Planning panel adopts clearer criteria for when Lancaster County will accept private roads

The Lancaster County Planning Commission voted 5-1 on June 16 to recommend a text amendment to Chapter 6.13.1 that spells out criteria for when the county will accept roads constructed as part of new development.

Staff presented the amendment as an effort to provide clarity where the Unified Development Ordinance previously lacked explicit acceptance criteria, and recommended approval. "The intent of this change is just to provide some clarity and some criteria for the county's road acceptance policy," staff told commissioners during the presentation. The county's public-works director was present but did not speak at the dais.

Commissioners asked why the change was being proposed before the long-running UDO rewrite and whether the amendment could require connections to adjacent properties to improve network connectivity. Staff said the County Council requested the amendment and that consultants working on the UDO had participated in drafting the language; staff also said the amendment would be carried forward into the new UDO unless the ad hoc rewrite committee or Council removed it.

After discussion, the commission used a motion-and-roll-call process taught in recent training: a motion to accept the text amendment carried on a roll-call vote of five in favor and one opposed. The commission's vote is a recommendation to County Council, which must conduct readings before any change takes effect.

The commission also recorded that the amendment will be written into the current UDO if County Council approves it; staff emphasized that the rewrite process could still remove or alter the clause later.

The commission forwarded TA 2026-1137 to County Council with a favorable recommendation.