The City of Lancaster aims to engage the whole community in the production of a new comprehensive plan to be adopted in 2022. A comprehensive plan is a document to guide municipal policy and decision-making related to growth and community development. The city has received grants totaling $170,000 from three philanthropic organizations to support the planning process, which will be inclusive, equitable, and community driven.

A comprehensive plan is a policy guide that reflects community consensus and informs municipal regulatory and financial decisions. Comprehensive plans must address crucial infrastructure and services such as housing, transportation, community facilities, and utilities, but the scope is not limited to these topics.

The City of Lancaster's comprehensive plan will also consider diversity, equity, and inclusion; environmental sustainability; economic development; and other topics as identified by the community.

The planning process will involve community engagement methods designed to reach all community stakeholders, particularly those who experience barriers to civic participation. The city and its partners will take extra precautions to keep the outreach safe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also ensuring extensive resident input is collected.

The engagement process, which will be designed and supported with the help of grant funding, may include language access efforts to provide translated printed and spoken communications; social media and an online virtual participation platform, Engage Lancaster; communicating through art and empowering local artists to engage their neighborhoods; collaborating with community partners to engage their communities and constituents; meetings or events across Lancaster city and its various neighborhoods; generating community ownership and excitement through events, communications, and other means; and creating intentional outreach plans for hard-to-reach communities.

Community leaders and organizations will be invited to participate through technical advisory boards, which will form to develop policies and solutions around the community's identified priority issues. A community committee, the Lancaster Comprehensive Plan Committee (CPC), has formed to help guide the planning process. This group consists of 19 diverse community members who are involved in neighborhood organizations, local businesses, or community service.

Under the guidance of facilitation consultant Connect the Dots, this committee is preparing for its role through trainings on community and regional planning; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and decision making and consensus building. The CPC will aid in the selection of the comprehensive plan consultant and consult with the city on marketing, public engagement, and policy issues from the perspective of residents. Members of the CPC are also part of the Lancaster City Alliance's Neighborhoods executive leadership team.

This planning process is made possible through funding from the City of Lancaster's general fund and Community Development Block Grant funding and through the contributions of philanthropic partners. Funding includes $75,000 from Partners for Places, a project of The Funders Network; $75,000 from the High Foundation; $20,000 from the Ferree Foundation (A Ware Family Foundation); and $5,000 from the Urban Sustainability Director's Network, Equity Diversity Inclusion Fellowship.

The comprehensive planning process will be ongoing for the next two years with an anticipated completion date at the end of 2022. Beginning this summer, the Lancaster community will be invited to participate in various interactive engagement activities. Input provided will be used to identify and prioritize concerns that should be addressed in the comprehensive plan.

For more information on the City of Lancaster's Comprehensive Plan, readers may visit http://www.cityoflancasterpa.com/comprehensive-planning.