A year ago today, my friend Jamie shared the following post:
ABANDONED PROPERTY ADVENTURE: We explored the abandoned Sleighton Farm School, which was a reformatory school for girls in Glen Mills.
Originally the Philadelphia House of Refuge, founded in 1826–kind of a reform school. Children at the school, which was first coeducational, had lessons and worked the farm. Eventually this became a girls school.
The school has been closed since 2001 and the buildings are in disrepair. Many of these are old dorms, which they called “cottages”—a misnomer, because many of these buildings are large.
The cottages were designed by Cope and Stewardson (1885-1812), a Philadelphia architectural firm that created many major additions to college campuses, including the Quad at Penn and many buildings at Bryn Mawr College. (Oakwell connection: They were buddies with architect Frank Miles Day, architect of Oakwell structures, and collaborated with him when he designed the Penn Museum).
There is a chapel which was built in the 1960s. A few months ago, one of the cottages burned down in an arson.
Eventually, this property will be demolished. Its fate is up in the air. I fervently hope it doesn’t become something like “The Estates at Sleighton Farm School by [XYZ developer].”
So in a sense this is like a sister school to that horrible Glen Mills School. And I feel almost compelled to go down the rabbit hole of this Sleighton Farm School after looking at a couple of other oddly related things…..
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has reached a settlement agreement with the Clock Tower Schools, clearing the way for the entity to operate at the site of the former Glen Mills Schools….DHS has granted the Clock Tower Schools a provisional two-year license to operate its residential and day treatment programs. The state is also mandating the Clock Tower Schools pay for an independent monitor, Justice By Design.
Yes, I did a little segue here to the old Glenn Mills school now known as something like Clock Tower. But back to Sleighton. And another interesting segue.
Sleighton has a weird connection because of architects’ connection to another cool old house I recently discovered because of the people restoring it putting it on Instagram. It’s called (or was called) Binderton and it’s in Chestnut Hill.
Binderton was built between 1903 and 1906 by Cope & Stewardson Architects. Like Sleighton School. Now I know this is a total tangent, but this house in Chestnut Hill is so cool. It also posts gardens that were designed by the Olmsted Brothers, which in turn ties it also to Stoneleigh and Oakwell. Cool, right?
So yes …..Sleighton….in 2021 the place was being discussed in conjunction with a plan for like 193 townhouses. And remember the property is part Edgemont, part Middletown.
Recently an article about a novelist taking inspiration for her book from Glen Mills/Clock Tower and Sleighton seems to lead me to believe they haven’t started anything much at Sleighton yet?
Now this property seems to be originally about 300 acres? The Sleighton Farm property was originally given to Henry Sleighton by William Penn. So it was also a Penn Land Grant? Newspaper archives have tons of articles about Sleighton ranging from problems, fights, fairs, and astounding amounts of money they got from the county and state.
It’s kind of crazy how much money these institutions used to get right? On July 15, 1957, the Delaware County Daily Times reported that Sleighton was getting $765,000 and Glen Mills School got $770,000! Think of what that would equate to in today’s dollars, right?
In 1970 from the same paper in 1970 I found a notice of an auction of “surplus goods.”
They had fairs, plants sales, and more. In 1974 they had the now deceased Judge Lisa Richette as a speaker and advertised for a farmer.
Like a decade or so ago there was a website post about a “school fixer upper.”
A multi alarm fire at Sleighton according to the Delco Times in June, 2024:
An incendiary fire at the long abandoned Sleighton Farm School for Girls in the 400 block of Valley Road in Middletown and Edgmont townships kept county firefighters busy Sunday night into early Monday…Edgmont Township Fire Marshal Al Mancill said the first call came in at 10:14 p.m. from a neighbor on Forrest Lane who saw flames. Firefighters arrived and found a 100-year-old abandoned dorm on fire and called for additional assistance.
It eventually went to two or more alarms, he said….Nobody was injured in the blaze, which took 90 minutes to control….
There have been numerous large fires over the years at the property, which has been closed for over 20 years.
Elwyn, which now owns the property, has a security patrol, with those members and state police patrolling the property and often making arrests, Mancill said.
Ok that is interesting right? And there were other articles from another fire on the Sleighton property in 2102 which said it was possibly due to a lightening strike…as in a storm.
A public notice posted in Monday’s Daily Times has drawn a rebuttal from Middletown Township.
Middletown Township is disputing a public notice Elwyn of Pennsylvania and Delaware and Rocky Run Development LLC published saying that a tentative plan for a proposed planned residential development submitted to the township in September 2021 has been deemed approved…..
Back to June 2024. Pennsylvania State Police Investigators deemed the fire arson after an investigation. At that time anyone who knew anything was asked to contact Pennsylvania State Police Master Trooper John Stewart at 610-558-7085.
The Abandoned Online post has interesting history on the place. So however many acres are left is owned by Elwyn and they say that was a result of Elwyn merging with Sleighton:
The Sleighton Farm School began as the House of Refuge in Philadelphia in 1826. 1 4 It was founded by the Quakers, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Prison Society, on the basis that juvenile offenders should be treated differently than adults…Male offenders were moved to Glen Mills in Delaware County to the newly formed Glen Mills School in 1889, while the female offenders remained at the House of Refuge. 1
The House of Refuge sought land in the rural Delaware County countryside in 1906 in a shift of curriculum. 1 14 The reformatory school found the belief that students would be better served in a setting that emulated a large family, where the therapeutic power of growing things on a working farm would be better than keeping them in the inner-city hardscape……On April 17, 1931, the school split into two, one for boys and one for girls. The boys’ school kept the Glen Mills name while the girls’ school became known as the Sleighton Farm School for Girls. 1 4 12 By 1949, Sleighton had grown to 350 acres, housing 350 to 360 females. 4…..In 1993, the Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board purchased the easement to 120 acres owned by Sleighton for $1.62 million. 5 The easement purchase program, introduced in 1989, was designed to protect prime farmland from being developed by selling development rights to the state.
Sleighton merged with Elwyn in February 1998.
And there’s a lot more in that post so people should read it. It’s very interesting. But it’s very convoluted and confusing as to what is actually going on there. The only thing I seem to be able to find is that there is security on the site and I guess walking trails aren’t really open to the public?
I found something on social media from this year. That includes photos from I guess some kind of a firefighter who was on site for some kind of training exercise.
So what happens now? Who knows? Time will tell. As of June 4th unless I am reading this wrong the Justia site says “AND NOW, this 4th day of June, 2025,Elwyn of Pennsylvania and Delaware d/b/a Elwyn and Rocky Run Development, LLC’s appeal is quashed.”
So it seems there is an actual park area that is public, and where the buildings are rotting is private? But I am not sure? I am not going there, but it is an urban explorer favorite apparently, and again, who knows what happens now?
I have to ask, and I’m allowed to ask this question, but did Chester County get pipeline propaganda money for some reason?
So when did they get a plan? And is it still run for your life for half of a mile uphill or downhill?
Am I being sarcastic? Why yes I am because in my opinion this is some kind of bulltwaddle. Here’s what Ginny Kerslake has to say (and I quote) :
“hosting three (3) pipeline preparedness workshops to support Chester County’s comprehensive plan to ensure readiness for, response to, and recovery from pipeline incidents.”
How are they going to ensure readiness when they’ve barely advertised these workshops and have not notified residents living in the blast zone at the very least? So how are you going to ensure readiness given the very nature of the product flowing through Mariner East and a densely populated area?
It will be interesting to see what 700,000+ tax dollars bought in this planning
And it’s very interesting that the link at the bottom of their notice is for the pipeline safety advisory board, which had almost no input on this emergency planning aside from vague updates at their quarterly meetings. Speaking of the pipeline safety advisory board, there are no minutes posted since 2023 because they have not had a quorum since 2023. Most members don’t show up for the quarterly meetings. On top of that most of the seats allotted to members of the public are kept vacant.
I mean seriously, Chester County, how long are we going to keep having this fake conversation?
Let’s review.
I like many, many others live in a blast zone. Thank you Ginny for commenting.
Many years ago now (July, 2018) when she and I had recently met, we had that meeting with a PR person from a particular pipeline company (not the usual suspects) in my living room. I remember when we asked safety questions then. I seem to recall the answer then she would have to ask and get back to us? Did we ever get an answer? I seem to recall polite crickets after that point.
And I also seem to recall a more recent thing with a plan in West Whiteland to essentially put assisted living on top of pipelines where this very safety issue came up, yes? And if I recall incorrectly, please correct me if incorrect, but wasn’t it in fact the truth that the county didn’t really have a plan? And a certain man who can’t seem to retire from things there who seems to be on this board didn’t really have a plan? And he was at those meetings over this plan, right?
So remember, West Whiteland denied this plan because of the lack of safety plan having to do with the pipelines correct?
It’s still in court it seems.
What I remember most from those meetings is nobody really had a safety plan including the county, so how can the county magically say they now have a plan? Because how are they going to work a notification system? How many first responders would it take to respond to a pipeline disaster in this area? How many first responders are we willing to lose along with everyday people if there’s a pipeline disaster in this area?
I mean, can we just get real about pipelines? If one of those goes kerpluey it’s game over isn’t it? This crap can literally kill us and is poisoning our water sources, wells, etc. And so why does no one talk anymore about how much of what these companies rape our land for goes literally to other countries?
Chester County has been playing the ultimate like shell game in my opinion in all the years I’ve been following the pipeline stories.
I’m just not expecting a credible plan. I think this is a whole lot of bulltwaddle and yeah, I am saying that out loud.
Allow me to share an old NBC 10 report :
That reality hasn’t changed in that video has it? Nothing has changed except for more sinkholes on occasion, right?
Chester County owes us more than lip service and so does the state. These upcoming meetings which nobody really knew about until this random post showed up from the county is lip service in my opinion.
It may be time for the pipeline activists in this region to dust off their protest signs once again. I mean, how many battles affecting our literal existence are we supposed to fight on a daily basis out here? If it’s not wanton unwelcome development, it’s a data center, or the threat of a data center, the threat of a hydrogen hub, or monster warehouses, or pipelines.
Chester County in my opinion is woefully lacking in truly supporting her residents in any of these areas. My last word is who comprises the board of this county pipeline whojamabobby. It’s hard to tell who’s on and who’s off below here are the names.
Sign me shaking my head once again over “pipeline safety preparedness.“
You can watch the meeting on Zoom – but right now they’re having serious technical difficulties again and they need to fix the audio for Zoom and there are people waiting to get on.
This is the planning commission meeting this evening and below are the rest of the photos my friend took a few minutes ago of the revised drawings, I guess they are.
Before I moved to Chester County many years ago now, I lived in Lower Merion Township. I was in the Haverford neighborhood sandwiched between Montgomery and Lancaster Avenues near the Haverford School, which was across Lancaster Avenue as a matter of fact, it had a nickname called “the island.”
This wasn’t the north side (as in other side of Montgomery Avenue or the Merion Cricket Club side) of Haverford neighborhood I grew up in that had then, and still has today insanely soaring real estate prices. This was just a pretty transitional neighborhood close to the Haverford train station, where you could easily walk to both Ardmore and Bryn Mawr.
The neighborhoods across Lancaster Ave from me were actually in Haverford Township. That used to confuse people to think Haverford Township came to there, but it did and it still does. It’s a county and municipal line, and five points in Bryn Mawr is also two counties, but three municipalities.
One of the best things about my then neighborhood was you could walk a relatively short distance to get access to the Haverford Nature Trail. It was awesome. I used to walk myself and my dogs over there once, if not twice a day. When I first moved into the neighborhood, you had to move quickly but you could safely cross Lancaster Avenue via North Buck Lane (Lower Merion) on my side and Buck Lane (Haverford) on the other side. By 2007, it really wasn’t safe to do that. Traffic was bad but unwanted development was starting to march through, which would ultimately increase traffic in my opinion.
In 2007, we watched as lovely houses were torn down for McMansion-ish dwellings on Rugby Road in the Haverford Township side of Bryn Mawr. It was when many of us started talking about the need for the Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of PA (MPC) to be comprehensively overhauled to help protect suburbs and exurbs.
The day after Christmas in 2008, or Boxing Day, my neighborhood watched as a developer tore down houses, including one of which was technically historical. It was initially for a condo building. Eventually it became “carriage homes” / townhouses. I will note that even today, the structures don’t truly fit into the neighborhood and in my opinion still complement nothing much. Oh, and they still overlook Classic Auto Body. I still can’t imagine paying Main Line prices to overlook a couple of body shops as there is still one I think across Lancaster Avenue from Classic Auto Body.
In 2007, the then editor of Main Line Media News who before his death was editor of The Daily Local penned an editorial that still resonates today about development:
Neighbors of these developments came together, organized, and attended so many meetings during the early to mid 2000s. In some ways it helped, but in other ways it was soul crushing to see development that had little to do with the area itself taking over and not necessarily being harmonious with the neighborhood invaded. In late 2007, I wrote an editorial for Main Line Media News celebrating these neighbors groups:
In case you missed it, this is why I get upset about a lot of the truly wanton development in Chester County. I lived it, in part, before. This is in part why I know in my heart Malvern Borough has made a mistake with that absurdly named Duffryn Mawr across King from the Flying Pig.
But I digress.
Why am I revisiting this? Because in my opinion, traffic issues we saw before the development projects I have mentioned in Bryn Mawr and Haverford even happened, have now morphed into a need for Haverford Township to rethink the configuration of what will always be small streets to protect the community and pedestrians.
I don’t pay close attention to Main Line and just off of the Main Line stuff like I used to, but this newsletter from 5th Ward Commissioner of Haverford Township Laura Cavendish:
The Board of Commissioners will hold its monthly public meeting on Monday, July 14. In the meantime, I wanted to share a few updates and reminders from around the Township.
Safe Streets Demonstration Project on Buck Lane
Within the next few weeks, Haverford Township will begin a Traffic Safety Demonstration Project on the 800 block of Buck Lane (between Railroad Avenue and Panmure Road), as part of the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.
Key features include:
Converting Buck Lane to one-way northbound travel (Railroad to Panmure) to reduce southbound cut-through traffic and improve pedestrian and bike safety.
Reconfiguring the roadway for one lane of traffic, a buffer, and a protected multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists.
Temporarily eliminating on-street parking on the block during the project.
During peak times, 65–75 vehicles per hour will be rerouted, but traffic studies suggest minimal impact on surrounding roads. The Township is coordinating with local schools to adjust transportation routes.
A community feedback survey will be shared about three months after the project begins. You can find the Brynford Safe Streets Study here. For questions about this demonstration project, contact Jaime Jilozian at jjilozian@havtwp.org or 610-446-1000.
Here is the link to what she referred to on Haverford Township’s website:
It’s so weird to think that part of Buck Lane will be one way, but I applaud Haverford Township for seeking solutions. When we tried to get traffic calming in our Lower Merion neighborhood back in the late 90s to early 2000s before the development projects I have discussed here were begun, we only got so far and we got a municipal smack back.
The impetus was a hit and run of a neighborhood dog back then, and subsequent realization of how many little kids we had as well as pedestrians. We pushed for a traffic study and I believe that my then small street had a crazy number of something like over 1200 vehicle trips per day clocked.
Our neighborhood back then was a big cut through between Lancaster and Montgomery Avenues, and probably still is. We had neighborhood meetings called parlor meetings with township officials including the police in our living rooms. I remember this well, because I hosted the first meeting at that time in my own living room.
We looked at surrounding areas, and were particularly interested in something Radnor Township was doing back then: speed humps. As opposed to speed bumps. This was before 2006, but I don’t remember the exact date. It was before the current 10th Ward Lower Merion Commissioner in Lower Merion was elected. (He’s still there)
I remember speaking with traffic safety folks in Radnor to get speed hump information. They even gave me PennDOT information at that time.
But Lower Merion was having none of it. It got to the point where the Lower Merion Commissioners then introduced an ordinance to prohibit speed humps. They seemingly erased all evidence of this today because more recently they have selectively introduced speed humps in the township since that time. But I personally know that this happened as during the course of this all those years ago, I received a letter in the mail basically warning me off from asking for speed humps in my then neighborhood.
So because of all of this, I am glad Haverford Township is trying new traffic calming measures. But, this remains a cautionary tale in my opinion, of what happens when too much development comes to an area over time.
Take a look at what Haverford Township is trying to do here and I welcome comments from neighbors in the area if they read this post to learn their thoughts.
Soooo….last year I had posted about this odd triangle parcel off Old Swedesford/Swedesford Road in East Whiteland. It looks like it was sold at some point in 2024 and I got a note today from someone that says:
Keeping you updated. Looks the property sold in October. We just noticed some people out there holding what looks like site plans. We really hope they aren’t planning on putting some commercial property in there in such a small residential community.
Coincidentally, it seemed to have shown up on an East Whiteland agenda for this week. Last evening‘s meeting as a matter of fact. 3a.
If anyone has any answers as to what is happening with this property, people are all ears. What seems to be happening on the video snippet that I am about to share, is a potential acquisition by East Whiteland Township to keep it as open space, which would be great because there are residential neighborhoods back there. So I don’t know if that would mean passive open space leaving it wooded or creating a more park like setting in part of it maybe throwing in a small playground? If what said on the video is true I would say that some township residents over there have possibly dodged a bullet, right?
Before properties were sold last October is above – and note technically there are two parcels. I only had the bigger parcel information from before it was sold in 2024.
Below are both parcels, large and small. I have also included a little screenshot of the bare bones schematic of ChescoPin, so people can visualize the area better.
Where the new property owners potentially selling to East Whiteland have correspondence sent is 120 Pennsylvania Ave Malvern PA 19355. Now that address is in the Borough of Malvern that’s tucked out of the way. But it’s whose address that is that I found potentially interesting and will anyone else?
That area is back on the other side of the train tracks from what you know is King Street or the main drag of Malvern Borough. It’s back off Bridge Street and that Old Lancaster Road area. Of course that address comes up on Malvern Borough’s website.
Life is so interestingly connected, isn’t it?
Anyway, good on East Whiteland if they’re stopping development there by a land purchase. If this is what has happened this of course means the open space referendum is working some more, doesn’t it? I guess now the East Whiteland Open Space Committee or someone review things?
This old house sitting right at the edge of Lancaster Avenue in Berwyn in Easttown Township, on the border of Tredyffrin I believe across the road, has never looked good in my memory. But before this, the property was at least somewhat tidy.
But the property changed hands and then the chatter was maybe Mercedes of Devon was going to do something with it? But obviously that never happened. 
For months, it had cars, I think even a camper van, and a boat at one point sitting there. Obviously somebody was renting it or something at that point in time.
Well now it’s just sitting there and the weeds are getting bigger. There are weeds growing up through what’s left of the driveway and it’s just sitting there. There are viable things on either side of this property so I imagine it’s starting to get difficult being able to see to get out because of the weeds and that’s a very busy stretch of Lancaster Avenue anyway.
The address is 1038 Lancaster Avenue.
Anyway, it has an absentee landlord and/or property owner it seems? it would be nice if they could keep the weeds and stuff cut while they decide whatever it is they are doing with that property.
I think there is also some debate as to whether that is a dilapidated historic structure underneath all the bad asphalt or asbestos siding whatever it is.
When you look the address up on Google and you pull up photos of this house over the years, it’s been failing for many many years. Is it salvageable? I don’t know. Could it have a viable use? Again I don’t know. All I do know is while the property owner from Saratoga Springs, NY or whatever decides what they’re doing, it would be nice if they took care of it .
Much like the property that was supposed to be developed further east I guess it is where Handels originally was, these people that own these properties need to keep them somewhat tidy while they are deciding what they are doing. I totally get that.
This is a very weird economic time and must be really weird for commercial property owners or people who want to build anything, but there is no harm in properties staying tidy is there?
The screenshots are from former real estate listings. There is nothing current that I could see. And although I do believe somebody lived there on the property at one time I think it was also some kind of a store at one time.
There is a major article in the Philadelphia Business Journal about West Chester being given the Schiffer Farm at 1469 Morstein as a monumental donation and East Whiteland buying 52 acres at $4.7 million for open space. That is why East Whiteland voters passed the open space referendum last fall. That means dear readers, that saving this land is officially done and dusted!
The article mentions how West Chester University Provost Jeff Osgood said “West Chester did not want to engage in development for the sake of development” but isn’t that confusing given the back and forth in the past about what was it? 15 acres of this property that are mostly in West Whiteland and a wee bit in East Goshen? You know the land that backs up to where is it? Old Phoenixville Pike? Was that land sold before the rest was donated? (I never asked that before, did you?) West Whiteland is about preservation, but East Goshen today? Who knows as that township has changed.
This property straddles more than one municipality, and the thing I find sad is Durango Farm which has operated out of there for years will be relocating. It was in the article, but I had heard that a couple of months ago, elsewhere. I loved seeing the horses swishing their tails on the hill of the front field on Morstein. What East Whiteland acquired is called Ridley Springs, something else I didn’t now since we all just know it as “Schiffer Farm.”
The horses I am guessing will have to be relocated by or before renovation of the land occurs in 2026. Some buildings are reported as decrepit on the site, so while some structures I am guessing will be preserved, some will be removed… or that is what I was told when I asked a while ago. I will miss the horses, but it perhaps was not as easy having horses over there given the people who treated them like a petting zoo and would just wander up and neighbors in the past also told me people would try and feed them which you never do without permission, just like you don’t wander onto land with horses or live stock without permission.
The Philadelphia Business Journal also reported that this land in transition would present learning opportunities for students as well. Something about a collaborative process between the West Chester University kids and East Whiteland to transform a farm into a nature preserve and park. That’s pretty cool.
(An aside is Philadelphia Business Journal is well worth a subscription, although expensive.)
What would also be cool? Since there is open land not wooded, wouldn’t it be a great place for an observatory and wasn’t there one around the area once upon a time?
Also as I am a big gardener, I am a fan of what has happened at Bondsville Mill Park thanks to David Culp. I also would like to see organic community garden plots. That property has tons of deer, so that would require fencing.
West Chester University will use proceeds of the land for scholarships and financial aid, which as well all know for colleges and universities across the country is under attack courtesy of the current administration in Washington D.C.
Here is the full text of Chair of The East Whiteland Supervisors speech. I asked for it because it is such a great thing to have happened in an ugly world and thank you East Whiteland Township for getting it:
Good afternoon, I’m Scott Lambert, Chairman of the East Whiteland Township Board of Supervisors. Today, I’m honored to stand before you and share this truly exciting news, a process that began 2.5 yrs ago which for municipal time lines is a fast turnaround …news that reflect the very best of what can happen when a community comes together with a shared purpose.
East Whiteland Township is proud of the forthcoming acquisition and permanent preservation of a truly special piece of land—RIDLEY SPRINGS FARM.
This milestone is not just about preserving open space, it’s about legacy, vision, and above all, it’s about Improving our community. In 2023, the generous anonymous donor approached the Townships of East Whiteland, East Goshen, and West Whiteland with an opportunity to preserve over 52 acres of beautiful countryside. After thoughtful discussions and deep consideration, East Whiteland Township stepped forward as the only municipality ready to commit to preserving this land for the public good……….. But we couldn’t do it alone.
Thanks to a vital partnership from the West Chester University Foundation—who graciously stepped in to temporarily acquire the land—we were able to act swiftly while securing funding for long-term stewardship. And thanks to the strong support of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Chester County, our County Commissioners Marion Moskowitz , Josh Maxwell who graciously cleared their calendar for a hastily arranged meeting that helped turn the tide.
To our state representatives of Senator Katie Muth and Representative Kristine Howard, The staff at Carolynn Comita’s office that offered some good advice and most importantly the 4044 residents of East Whiteland Township, who voted in favor of the new Open Space Tax, we secured nearly $1.87 million in grant funding to make this dream a reality. This isn’t just about protecting open space, it’s also about creating a vibrant, lasting resource for generations to come …. Our vision for the property reflects a mission deeply rooted in conservation. We will honor WITH THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY the original wishes of the anonymousfamily….. that this land is not developed for commercial, residential, or industrial use. Instead, we’re transforming it into a public nature preserve and park— a place where all are welcome to enjoy …..the best of our ability includes our fierce opposition to pending state House Bill 502 which would strip local government of the power to make land use and zoning ordinances decisions related to large scale energy production facilities -handing it instead to a 7 member politically appointed board in Harrisburg .
On June 12 Nick Cohen a CEO of an energy company, testified in Harrisburg in support of this bill had these comments about local elected officials:
X They should stick to chicken coop and garage decisions X They did not get in the business of local government to make decisions about land use.
Perhaps Mr. Cohen should review the PA MPC /SALDO … this type of overreach further under scores the importance of this transaction. And I hope our voting representatives will not approve this bill in the current state and respect the importance of local municipal input.
While we have much planning to do to prepare this space for public use, here’s a look at what’s ahead:
A beautiful network of scenic hiking and walking trails
A brand-new trailhead and pocket park for rest and recreation
Designated spaces for community events—like 5K races, family fun days, nature walks, and wellness programs…. these details will include input from our community/stakeholders
This land will be a sanctuary and a place where future generations can explore, learn, and thrive. On behalf of the East Whiteland Township Board of Supervisors, I want to thank a who’s who of super people (everyone ) who helped bring this vision over the finish line -the anonymous family, our Township team, Chester County Commissioners, Senator Muth, Representative Howard and Chris Pielli, State Senator Comitta, the West Chester University Foundation, our grant partners at DCNR and Chester County, West Whiteland for agreeing to the annexation of 1 acre of their property and our 4044 residents or 56% of the voting community that supported the preservation of open space.
Thank you all for your commitment to helping preserve this land for public enjoyment for generations to come.
I close with saying everyone should thank East Whiteland Supervisor Scott Lambert. He doesn’t take enough credit for the mountains he moved to get this done.
by Denali Sagner Published June 5, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET
I wrote the rather young reporter. She was too busy to reply but she did correct the spelling of Carrie Kohs name. This morning when the article hit my in box she had another person entirely, Carrie Kohns. I have never been fan of Kohs who owns pucciManuli (very over priced and she’s definitely never been user friendly IMHO), but come on, if you are going to interview people and get paid for it, spell the name correctly.
Transit Oriented Development is and always has been mostly a myth to get more infill development, do try to keep up. In order for something to be destroyed it actually has to work. Since they included the photo of Narberth in the article, why isn’t the Inquirer covering important issues like Narberth residents trying to save Sabine Park from development? Wouldn’t that fit with the “Inquirer Lower Merion” of it all I guess? If they had done their homework here already they would know there is legal precedence that matters. See Downingtown, Kardon Park, Friends of Kardon Park. The Inquirer I believe is one of the papers which covered it years ago. https://www.sabinecoalition.com/
Also , Carrie Kohs and Chris Leswing whom they interviewed for a lil’ Lower Merion Township rah rah have it wrong. Bad plans for Transit Oriented Development and Mixed Use have almost killed Ardmore over and over. What you have now is a more transient community and still no parking. How do I know? Used to live there in that township and once was part of original Save Ardmore Coalition and helped fight for Ardmore against eminent domain for private gain ( heck it got national and international press – Economist etc.)
Look at the things NO longer in Ardmore – Clover Market and First Friday Main Line (also worked on First Friday for years) – one would hope that the regional paper’s “Lower Merion” section would be a little deeper than township propaganda (or Borough propaganda in the case of Narberth), but that would mean really getting out in these communities and asking people what they want, what they need, and what they think.
Oh and the photo of the man jogging past the historic Ardmore sign and showing the corner of the mural in the article? Residents and Save Ardmore Coalition did that mural. Not the township, not the Ardmore Initiative. ( See attached photo next.)
Mostly now people wonder what the Ardmore Initiative does and what people are paying for? Check out the crumbling broken sidewalks and overflowing township trash cans….and again no place to park.
I get that there are not enough folks left at the Inquirer with any institutional knowledge of the suburbs and Chester County, but you have archives.
Septa has been mismanaged and a mess for decades. For a while it was better, when Jeff Knueppel led them. He was their former lead engineer at one point, and he really cared. Then they handed it all over to Leslie Richards (Tom Wolf girl former Montgomery County Commissioner along with Josh Shapiro) after she made a mess of PennDOT. then all of a sudden Septa was flailing and she “retired.” My goodness what a trail of political breadcrumbs you are missing between Septa and the Emperor’s New Clothes fairy tail of MUST and TOD.
Wouldn’t it be nice if a paper ever wrote something helpful like how the Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of PA is woefully outdated (since 1969 or so) and needs a comprehensive overhaul? That weighty tome drives ALL of the zoning in PA and is why we can’t achieve any sense of balance or more productive development. And HB Act 502? All bundled in with other stuff by Shapiro? NO ONE has covered that much and they have zero clue the damage THAT could do to municipalities which is why maybe speaking to someone like Ginny Kerslake might help them. Part of what Ginny has said about this bill:
HB502 is a fast-tracking scheme for power generating or storage facilities for private or public consumption. It creates a seven member, heavily industry-biased board with immense power to issue a “certificate of reliable energy supply” – a golden ticket of sorts- to a developer/corporation, exempting their project from local zoning, land development and other ordinances:
Section 805
(d) Effect of certificate.–
(1) A county or municipal or other local government or authority by ordinance, regulation or other action may not require any land use approval, consent, permit, certificate or condition that materially impedes the purposes of this chapter or will delay or prevent the construction, operation or maintenance of a reliable energy generating facility or storage facility that has been issued a certificate of reliable energy supply.
HB502 usurps local authority over zoning and land use. It’s not surprising that the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) opposes this bill.
This new Lower Merion tab for the Inquirer is merely an elitist suck up version of the old Neighbors section. The Neighbors section was great while it lasted. I was actually a freelancer for them when the Neighbors section went online only. I wrote about Chester County and Main Line things. It was really fun.
Look I support journalism, especially print media. But they need to cover what matters, not just what panders well. And these papers need to keep some of those with institutional knowledge of areas around as well as educating the next wave of young journalists how to comb through their own archives. Heck if I can do it, I am sure they can as well.
Besides, I have maintained all along that SEPTA is fear mongering shutting down lines to get what they want. Maybe SEPTA does need to partially shut down and start over. It is one of the worst transit systems in the country. I think it’s a political ploy and another article in the Inquirer which I agree with says so. I will share an excerpt as I sign off.
Development fairy tales are generally speaking, just that. TOD and MUST and stupid zoning overlays are creating more issues than the problems they were advertised to solve. That is my opinion and I am sticking to it. Maybe just maybe, lots of things in Pennsylvania are simply mismanaged?
I really get tired of the simpletons who tell me I must not have lived here long and that certain places have flooded for decades. Yes, a lot of places have flooded for decades and does that make it OK and do these people ever look beyond the edge of their own noses to see what is all being built and developed around these flood locations that just make it worse?
West Chester
Development and climate change play a big part in our flooding during storms. And the developers develop these projects and they say they’re going to do stormwater management but is it ever enough?
And while Harrisburg and Josh Shapiro are trying to shove HB-502 down our throats, do they do anything ever proactive like enact and act of the State Constitution to overhaul the Municipalities Planning Code to protect us?
And what is HB-502?
As Ginny Kerslake explains after East Whiteland publicly objected to it:
Thank you East Whiteland Township for standing up for your residents and local government. We need every township to do likewise:
East Whiteland Township recently issued letters to local legislators opposing PA House Bill 502, which would strip local governments of the power to make land use and zoning decisions related to large scale energy production facilities—handing it instead to a politically appointed board in Harrisburg.
Local officials know our communities best. We use careful planning and resident input to protect our environment and quality of life. This bill threatens that balance and could open the door to unchecked development—even on preserved land.”
How can you help stop this bad bill?
✅ Urge your Township Supervisors to follow East Whiteland’s lead. ✅ Contact your State Rep and State Senator and urge them to vote NO on HB502. (Find your legislators: https://www.palegis.us/find-my-legislator).
So back to stormwater. These storms with freakish amounts of water keep happening and in part that’s climate change.
The flooding is increasing. There IS also a connection to development, and it doesn’t mean development right where the flooding occurred but adjacent to it. Water seeks its own level.
Yesterday was yet another example as to why mankind needs to change the way we do things. Overdevelopment and climate change are real. Together they cause us more and more issues.
So… news out of Caln this morning is Lloyd Farmhouse is safe-ish for now. I say safe-ish because I trust neither the developer nor Caln Township. Maybe this time it will be different because Caln has a manager with a moral compass but who knows?
