Lancaster County Council approves UDO first reading with directed amendments

Lancaster County Council approved first reading of a comprehensive rewrite of the county's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) at a special meeting, adopting a motion that sends the draft back to the planning commission with a set of specific edits and several items slated for later text amendments.

Staff introduced the ordinance and the associated reconciliation matrix and asked council to act on first reading. A staff member summarized the plan: “We're asking you to take action on 1st reading tonight, special called meeting, to approve the UDO as the draft you have before you.” Council then worked page by page through the matrix, identifying items to leave in, delete, or carry forward to later text amendments. The final motion — read aloud before the vote — included adding language that “the county may require a development agreement in accordance with applicable law,” leaving the Carolina Heelsplitter overlay in place pending a text amendment and banking process, adding Highway 5 to the Highway Corridor Overlay, and other technical edits.

Councilmembers and staff emphasized that several items remain unresolved and will require additional work by planning staff or the planning commission, including legal clarifications. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The council instructed staff to provide the exact amendment language to the planning commission and to capture the motion and edits in the meeting record.