Lancaster County staff outlines UDO rewrite, floating smaller lot sizes and PDD limits

Allison Harden, director of development services for Lancaster County, told the Board of Zoning Appeals that staff has been meeting weekly with an ad hoc County Council committee on the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) rewrite and that the effort has recently accelerated.

"I can give you an update on our unified development ordinance," Harden said, describing meetings that began in late November and continued through December and into the current month. She said the rewrite is addressing setbacks, minimum lot sizes and whether to offer an option that reduces minimum lot size without increasing overall density.

Harden described the existing approach to minimum lot sizes by zone — from 1 acre in agricultural and rural zones down to 10,000 square feet in medium-density residential zones — and explained the county is exploring a cluster-overlay option that can allow lots as small as 5,000 square feet while preserving overall open space. "Smaller lot sizes and smaller homes are part of the key to getting lower prices, for workforce housing," she said.

She cautioned that cluster overlays differ from plan development districts (PDDs). PDDs are negotiated directly with county council and can be written to include nonstandard elements for a site, but Harden said the BZA would not be able to grant variances inside a PDD because those districts are governed by the negotiated agreement. "So you have people in the rural areas that want to do something a little different, but they're asking for a rezoning ... allowing for those much smaller lots, so it's quite a jump," Harden said.

On timing, Harden said the UDO rewrite has been years in the making — with an inventory starting in November 2021, work on zoning alternatives in 2022, a pause in 2023 for the comprehensive plan work (passed in 2024), and a draft completed in October 2025. She said the moratorium ordinance contemplates a nine-month period for completing the UDO, which would put a target completion in June, with an option for a three-month extension to September if staff demonstrates the need to county council.

Board members asked for continued updates and clearer timelines. Staff said it plans a more formalized update at the next BZA meeting and a short (about 15-minute) learning session on relevant procedures and processes. Harden said staff hopes to return a full draft to the county council in the spring to begin public meetings.

Procedural business at the start of the meeting included unanimous votes to approve the published agenda and to adopt the minutes from the Dec. 2, 2025 meeting. With no further business, the chair moved to adjourn the meeting.