Planning commission certifies York County parks and recreation master plan and urges use in CIP

The York County Planning Commission voted May 13 to forward the York County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan (PC 26-11) to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval.

Brian Fuller, deputy county administrator, presented the plan and said the county contracted with consultant McGill (with ETC Institute assisting on survey benchmarking) to complete a roughly 300-page document with a 30-page executive summary. Fuller said the outreach process included scientifically valid surveys, open surveys, public input sessions and extensive staff interviews. "I've been with the county for 41 years. So, I've been trying to get this comprehensive parks and recreation master plan for about 40 of those years," Fuller said.

Key findings Fuller highlighted include a current adequacy of athletic fields but a shift in youth sports to year-round play that changes usage patterns; constrained access to school facilities for community programs because of school safety and scheduling; and a concentration of parkland in the upper county — Fuller said about 76% of the county's parkland is in New Quarter Park — leaving the lower, more populous portion of the county underserved. Fuller described New Quarter Park as a 500-acre facility that draws relatively low use from most residents given its location.

The plan calls for a mix of short-, mid- and long-term actions, with emphasis on neighborhood parks, trails and greenways, and reinvestment in aging park assets. Fuller noted a persistent gap in county-owned indoor recreation facilities (the county has two private YMCAs and a leased senior center but no dedicated community recreation center) and discussed a concept in the plan for a centrally located indoor community recreation center; commissioners referenced a $30–40 million estimate in the plan for such a facility. Fuller also described strategies for partnerships with private groups and clubs to deliver trails and amenities and said the plan is intended to guide the county's capital improvement plan (CIP) and programming priorities.

Commissioners praised the plan and emphasized neighborhood parks as a priority for more walkable access in the lower county. Mr. Titus moved that the commission send PC 26-11 to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval; the roll-call vote recorded in the transcript approved the motion. Fuller thanked the commission for its support. The plan will be considered by the Board of Supervisors as part of the county's planning process.

The commission also received a development activity report from planning staff intern Nick Hill Dwyer, who summarized recent board actions, upcoming applications, and approved site plans such as a Dutch Bros drive-thru approved April 2.