The council approved to hire JMT, which has an office in York, for $22,500 to provide professional planning services.
The York County Planning Commission received a Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Elm Street Program grant on behalf of the borough.
The grant is to upgrade the southeast corner of the borough. The grant will pay for JMT's professional services for a five-year strategic plan. The plan will indicate ways to upgrade the borough.
The borough's public infrastructure in the planning area is aging. The borough's municipal tax rate is the highest in the county with the exception of the city of York, and it struggles to update public facilities and maintain services.
The neighborhood is the densest of any municipality in York County, even the city of York. The proposed planning area is less than one-fifth of the area of the borough as a whole, yet 37 percent of the borough population resides within its boundaries.
The population and housing date of the borough indicate that of the 36 boroughs in York County, West York ranks highest in need as a result of a study prepared by the county Planning Commission in 2006.
The household income and housing date indicate that the proposed project area is the highest in the borough in several distress areas related to income and housing.
There was a higher number of crime and nuisance calls,
such as public drunkenness, public disturbances, disorderly conduct and noise compared to any other part of the borough.The development of the strategic plan is expected to take a year.
