Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in Lancaster County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
6 issues in environment
Agricultural Preserve Board appointment
An opening on the Agricultural Preserve Board means new input on farmland preservation decisions across the county.
Chiques Creek Watershed project agreement
The county joined a USDA-backed partnership that could bring up to $25 million to remove sediment trapped behind old mill dams that smothers aquatic life and washes down to the Chesapeake Bay. The county signs on as sponsor but pays nothing — landowners and state programs cover the local share.
Mosquito-borne disease control funding
Commissioners renewed the annual West Nile/mosquito grant but flagged concerns that the decade-old program runs on autopilot. Residents have called both asking for spraying and complaining about it, and staff was asked to bring effectiveness data next year.
Farmland preservation
Three more farms — beef/poultry in Penn Township, crops in Drumore, dairy in Salisbury — would be permanently preserved under Resolution No. 69, protecting roughly 125 acres of working farmland from development.
Agricultural Conservation Easements
Three farms totaling about 126 acres in Penn, Drumore and Salisbury townships would be permanently preserved under Resolution 69, funded mostly by state money. This keeps the land in farming forever and adds to contiguous blocks of already-preserved farms.
Waste system capacity and recycling
Lancaster County recycles 51% of its waste — among the best in the nation — but the landfill has only about nine years of life left, prompting plans for expansion and a second transfer station in the northern part of the county.