilmembers and staff said they will consider creating a borough‑specific committee after the new year to craft planning guidance tailored to New Freedom’s infrastructure and community preferences.