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York County planning staff outline years of land-protection gains, recommend three grants
Summary
The York County Planning Commission presented its annual Open Space and Land Preservation report March 4, 2026, highlighting an average of more than 3,000 acres protected per year since 2020 and recommending three grants, including a 180-acre Lancaster Conservancy acquisition proposed for $300,000.
Ann Wal of the York County Planning Commission presented the annual report for the county’s Open Space and Land Preservation Program on March 4, saying the program boosted land protection since 2020.
"Since 2020, we've we've had 17 grants for land acquisition," Wal said, summarizing recent activity. She told commissioners the county has met or exceeded its stated preservation goals and described three grant categories—acquisition, planning and improvements—used to allocate local and Act 13 funds.
Wal said partner organizations protected a variety of parcels in 2025 and that the county’s grant program recommended funding three projects in the current cycle. The presentation named a Lancaster Conservancy acquisition called the Eagle View property (180 acres) with a recommended county grant of $300,000; a Fairview Township planning grant for $25,000 to update its zoning ordinance; and a Warrington Township municipal comprehensive-plan update recommended for $12,000.
Wal described the Act 13-derived improvement funds as typically varying by formula and said that in recent years the county has received between about $330,000 and $350,000; she said $355,000 was available for allocation in the current round. She told commissioners that grant applications this year "totaled" approximately $939,000 (amount reported during the presentation) and that the grants committee seeks to distribute improvement funds across municipalities and project types.
The planning commission said it will open the next grant round on July 1, offer a grants workshop in August, accept applications through the end of September, and notify applicants by the end of the calendar year. Wal said the commission works with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the York County Community Foundation to coordinate supplemental funding when available.
The commissioners received a written copy of the full annual report and were directed to the program website for full details.
The presentation closed with a brief question-and-answer opportunity; no formal vote on individual grants was recorded in the meeting transcript.
