A comprehensive planning document consists of three integral components: 1) background studies; 2) the community’s goals and objectives; and 3) policy action plans for land use, housing, transportation, and community facilities.

Municipalities Planning Code

Section 301.2 of the Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) states:  “[i]n preparing the comprehensive plan, the planning agency shall make careful surveys, studies, and analyses of housing, demographic and economic characteristics and trends; amount, type and general location and interrelationships of different categories of land use; general location and extent of transportation and community facilities; natural features affecting development; natural, historic, and cultural resources; and the prospect for future growth in the municipality.”

Mifflin County’s Comprehensive Plan of 1975 became inadequate with major changes taking place in the community, such as large local transportation projects. Therefore, the Mifflin County Board of Commissioners decided in 1997 to update the plan.

Plan Summary

The County’s Comprehensive Plan, Paths and Bridges to the 21st Century is comprised of two parts.

Part One—Background Trends and Issues contains nine chapters of analysis of current conditions in Mifflin County.  Part One reviews the existing data on population and socioeconomic factors, housing, economics, land use, community facilities and services, cultural resources, environmental resources, and transportation.  This section of the Plan includes 16 different map inserts provided by the Mifflin County GIS Department.  These maps illustrate features such as emergency service areas, public sewer and water service areas, historical resources, prime agricultural soils, and surface geology.

Part Two—Goals, Objectives, and Action Strategies contains seven different plan sections.  One each for housing, economic development, future land use, infrastructure and community facilities, cultural and historic resources, environmental resources, and transportation.

Part Two also contains a reference section including suggested funding sources, recommendations for maintaining the Plan, acronyms and definitions, and summaries of the Quality of Life Survey that was conducted as part of the completion of the plan.

The update of the Mifflin County Comprehensive Plan -- Paths and Bridges to the 21st Century was completed in 2000. It provided a detailed vision for development in the County over a period of 10 years. The plan includes goals, objectives, and policies in the areas of land use, housing, transportation, the environment, and community facilities.

Next Update

Section 302(d) of the Municipalities Planning Code requires that “county comprehensive plans shall be updated at least every ten years.” Therefore, Mifflin County has been working to begin the next update of the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning and Development Department has begun to initiate the steps to undertake the project of updating the plan. More information will be posted as this project progresses.

Click here to read the Mifflin County Comprehensive Plan - Paths and Bridges to the 21st Century adopted in 2000.